War of the Worlds Essay: Imperialism, Darwinism, and Technology

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of H.G. Wells' *War of the Worlds*, exploring the parallels between the Martian invasion and British imperialism. The essay examines how the Martians' technological superiority mirrors the British Empire's dominance, highlighting the concept of 'survival of the fittest' through the lens of Darwinism. It delves into the fear generated by the Martians' advanced weaponry and the ultimate irony of their defeat by microbes, a force humans are adapted to. The annotated bibliography provides context from various sources, including discussions on urban landscapes and the novel's roots in Christian traditions. The essay also discusses the impact of the British Empire on its colonies.

Running head: WAR OF THE WORLDS
War of the Worlds
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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War of the worlds- Outline and Annotated Bibliography
-Outline
1. H.G Wells used this novel to point out the commonalities between the Martian attack that
caused the destruction of humanity and earth with the ruthless imperialism of British colonial
empires that caused the destruction of the colonial inhabitants.
A. the Martian invaders who were superior to humans in terms of their technology and might
entirely obliterated civilizations without much effort. The Martians were not only
invulnerable to human weapons but also excelled in their intelligence and ability to transport
themselves to various corners of the earth. “No one would have believed in the last years of
the 19th century… the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” This
passage shows how the Martians were so advanced that they were studying the human
civilization as humans study microbes.
B. “We must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our species have brought…
complained if the Martians were the same spirit.” From this passage it can be understood that
the author compares the destruction caused by humans to the nature and how our intelligence
and superiority over other animals have been misused to exploit other species and nature
which is similar to the actions of the Martians invaders in the novel.
C. the Martians shows a militaristic approach in which it tried to violently take over the
planet by killing all the inhabitants which is compared to the invasive British colonial forces
that have resulted in the destruction of countless indigenous communities across the world
and therefore destruction of many civilizations. The terror therefore caused by the imperialist
forces within the indigenous communities has been used to compare the terror caused by the
Martians when they invaded earth.

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(Benczik, p 141-156)
2. The invasion by the Martians and their superiority over the human race reflects upon the
Darwinian theory of Survival of the Fittest.
A. Darwin’s theory of Origin of species by natural selection discusses how evolution favors
strong genes in random manner and allows only the fittest animals to survive which has been
termed as survival of the fittest. This concept shows how a weaker species can be over
powered by stronger ones which can lead to extermination of one species through a
competitive advantage. Such phenomena have been held to be responsible for the extinction
of several species in Earth such as dodo, Tasmanian devil or red puma.
B. the Martians in the War of the Worlds was technologically superior and thereby fitter
compared to the humans. The humans have had a competitive advantage over every other
species on Earth because of their intelligence and technological superiority. The Martians
surpassed the humans in these aspects making them inferior species and thereby supporting
of the success of the Martians over the earthlings.
C. “This isn’t a war…any more than there is a war between man and ants”. This passage
reflects upon the difference in the abilities and superiority between humans and the Martian
invaders. The passage posits that just like ants cannot wage wars against humans and human
would never need to wage a war on ants, the invasion of the Martians cannot be considered as
a war waged by Martians on humans.
(Beck)
3. Technological superiority was the key ingredient that allowed the Martians to overpower
the humans.

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A. the British colonial empire was vastly superior in terms of its military strength and
technological advances from their colonial victims. Due to this it was easy for the empire to
take control of the weaker communities and subjugate them to their might. The same aspect is
seen when the vastly superior Martian forces subjugated the humans for their weakness.
B. the Martians’ technological advancements and their technological superiority over humans
were compared with that between the humans and microbes. This highlighted that fact that
the Martian invaders were highly sophisticated in their technology due to which the human
weapons were useless against them and therefore humans became defenseless against their
attacks.
C. the colonial invasion of the British Empire in many countries such as Australia, Tasmania
and New Zealand has resulted in the loss of several ingenious cultures and languages. This
was mainly because these communities did not have the strength or means to protect
themselves against the colonial invasion. “For a time I believed that mankind has been
swept… the last man left alive”.
(Berghoff et al. )
4. The behavior and actions of Martians not only exhibit the power but creates fear in the
hearts of humans.
A. the Martians used advanced weapons such as heat rays that can incinerate a living body
within a moment and convert them into ashes. This shows how strong the Martians are
compared to humans almost the level by which humans is stronger than ants. This enormous
power creates a mortifying fear of these alien species because of the knowledge of how the
alien species can annihilate humans.

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B. Imperialist forces of the British empire created fear within its colonies because of is
superior power that allowed it to overpower any resistance from the colonies to prevent the
expansion of the British Empire. The resources of the empire that has supported its
technological growth can be comparing to the abundant technical advancements of the
Martians and the necessity of the British Empire to expand its territory by violent means is
comparable to the invasion of Martians on Earth.
C. “It’s just men and ants… that’s where we are now, just ants”. The passage shows how
utterly insignificant humans are compared to the Martians. The ants as insignificant as they
are can be quiet impressive in their ability to build tall structures and yet humans far exceed
the ants in their might. Such difference in power has been shown to be evident between
humans and Martians.
(Mustaffa)
5. In the end the power that ultimately defeated the Martians was that of the “Lowly
microbes”, and not the human technology because the microbes were unknown and unseen
enemy for the Martians.
A. the Martians were not immune to the microbes that float in the Earth’s atmosphere band
environment. Humans who have evolved within the planet are adapted to these microbes
unlike the Martians. So when Martian s enters the Earth’s atmosphere these microbes start
freely infecting the Martian bodies without them realizing it. These infections ultimately led
to the demise of the Martians.
B.it has been pointed out by many authors that one of the biggest factors that caused the
decline of several indigenous communities after the British invasions was due to the spread of

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new diseases from the invaders into the new colonies who were not immune to the disease
and thereby died of various infections.
C. “From the moment the invaders arrived… for neither do men live or die in vain”. The
passage shows how the invasion of the Martians created an opportunity for the microbes to
infect new hosts who did not have any immunity against them. These silent killers who
destroyed the Martians became the protectors of the planet.
(Wells)
-Annotated Bibliography
Benczik, Vera. "The Urban Wasteland in HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds." Utopias and
Dystopias in the Fiction of HG Wells and William Morris. Palgrave Macmillan, London,
2016. 141-156.
In this book the author discusses the post-apocalyptic as well as apocalyptic narratives of the
novel War of the Worlds comparing how the iconography of the novel reflects upon the real
life incidents and the power struggle that is seen in human kind. The book illustrates how the
intersection of this iconography and real life implications can be used to show and compare
the incidents of the novel with that of the actions of the British imperialists. The roots of the
novel within the Christian traditions can be seen as the transcendence of the meek as the true
beholders of power and propagators of salvation which in the case of the novel has been
because of the microbes that infected and destroyed the Martians.
Essay
In the novel War of the Worlds, the human civilization was brought to near extinction by the
invasion of the Marian forces against whom all the weapons, technologies and crafts
developed by humans proved to be futile. The defenses of human were as ineffective against

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the Martians as the defenses of ants ineffective against humans. The actions of the invading
forces is similar to the destruction caused by humans on the environment because of the
technological power possessed by humans that allows them to exploit nature and
environment. The superiority of the British imperial forces have forced its colonies into
subjugation and exploitation much in the same way the Martian technologies have allowed
the subjugation of humans, the fact that the Martians were observing the humans like a
laboratory creature without humans ever perceiving them shows how technologically
advanced the Martians were just like the British colonial forces were advanced in most of its
occupied territories (Beck).
The successful invasion of the Martian forces, their superiority over humans and the near
extermination of human beings shows how befitting the theory of Natural selection and
survival of the fittest is, within this context. Within the rules of the nature, only the strongest
species gain the competitive advantage and ensures its survival while the weaker species die
out and become extinct. This has been the reason for the extinction of many species, many of
which has been also due to a competition with humans and resulted in humans exploiting the
species to near extinction. The concept of social Darwinism distorts the same ideas within a
social context justifying the subjugation of the weaker social class by a stronger social class
among humans thereby biasing the concept within the context of a single species. The
invasion of British Empire have been largely made in the notion of the cultural, ethnic and
racial superiority which gave them the moral justification to suppress , control and exploit the
communities they did not find to be as high in standards and aristocracy (Wells).
Just like the Martians who were technological superior to the humans, the British colonial
invaders were equally advanced than the colonies they invaded. The lack of adequate defense
to overcome the invading forces, have ensured the success of both the Martian invaders as
well as the British colonizers on the grounds of scientific and technological superiority. The

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technological advancements in context of the British Empire can be attributed to the
Industrial Revolution which has allowed development of several new technologies that made
Great Britain strong as a nation and capable of controlling and colonizing foreign lands
(Benczik).
The sheer difference in the power between the humans and the Martians has been used a
source to promote fear and show now insignificant human abilities are albeit impressive in
the context of the Martian invaders. It can be suggested that power can instill fear and
absolute power can instill absolute fear, which in the case of the Martian attack was the fear
of extinction of human species. The imperialists were able to maintain the control over their
colonies because of the difference in power and the fear created because of the difference that
allowed the colonizers to control and manipulate the indigenous people and continue their
exploitation (Mustaffa)
Even though the technology and strength of the Martians were immensely advanced than
humans, they succumbed to the acts of the least noticeable enemy to which the Martians has
no defense against which were the bacteria. These shows how even of the smallest of threats
can defeat the greatest of enemies if not analyzed and forcing enough. Incidents if small rebel
groups thwarting the British colonial activities have been largely reported in many of its
colonial pockets throughout the world showing that even the most insignificant enemies can
bring a large opponent to its knees (Beck).
The novel clearly shows how a difference in power, might and superiority and lead to the
subjugation of the weaker sections and thereby exploitation of people. The actions of the
British colonizers is similar to that of the alien invaders in terms of how both led to the
systematic and mass slaughter of people and establishment of a superior and strongest
military force over humans. Therefore the novel can be understood as a strong analogy on the

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British colonial practices and how the British invasions lead to the destruction of the colonial
inhabitants.

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References:
Beck, Peter J. The War of the Worlds: From HG Wells to Orson Welles, Jeff Wayne, Steven
Spielberg and Beyond. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
Benczik, Vera. "The Urban Wasteland in HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds." Utopias and
Dystopias in the Fiction of HG Wells and William Morris. Palgrave Macmillan, London,
2016. 141-156.
Berghoff, H., Biess, F., & Strasser, U. (Eds.). (2018). Explorations and Entanglements:
Germans in Pacific Worlds from the Early Modern Period to World War I (Vol. 22).
Berghahn Books.
Mustaffa, Rifki Zamzam. An Analysis Of Power Exercise In Hg Wells’the War Of The
Worlds. Diss. Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, 2017.
Wells, Herbert George. The Great Science Fiction The Time Machine, the Island of Doctor
Moreau, the Invisible Man, the War of the Worlds, Short Stories. Penguin Classics, 2016.