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The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
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Title of Book
The War of the Worlds
Author
H. G. Wells
Character Modification for Matching Game
The Artilleryman
This character comes up with a plan to work hard and stay away from the Martians, but does not work very hard at all.
The Curate
This character is very religious, but is also fearful and unstable.
Mrs. Elphinstone
This character is pale and dressed in white, and is in a carriage that is attacked by thieves.
Lord Garrick
This character has a high social status, but does not receive special treatment when he is hurt.
Henderson
This character is a journalist who is killed by the Heat-Ray.
The Narrator
This character is a philosopher at the beginning of the story, but has trouble keeping a calm approach during the
invasion.
The Narrator's Brother
This character is a medical student who flees London on a boat.
The Narrator's Wife
This character goes to Leatherhead at the beginning of the story in order to stay safe.
Ogilvy
This character is an astronomer, and is a member of the peace party exterminated by the Heat-Ray.
Stent
This character leads the expedition to investigate the first Martian cylinder that arrives on Earth.
Object Modification for Matching Game
Multiple Choice Questions
Question #1: According to the narrator, how far is Mars from the Sun?
a) 140,000,000 miles.
b) 160,000,000 miles.
c) 140,000 miles.
d) 160,000 miles.
Question #2: How much light does Mars receive from the Sun, compared to the light Earth receives?
a) About half.
b) About one-quarter.
c) About twice as much.
d) About three-quarters.
Question #3: According to the narrator, what must first be present in order for life to begin?
a) Temperature cooling.
b) Moisture.
c) Vegetation.
d) Nitrogen.
Question #4: How far is Mars from Earth?
a) 35 million miles.
b) 15 million miles.
c) 20 million miles.
d) 45 million miles.
Question #5: The narrator says that the Martians are clearly superior in what area of knowledge?
a) Mathematics.
b) Language.
c) Biology.
d) Philosophy.
Question #6: In what year did the Martian invasion begin?
a) 1894.
b) 1895.
c) 1893.
d) 1890.
Question #7: The gas jets that first streamed toward Earth were primarily made of what element?
a) Hydrogen.
b) Helium.
c) Oxygen.
d) Neon.
Question #8: In Roman mythology, Mars was the god of what?
a) War.
b) Wisdom.
c) Love.
d) The underworld.
Question #9: Who is Ogilvy?
a) An astronomer.
b) A laborer.
c) A reporter.
d) A philosopher.
Question #10: How many gas jets were spotted within the first twenty-four hours of the story?
a) Two.
b) One.
c) Three.
d) Four.
Question #11: What were the gas jets in the sky originally assumed to be?
a) Meteorites.
b) Rockets.
c) People.
d) Missiles.
Question #12: How many nights in a row were the gas jets spotted before they stopped?
a) Ten.
b) Four.
c) Six.
d) Twenty.
Question #13: Over what town was the gas jet first spotted?
a) Wincester.
b) London.
c) Woking.
d) Leatherhead.
Question #14: What color were the gas jets?
a) Green.
b) Red.
c) Yellow.
d) White.
Question #15: Who was the first person to see the cylinder once it crashed?
a) Ogilvy.
b) The narrator.
c) Henderson.
d) A construction worker.
Question #16: What does the narrator call the cylinder at first?
a) The Thing.
b) It.
c) The Monster.
d) The Rocket.
Question #17: How large is the first cylinder in diameter?
a) Thirty yards.
b) Twenty yards.
c) Ten yards.
d) Five yards.
Question #18: What do the first visitors to the cylinder think is inside it at first?
a) A man.
b) A strange creature.
c) An animal.
d) A Martian invader.
Question #19: When the first visitors to the cylinder spread the news to the villagers, how do the villagers react?
a) They think that the visitors must be crazy.
b) They become very alarmed.
c) They insist on calling the military for help.
d) They become angry at the visitors.
Question #20: Who is Henderson?
a) A journalist.
b) A doctor.
c) An astronomer.
d) A blacksmith.
Question #21: What disability does Henderson have?
a) He is deaf in one ear.
b) He cannot walk.
c) He has a speech impediment.
d) He cannot move one of his arms.
Question #22: Henderson sends news of the cylinder to his colleagues in what city?
a) London.
b) Bristol.
c) Lincoln.
d) Oxford.
Question #23: What is the name of the narrator's local newspaper?
a) The Daily Chronicle.
b) News of the Day.
c) The Post-Dispatch.
d) The Woking Journal.
Question #24: When the narrator reads an article about the cylinder at the end of Chapter Two, how does he react?
a) He heads back to the crash site.
b) He decides to hide.
c) He panics.
d) He makes plans to leave town.
Question #25: About how many people surrounded the pit the morning after the cylinder landed?
a) Twenty.
b) Thirty.
c) One hundred.
d) Five.
Question #26: The morning after the cylinder crashed, what were the little boys doing to the cylinder?
a) Throwing rocks at it.
b) Trying to open it.
c) Daring each other to touch it.
d) Yelling at it.
Question #27: What was the headline of the London newspaper the day after the first cylinder crashed?
a) Message Received From Mars.
b) Government Says Not to be Alarmed.
c) Invaders from Mars Discovered!
d) Evacuate Immediately.
Question #28: What is the name of the professional organization for astronomers?
a) The Astronomical Exchange.
b) The National Association of Astronomers.
c) Astronomers United.
d) The League of Astronomers.
Question #29: What is the man selling near the pit, shortly after the cylinder crashes?
a) Sweets.
b) Souvenirs.
c) Drawings.
d) Lemonade.
Question #30: The day after the cylinder crashes, what are the men doing trying to do to the cylinder?
a) Dig it out.
b) Destroy it.
c) Study it.
d) Open it.
Question #31: Who owns the property on which the first cylinder crashed?
a) Lord Hilton.
b) Lord William.
c) Lord Vasser.
d) Lord Harrington.
Question #32: At the end of the first day after the cylinder crashed, what do the people near it hear coming from
inside?
a) A faint stirring.
b) Screaming.
c) Singing.
d) Someone banging on the walls.
Question #33: Who asked the narrator to go to the landowner's estate with him?
a) Ogilvy.
b) Henderson.
c) A construction worker.
d) A soldier.
Question #34: How do people gathered around the cylinder initially react to it?
a) Disappointed.
b) Angry.
c) Fearful.
d) Indifferently.
Question #35: Where does the narrator meet the man who owns the land where the cylinder crashed?
a) The train station.
b) His house.
c) On the common.
d) In a restaurant.
Question #36: The crowd gathered around the pit the morning after the cylinder crashed were from Woking and what
other town?
a) Chertsey.
b) Bibury.
c) Clovelly.
d) Farnham.
Question #37: What is the name of the Astronomer Royal?
a) Stent.
b) Stevens.
c) Silas.
d) Smith.
Question #38: How did the first man get into the pit?
a) The crowd pushed him in.
b) He jumped in.
c) He slipped on the edge.
d) A Martian pulled him in.
Question #39: The narrator describes the Martians as being about the size of what animal?
a) A bear.
b) A dog.
c) A cat.
d) A lion.
Question #40: What color is the first Martian's skin?
a) Gray.
b) Pink.
c) Yellow.
d) Orange.
Question #41: When the first Martian falls out of the cylinder, how does the narrator react?
a) He runs away.
b) He tries to fight it.
c) He yells for help.
d) He stays where he is.
Question #42: After the shopman goes into the pit, what does the narrator hear?
a) A scream.
b) A cry for help.
c) Laughter.
d) A confused noise.
Question #43: After the first Martian appears, the narrator says he experiences what two emotions?
a) Fear and curiosity.
b) Fear and anger.
c) Excitement and anger.
d) Excitement and fear.
Question #44: What is a Deputation?
a) A group of delegates.
b) A group of soldiers.
c) A group of police officers.
d) A group of journalists.
Question #45: What does the Deputation use as a signal to the Martians?
a) A white flag.
b) A peace sign.
c) A British flag.
d) A heart.
Question #46: What comes out of the pit after the Deputation signals the Martians?
a) Green smoke.
b) Fire.
c) A missle.
d) A Martian.
Question #47: What can survive the heat ray?
a) Nothing.
b) People.
c) Animals.
d) Plants.
Question #48: Who did not die in the heat ray?
a) A Martian.
b) Stent.
c) Ogilvy.
d) Henderson.
Question #49: The humans do not know what the heat ray is because it is:
a) Invisible.
b) Hidden.
c) Made of unknown materials.
d) Nonexistant.
Question #50: About how many people were killed by the heat ray?
a) Forty.
b) One hundred.
c) Twelve.
d) Fifty.
Question #51: The days immediately following the first heat ray, the only people that know about it live in what town?
a) Woking.
b) Ottershaw.
c) London.
d) Chobham.
Question #52: How many policemen are sent to the common after the heat ray?
a) Three.
b) Twenty.
c) Seven.
d) Five.
Question #53: What saved some people from the first heat ray?
a) A mound of sand.
b) A metal shield.
c) A tree trunk.
d) A group of soldiers.
Question #54: What happened to a few people when the crowd was escaping from the heat ray?
a) They were crushed.
b) They were shot.
c) They were arrested.
d) They were captured by Martians.
Question #55: What happens to the narrator as he runs home after the heat ray?
a) He passes out.
b) He gets into a fight.
c) He runs into his wife.
d) He steals a horse.
Question #56: How does the narrator say he feels on his way home from the heat ray incident?
a) Ordinary.
b) Scared.
c) Uneasy.
d) Angry.
Question #57: When the narrator runs into the village after the heat ray, how do the villagers react to his story?
a) They laugh at him.
b) They push him.
c) They pry him for details.
d) They ignore him.
Question #58: What does the narrator tell his wife about the Martians in order to reassure her?
a) The Martians move very slowly.
b) The Martians are very small.
c) The Martians do not seem very dangerous.
d) The Martians are very weak.
Question #59: Why did Ogilvy think that it was impossible for the Martians to become established on Earth?
a) The gravity is too strong.
b) There is not enough nitrogen in the air.
c) The Martians cannot see very well.
d) There is no food for them on Earth.
Question #60: What does the narrator say could kill all of the Martians, as he tries to reassure his wife?
a) A shell.
b) A bomb.
c) A firing squad.
d) A tank.
Question #61: How are most people reacting to the invasion, the first Friday after the cylinder lands?
a) They have not taken much notice of it.
b) They are demanding action from the military.
c) They are very curious about what is happening.
d) They are keeping a close eye on the pit in shifts.
Question #62: What does the word "canard" mean?
a) A false story.
b) A card game.
c) A distraction.
d) A worthless object.
Question #63: On the Friday evening after the cylinder crashes, why is the young boy yelling in the middle of town?
a) He is selling newspapers.
b) He is alarmed about the Martians.
c) He is trying to cause trouble.
d) He is just trying to get attention.
Question #64: On Friday night, how many houses around the pit caught on fire?
a) Six.
b) Twenty.
c) One.
d) Eight.
Question #65: A few nights after the cylinder crashes, what do people hear coming from the pit?
a) Hammering.
b) Crying.
c) Beeping.
d) Drilling.
Question #66: About how many soldiers did the military send in response to the first cylinder crash?
a) Four hundred.
b) One hundred
c) Fifty.
d) One thousand.
Question #67: The morning before he is forced to flee, who does the narrator say he finds reassuring?
a) The milkman.
b) A policeman.
c) His wife.
d) A reporter.
Question #68: What is a "sapper"?
a) A skilled front-line soldier.
b) A member of the Navy.
c) A man who makes syrup.
d) A bar owner.
Question #69: When the narrator tells the soldiers on the common about the heat ray, what do the soldiers do?
a) Argue.
b) Tell the narrator to leave.
c) Shoot into the pit.
d) Scream.
Question #70: Who is Marshall?
a) A tobacconist.
b) A fisherman.
c) A soldier.
d) A farmer.
Question #71: A soldier tells the narrator that when a man waved a flag on a long pole at the Martians, the Martians
responded by:
a) Ignoring him.
b) Shooting at him.
c) Attacking him.
d) Pulling him into the pit.
Question #72: When the narrator's chimney is cracked, where does he decide to take his wife?
a) Leatherhead.
b) London.
c) Cambridge.
d) Westminster.
Question #73: How far does the narrator have to drive his wife in the cart?
a) Twelve miles.
b) Seven miles.
c) Twelve blocks.
d) Ten miles.
Question #74: Why is the narrator eager to get back to Woking after taking his wife to the inn?
a) He wants to see the Martians die.
b) He wants to gather his possessions.
c) He is afraid something will happen to his house.
d) He wants try to signal the Martians.
Question #75: What does the narrator see in the sky as he goes to town on his way back from the inn?
a) A third cylinder falling.
b) A rocket.
c) A military missile.
d) A lunar eclipse.
Question #76: When the narrator comes back to town after taking his wife away, what does he refer to as The Thing?
a) A Martian tripod.
b) A dead Martian.
c) The heat ray.
d) A new Martian weapon.
Question #77: When the narrator gets back to Woking, what happens to his horse?
a) It falls and breaks its neck.
b) It runs away.
c) It throws him off.
d) Someone steals it.
Question #78: When the narrator sees The Thing, where does he hide.
a) In a ditch.
b) In a shack.
c) Under a piece of wood.
d) Behind a tree.
Question #79: When the narrator gets back to his house for the first time, what does he drink?
a) Whiskey.
b) Vodka.
c) Water.
d) Bourbon.
Question #80: The soldier that the narrator pairs up with is a(n):
a) Artilleryman.
b) Pilot.
c) General.
d) Sailor.
Question #81: When the narrator first teams up with the soldier, how long has it been since the soldier has eaten?
a) One day.
b) Two days.
c) One week.
d) Ten hours.
Question #82: According to the soldier, from where did the Martian disks first emerge?
a) The common.
b) The ocean.
c) A river.
d) Under London.
Question #83: Why was the soldier separated from his unit?
a) His horse fell.
b) He ran away.
c) They abadoned him.
d) He was discharged.
Question #84: Where did the soldier hide until he met the narrator?
a) Under dead bodies.
b) Under a pile of leaves.
c) In the sewer.
d) In a house.
Question #85: What do the soldier and the narrator bring with them when they decide to leave Woking?
a) Food and whiskey.
b) Weapons and food.
c) Food and water.
d) Food and the narrator's dog.
Question #86: When the soldier and the narrator meet the Lieutenant, how does the Lieutenant respond to their
story?
a) He does not believe them.
b) He says that he will protect them.
c) He says that he saw the same things they did.
d) He accuses them of being insane.
Question #87: Where does the Lieutenant tell the narrator and the soldier to go?
a) Weybridge.
b) Shepperton.
c) London.
d) Surrey.
Question #88: When the soldier and the narrator go to check in with the soldiers, what are the local residents doing?
a) Calmly packing their things.
b) Boarding up their houses.
c) Standing in line for food.
d) Frantically evacuating.
Question #89: When the narrator and the soldier leave Woking, why do they decide to take a long route, rather than
the direct one?
a) The long route will be safer.
b) The direct road is crowded with people.
c) There may be food on the long route.
d) The direct road has been blocked.
Question #90: When the army first fights the Martians, how does the narrator escape?
a) He hides in the water.
b) He fights with them.
c) A soldier helps him get away.
d) The Martians do not see him.
Question #91: Just before the narrator meets the curate, how often does he say new cylinders are falling?
a) Every day.
b) Every hour.
c) Every week.
d) Every other day.
Question #92: When the narrator finds a small boat, how does he paddle across the river?
a) He uses his hands.
b) He has paddles.
c) He uses sticks.
d) He uses tools that he found.
Question #93: What is a curate?
a) A clergyman.
b) A doctor.
c) A lawyer.
d) A judge.
Question #94: What is the curate doing when the narrator first meets him?
a) Panicking.
b) Making a fire.
c) Trying to find food.
d) Looking for money in the narrator's pockets.
Question #95: When the narrator reaches the other bank in the small boat, what happens to him?
a) He falls asleep.
b) He is knocked unconscious.
c) He is forced to run from Martians.
d) He loses something valuable.
Question #96: Why do the narrator and the curate decide to leave the riverbank?
a) They hear gunfire.
b) Soldiers tell them to leave.
c) The Martians are getting closer.
d) They want to find other people.
Question #97: What does the narrator's brother study in college?
a) Medicine.
b) Law.
c) Literature.
d) Education.
Question #98: Where does the narrator's brother live?
a) London.
b) Woking.
c) Surrey.
d) Weybridge.
Question #99: Why is the narrator's brother not very concerned about the narrator at first?
a) The Martians have not been reported as a threat.
b) He gets a letter from the narrator.
c) His wife tells him not to worry.
d) He does not believe that the Martians exist.
Question #100: Why does the narrator's brother fail to travel to the narrator's home?
a) The trains are not running.
b) He does not have a horse.
c) He does not want to go.
d) He has to go to work.
Question #101: When the narrator sees people coming back from the south of London, what are those people
saying?
a) People are evacuating.
b) The Martians are coming.
c) There is nothing to worry about.
d) They are trapped.
Question #102: After news reports of the Martians reach his town, what does the narrator's brother think happened to
the narrator?
a) He thinks that the narrator is dead.
b) He thinks that the narrator escaped.
c) He thinks that the narrator is coming for him.
d) He thinks that the narrator must be hiding.
Question #103: The night after the narrator's brother is introduced, how many Martians initially attack nearby?
a) Three.
b) Four.
c) Five.
d) Two.
Question #104: The Martian attack of Surrey started at about what time?
a) Eight o'clock P.M..
b) Twelve o'clock A.M.
c) Three o'clock P.M..
d) Eleven o'clock A.M.
Question #105: During the Martian attack of Surrey, how does the Martian repair his tripod?
a) The other Martians protect him.
b) He does not.
c) He kills everyone nearby and then repairs it.
d) He can repair it from inside.
Question #106: When four more tripods join the initial Martian attack on Surrey, what are they carrying?
a) Large black tubes.
b) Rockets.
c) Cages.
d) Sharp blades.
Question #107: When the Martians reveal a new weapon at Surrey, what does this weapon do?
a) Emits toxic smoke.
b) Shoots fire.
c) Works as a mounted gun on the tripods.
d) Knocks down enemy vehicles.
Question #108: After the Martians attack Surrey, in what direction do they head?
a) North.
b) South.
c) East.
d) West.
Question #109: On what kind of transportation does the narrator's brother begin his escape?
a) A bicycle.
b) A boat.
c) A train.
d) A cart.
Question #110: Why is the narrator's brother forced to abandon his first mode of transportation?
a) It breaks.
b) Someone demands that he give it to them.
c) He borrowed it and has to give it back.
d) He loses it.
Question #111: How is the narrator's brother able to help the two women subdue their attackers?
a) He is an expert boxer.
b) He shoots them.
c) He helps them ride away.
d) He bribes them to leave the women alone.
Question #112: When the narrator's brother hears that food may be available if he waits, what does he decide to do?
a) Keep going.
b) Go find food.
c) Wait.
d) Demand food from other evacuees.
Question #113: When the men attack the two women in the cart, what are they trying to do?
a) Take the cart.
b) Take their valuables.
c) Kidnap the women.
d) Kill the women.
Question #114: Who ultimately kills the men who are attacking the two women?
a) The younger woman.
b) The narrator's brother.
c) A passerby.
d) The older woman.
Question #115: Why does the narrator say that he recounted the story of his brother?
a) To show the evacuation of his brother's city.
b) To show how brave his brother is.
c) To show how much strong he is than his brother.
d) His own story was getting boring.
Question #116: How does the narrator say many people were acting towards each other during the Martian invasion?
a) Unkindly.
b) Generously.
c) Indifferently.
d) Violently.
Question #117: As the narrator's brother travels with the two women, what does he hear about London?
a) The Martians have taken it over.
b) The Martians have burned it to the ground.
c) The military is on the way there.
d) The military has killed the Martians there.
Question #118: When the narrator's brother meets the Committee of Public Safety, what do they do?
a) Steal his horse.
b) Give him food.
c) Give him money.
d) Fight him.
Question #119: Where did the government officials go when the Martians attacked London?
a) Birmingham.
b) Nottingham.
c) Gloucester.
d) Lancaster.
Question #120: What is the Thunder Child?
a) A warship.
b) A tank.
c) A large gun.
d) A horse.
Question #121: How long do the curate and the narrator stay in the first house?
a) Two days.
b) One day.
c) Seven hours.
d) One week.
Question #122: Where is the first house in which the curate and narrator take refuge?
a) Halliford.
b) Twickenham.
c) Kew.
d) Leatherhead.
Question #123: Why does the curate go with the narrator after they leave the first house?
a) He does not want to be alone.
b) He thinks that the narrator is a good leader.
c) He does not want the narrator to be left alone.
d) The narrator may be able to help him get home.
Question #124: Where do the curate and narrator first see other people?
a) Twickenham.
b) Halliford.
c) Kew.
d) Leatherhead.
Question #125: When he travels with the curate, what does the narrator start calling the tripods?
a) Martian fighting machines.
b) Death machines.
c) Spiders.
d) Octopi.
Question #126: When the narrator and curate take refuge in a house near Kew, what happens to the house?
a) A cylinder falls next to it and destroys part of it.
b) A Martian tripod destroys part of it.
c) The curate knocks out some of the windows.
d) It is so old that boards start to fall off of the walls.
Question #127: Where do the narrator and curate sleep in the ruined house?
a) In a scullery.
b) In the kitchen.
c) In the basement.
d) In the attic.
Question #128: On the first morning in the ruined house, how does the narrator see outside?
a) There is an opening in the wall.
b) There is a small window.
c) He opens the door.
d) He can't.
Question #129: From the ruined house, the narrator sees that the Martian "tripods" actually have how many legs?
a) Five.
b) Four.
c) Two.
d) Six.
Question #130: Where are the Martian's ears located?
a) On the back of their heads.
b) On their foreheads.
c) Next to their mouths.
d) On their hands.
Question #131: What do the Martians eat?
a) Blood.
b) Small animals.
c) Insects.
d) Rocks and other minerals.
Question #132: What did the Martians bring with them in the cylinders?
a) Small animals.
b) Plants.
c) Books.
d) Materials to build dwellings.
Question #133: When the curate and the narrator are trapped in the ruined house, how much does the curate eat?
a) More than his share.
b) About half of the food.
c) Only a little food.
d) Nothing.
Question #134: When the curate and the narrator are hiding in the ruined house, how much does the curate sleep?
a) Very little.
b) All night.
c) All day.
d) He and the narrator sleep in shifts throughout the day.
Question #135: Just after the house is ruined, what does the curate spend most days doing?
a) Crying.
b) Planning his escape.
c) Looking for food.
d) Praying.
Question #136: How does the narrator attempt to keep the curate from using up their resources?
a) He fights him.
b) He pleads with him.
c) He promises to get more soon.
d) He hides most things from the curate.
Question #137: As he watches from the ruined house, the narrator sees a Martian pick up a person from where?
a) A cage.
b) A cart.
c) A house.
d) A bush.
Question #138: What does the narrator see the Martians do from the ruined house?
a) Kill a little boy.
b) Build another weapon.
c) Force humans to fight with them.
d) Fight with each other.
Question #139: The curate drinks the last bottle of what beverage?
a) Wine.
b) Soda.
c) Beer.
d) Water.
Question #140: Why does the narrator hit the curate over the head?
a) The curate was yelling at the Martians.
b) The curate drank the last of their supply.
c) The curate is annoying.
d) The curate threatens him.
Question #141: What does the narrator use to hit the curate in the head?
a) A meat chopper.
b) An axe.
c) A chair.
d) A cart wheel.
Question #142: Where does the narrator hide after he hits the curate?
a) In the basement.
b) In the attic.
c) In a closet.
d) Behind some shelves.
Question #143: When the Martian tentacle reaches into the ruined house, what does it take?
a) A lump of coal.
b) A doorknob.
c) A chair leg.
d) A piece of glass.
Question #144: How long did the curate and the narrator hide in the house before the narrator hit the curate?
a) Six days.
b) Five weeks.
c) Seven days.
d) Three weeks.
Question #145: Where was the curate's body before the Martians took it?
a) The kitchen.
b) The bathroom.
c) The living room.
d) The bedroom.
Question #146: How does the author risk his safety on his tenth day in the ruined house?
a) He pumps water.
b) He trys to signal for help.
c) He tries to find the curate's body.
d) He ventures outside to investigate the Martians.
Question #147: Where does the narrator find food in the ruined house after the curate dies?
a) He doesn't.
b) The backyard.
c) The basement.
d) The scullery.
Question #148: What animal does the narrator hear on his fifteenth day in the ruined house?
a) A dog.
b) A cat.
c) A bird.
d) A mouse.
Question #149: What does the narrator plan to do with the animal he hears outside of the house?
a) Trap and eat it.
b) Keep it for company.
c) Bait the Martians with it.
d) Save it as a present for his wife.
Question #150: How much time did the narrator spend in the ruined house in total?
a) Fifteen days.
b) Two weeks.
c) Four days.
d) Two months.
Question #151: Where does the narrator search for food after he leaves the ruined house?
a) A garden.
b) A shed.
c) Another house.
d) A squirrel's den.
Question #152: How does the narrator feel when he first leaves the ruined house?
a) Like he is under Martian control.
b) Hopeful that he will find his wife.
c) Upset about what happened with the curate.
d) Lonely and hopeless.
Question #153: How did the narrator get into a yard near the ruined house?
a) Went around a wall.
b) Knocked down a wall.
c) Broke into the house in front of it.
d) Climbed a fence.
Question #154: What does the narrator find to eat after he decides to leave the ruined house?
a) Carrots.
b) Potatoes.
c) A rodent.
d) Bread.
Question #155: What color is the weed that seems to be everywhere around the ruined house?
a) Red.
b) Yellow.
c) Green.
d) Brown.
Question #156: Right after he leaves the ruined house, what does the narrator begin to believe?
a) He is the only living person in the area.
b) He will find his wife somewhere.
c) The military will find him soon.
d) He should try to bargain with the Martians.
Question #157: Where does the narrator sleep when he gets to Putney Hill?
a) An inn.
b) An abadoned house.
c) A tree.
d) A wagon.
Question #158: Where does the narrator find the soldier who he was traveling with earlier in the story?
a) Wimbledon Common.
b) The Sleeping Dog Inn.
c) A tavern.
d) A trench.
Question #159: What is the soldier holding when the narrator finds him for the second time?
a) A machete.
b) A gun.
c) A spear.
d) Binoculars.
Question #160: The soldier believes that the Martians have built a machine that can do what?
a) Fly.
b) Jump long distances.
c) Capture humans.
d) Plant food.
Question #161: What does the soldier want to do in order to ensure that he survives?
a) Build an underground colony.
b) Hide in a nearby house.
c) Find other members of the military.
d) Flee to Ireland.
Question #162: How is the soldier who the narrator travels with best described?
a) Lazy.
b) Brave.
c) Intelligent.
d) Wrathful.
Question #163: Where does the narrator hear a Martian crying out?
a) Kensington.
b) Southwark.
c) Brent.
d) Camden.
Question #164: What does the Martian cry sound like?
a) "Ulla, ulla."
b) "Yip, yip."
c) "Ack, ack."
d) "Baru, baru."
Question #165: Where does the narrator find food after he meets with the soldier for the second time?
a) A pub.
b) A house.
c) A cart.
d) The soldier has it.
Question #166: When the narrator hears the Martian cry, why does he walk towards it?
a) He wants to kill himself.
b) He wants to kill it.
c) He wants to see it up close.
d) He wants to see if it is still alive.
Question #167: What killed the Martians?
a) Bacteria.
b) Birds.
c) A bomb.
d) Water.
Question #168: About how many dead Martians does the narrator see after he hears the Martian cry?
a) Fifty.
b) One hundred.
c) One thousand.
d) Twenty.
Question #169: After the narrator walks toward the Martian, who takes him in?
a) A family.
b) A convent.
c) A soldier.
d) A shopkeeper.
Question #170: What is the name of the song that the narrator invents?
a) The Last Man Alive.
b) The One Survivor.
c) The Invincible Man.
d) The Last One Standing.
Question #171: How long does the narrator stay in the house after he is found wandering the streets?
a) Four days.
b) One week.
c) One day.
d) Three weeks.
Question #172: How does the narrator get to Woking near the end of the conflict?
a) A train.
b) A horse.
c) A wagon.
d) He walks.
Question #173: What does the narrator find out about his house when he returns to it?
a) No one has been in it since he left.
b) It has been destroyed.
c) It has been robbed.
d) Someone was staying there.
Question #174: When the narrator returns to his house, who is in front of it?
a) His wife.
b) Ogilvy.
c) The soldier.
d) His brother.
Question #175: How did the heat ray operate?
a) No one knows.
b) It had a flint inside.
c) The Martians blew into it.
d) A strange chemical was inside.
Question #176: What does the narrator think that the government should do when the invasion ends?
a) Prepare for another invasion.
b) Announce a national holiday.
c) Provide funding to rebuild cities.
d) Hire scientists to find out more about the Martians.
Question #177: Why does the narrator think that the Martians may not come back to Earth?
a) They cannot live on Earth.
b) They did not find what they needed on Earth.
c) They will ultimately be defeated by humans.
d) There are not enough of them to colonize Earth.
Question #178: What other planet have the Martians invaded?
a) Venus.
b) Mercury.
c) Mars.
d) Neptune.
Question #179: What does the narrator think is the lesson of his story?
a) Earth is not safe from invaders.
b) People reveal their true selves in a crisis.
c) Humans should try to explore space.
d) Humans should try to make peace with the Martians.
Question #180: What is the main theme of the narrator's story?
a) People reveal their true selves in a crisis.
b) Earth is not safe from invaders.
c) Humans should try to explore space.
d) Humans should try to make peace with the Martians.
Short Questions & Answers
Question #1: Why did scientists think that Mars could not support life?
Answer #1: Scientists thought that Mars could not support life because it receives only half the amount of light and
heat that Earth does, and its gravitational pull is much less than Earth's.
Question #2: What fact did scientists overlook, when considering whether Mars could support life?
Answer #2: The fact that scientists overlooked, when considering whether Mars could support life, was that Mars
does have air, even though it contains a different percentage of the elements than Earth's air does.
Question #3: What is the narrator's theory about why the Martians came to Earth?
Answer #3: The narrator's theory about why the Martians came to Earth is that Mars's atmosphere began to cool, and
their resources became scarce. Earth's warmer climate, and its amount of water and vegetation, made it an attractive
place for the Martians to go.
Question #4: How did the Martian invasion begin, and how did people generally react?
Answer #4: The Martian invasion began when two jets of flaming gas came towards Earth's atmosphere in the night.
People generally did not take much note of this at first; there was only a small mention of the event in one newspaper.
Only Ogilvy, a local astronomer, seemed interested in the event.
Question #5: What is different about the flaming gas jets from usual shooting stars, and what do people think they are
at first?
Answer #5: What is different about the flaming gas jets from usual shooting stars is that they are followed by a
greenish gas. At first, people think that they must be meteorites, not shooting stars.
Question #6: What does Ogilvy observe about the object when he first sees it?
Answer #6: When he first sees it, Ogilvy observes that the object is a large cylinder. It is very hot to the touch, and
heats the air around it. The top of the cylinder is twisting off.
Question #7: What does Ogilvy think is twisting off the top of the cylinder?
Answer #7: Ogilvy thinks that a man is twisting off the top of the cylinder. He thinks that the man must be trapped
inside, and that he must be roasting alive from the heat.
Question #8: How do people react when Ogilvy runs to the village for help, and why?
Answer #8: When Ogilvy runs to the village for help, most people think that he must be out of his mind. Only one
reporter believes him enough to follow him back to the village. People react this way because they feel invulnerable to
outside attacks, and do not believe that there could be any intelligent life anywhere but Earth.
Question #9: When people first gather on the common, what do they think is in the cylinder? Why do you think this is
so?
Answer #9: When people first gather on the common, they think that nothing is in the cylinder. I think that this is so
because no one believes that there is life on Mars, and even if they do, they do not believe that anything in the cylinder
could have survived the impact. People assume that any sentient life must be human, or similar to human beings.
Question #10: How do those who first see the cylinder feel about it in general, and why do you think they feel this
way?
Answer #10: Those who first see the cylinder generally do not believe that it is any threat to them. I think that they feel
this way because at the time the novel was written, England was a very strong and well-defended country, and those
who lived there felt invincible to outside threats.
Question #11: When the narrator returns to the common on the second day, who is in the pit, what are they doing,
and why?
Answer #11: When the narrator returns to the common on the second day, a group of men including Henderson and
Ogilvy are in the pit. They are trying to uncover the cylinder. They do this because seem to feel curious about what it is,
not afraid of it.
Question #12: What kind of newspaper coverage does the cylinder receive on the second day? What might this
predict?
Answer #12: The cylinder still receives very little coverage in the newspapers on the second day. Only the early
edition of a paper in London covered it, and it said that Woking had received a message from Mars. There is still not
much interest in the cylinder. This might predict that arrogance will be the downfall of many people, as they fail to take
the Martian threat seriously until it is too late.
Question #13: Describe what the Martians look like.
Answer #13: The Martians look nothing like humans. They are large gray-brown masses, with disk shaped eyes and
tentacles. They have no legs, and have four arm-like appendages on both sides of their mouths.
Question #14: When people first see the Martians, how do they feel about them? When and why does this change?
Answer #14: When people first see the Martians, they stand and watch, indicating that they are curious about them,
but do not fear them. This changes when a Martian falls into the pit, because a man fell into shortly before, and after the
Martian falls in, the crowd hears a scream from the pit.
Question #15: Just before the first Heat-Ray, what does a group of people attempt to do? Why do you think this did
not work?
Answer #15: Before the first Heat-Ray, a group of people attempts to get close to the pit and wave a white flag, to
show that they mean no harm. I think this did not work because the Martians intend to wipe out the plant, regardless of
how the humans react to them, and also because the humans falsely assume that Martians will know what waving a
white flag indicates.
Question #16: What weapon do the Martians use when the first cylinder opens, and how does this change the story?
Answer #16: When the first cylinder opens, the Martians use a heat-ray weapon that causes everything nearby to
burst into flames. It also shoots a cloud of black smoke that is toxic to humans. This changes the story because it marks
the first time humans realize that they should fear the Martians. It also indicates that the Martians have studied humans
enough to know how to kill them, so their intentions for Earth are now clear.
Question #17: Right after the Martians first use the heat-ray, what do people know about how the weapon works?
Answer #17: Right after the Martians first use the heat-ray, people do not know very much about how the weapon
works. All they know about the weapon is that it shoots an invisible beam of heat, and does not burn using flame or light.
Question #18: How far does news of the heat-ray spread after the first attack? What might this indicate?
Answer #18: After the first attack, news of the heat-ray does not spread past the community of Woking. This might
indicate either that people are afraid to investigate and report the attack, or that people are assuming that the Army can
deal with the Martians quickly.
Question #19: When the narrator returns to town after the first heat-ray, how do people react to the news he brings?
Answer #19: When the narrator returns to town after the first heat-ray, no one has heard about the heat-ray yet, and
no one seems to take the news very seriously. Most people seem to think that a big fuss is being made over nothing.
Question #20: When the narrator returns home after the first heat-ray, how does he attempt to reassure his wife, and
himself?
Answer #20: When the narrator returns home after the first heat-ray, he attempts to reassure his wife, and himself,
that the Martians move too slowly to be any threat to them, and that dropping on artillery shell into the pit in the common
would kill all of the Martians.
Question #21: Why does the newspaper editor in London refuse to print a story about the Martians?
Answer #21: The newspaper editor in London refuse to print a story about the Martians because he found the report
from Henderson entirely unbelievable. The editor tried to contact Henderson to verify his report, but (unknown to the
editor) Henderson died in the first heat-ray attack.
Question #22: How do people in Woking initially react to news of the Martian attack?
Answer #22: Initially, the people of Woking do not react much at all to the news of the Martian attack. They go on with
their lives as usual. Occasionally, there is a rumor of someone who went too close to the pit, and got killed by the
heat-ray, but this still does not disrupt everyday life very much for the people of Woking.
Question #23: After the first heat-ray, why are the milkman and the train reassuring to the narrator?
Answer #23: After the first heat-ray, the milkman and the train are reassuring to the narrator because they are signs
that his life is continuing on as normal, despite how afraid he is of the Martians.
Question #24: Why does the author take his wife to his cousin's house? What is the state of the town at that point?
Answer #24: The author takes his wife to his cousin's house, because he finally realizes that life cannot continue on
as normal, because it is no longer safe in Woking. The town is in a complete state of panic as everyone tries to
evacuate to safety.
Question #25: Describe the object that the narrator refers to as "The Thing."
Answer #25: The object that the narrator refers to as "The Thing" appears to be a tripod, with a large disk on top of its
legs. It has flexible tentacles for arms, and is over one hundred feet tall. The Martians use it for transport, and also as a
weapon.
Question #26: What happened to the man who rented the narrator the horse and cart? What message do you think
this event is supposed to send to the reader?
Answer #26: The man who rented the narrator the horse and cart was killed by the Martians before the narrator came
back to Woking. I think that the message that this event is supposed to send to the reader is that the narrator and his
wife left just in time to escape - this builds suspense for the reader. Also, if the man had a horse and cart, he may have
escaped instead of the narrator. Therefore, he sacrificed his life for the narrator, in a way.
Question #27: When the narrator first meets the artilleryman, what does the soldier say happened to his unit?
Answer #27: When the narrator first meets the artilleryman, the soldier says that the rest of his unit was killed when
the Martians attacked the night before. The Martian disks rose out of the cylinders and onto the tripods, and wiped out
the town. The artilleryman was stuck under a pile of dead and burned bodies as a result.
Question #28: What is the significance of the artilleryman's story?
Answer #28: The significance of the artilleryman's story is that it is a firsthand account of the Martian's destructive
capabilities. It coveys the full desperation of the human's situation to the reader.
Question #29: What are the citizens of Weybridge doing when the narrator and artilleryman arrive?
Answer #29: When the narrator and artilleryman arrive in Weybridge, the citizens there are calmly packing their
belongings and preparing to evacuate. This is because they have not heard about the devastation that the Martians
have already caused.
Question #30: What happens to one of the Martian tripods at the Thames River? What is the significance of this
event?
Answer #30: At the Thames River, a hidden group of soldiers brings down one of the Martian tripods with artillery
shells. The significance of this event is that it shows that the Martians can be killed, and this gives hope to both the
narrator and the reader.
Question #31: How does the narrator get across the Thames? What does this show about his character?
Answer #31: The narrator gets across the Thames by getting into a small boat and paddling through the boiling water
with his hands. This shows that he is a strong character, willing to go through many trials in order to reach his goal.
Question #32: How is the curate acting when the narrator first meets him? What does this show about him?
Answer #32: When the narrator first meets the curate, he is in a panic and is asking why God would let such horrible
things happen. He says that he does not see the point in going on. This shows that even though he is supposed to be a
man of great faith, he is in fact cowardly and willing to give up easily in a crisis.
Question #33: How does the narrator's brother feel about the safety of the narrator at first, and why?
Answer #33: At first, the narrator's brother is not very concerned for the narrator's safety, because the Martians have
not yet been reported as a threat in the London newspapers.
Question #34: Why do you think the narrator included the story of his brother?
Answer #34: I think that the narrator included the story of his brother in order to show two things. First, the brother's
story shows how deeply the people of London believe in their superiority to those who live in the country. Second, this
story illustrates the grand scale of the devastating Martian invasion.
Question #35: What new weapon do the Martians reveal in Surrey? What does this reveal about Martian technology?
Answer #35: The new weapon that the Martians reveal in Surrey is a black tube that emits black smoke that is lethal
to humans. This reveals that Martian technology is very advanced and that the Martians are able to adapt their
technology very quickly.
Question #36: What does the black tube weapon reveal about the Martian's intentions?
Answer #36: The black tube weapon reveals that the Martian's intention is to exterminate as many humans as
possible. With the revelation of this weapons, the reader now has no doubt that the Martians plan to wipe out humans
completely.
Question #37: What does the narrator's brother do for the women in the carriage? What does this reveal about his
character?
Answer #37: The narrator's brother helps rescue the women in the carriage from a group of robbers, at risk to his own
safety. This reveals that he is a noble and selfless character.
Question #38: When the narrator's brother hears rumors that food supplies may soon arrive, how does he respond?
What does this reveal about him?
Answer #38: When the narrator's brother hears rumors that food supplies may soon arrive, he responds by moving on
rather than staying to wait for food that may never come, at the risk of their safety. This reveals that he is a persistent
and strong character.
Question #39: What does the "Committee of Public Safety" do to the narrator's brother, and what does this reveal
about human nature?
Answer #39: The "Committee of Public Safety" seizes the narrator's brother's horse, forcing him to continue on foot.
This reveals that it is human nature for those who are already greedy to take advantage of crisis for their own gain.
Question #40: What does the Thunder Child do to the Martian tripods? How does this change the story?
Answer #40: The Thunder Child destroys two Martian tripods. This changes the story because it gives those who
witness the battle hope; it shows that the Martians can be defeated.
Question #41: What is the state of the narrator's relationship with the curate when they stay in Halliford, and why?
Answer #41: The state of the narrator's relationship with the curate when they stay in Halliford is strained, because
the curate's attitude is increasingly nervous, and he cannot stay quiet.
Question #42: What happens to the house in Halliford, and why is this important?
Answer #42: The house is Halliford is buried under a mound of dirt after the fifth Martian cylinder falls directly next to
it. This is important because it represents the climax of the story, the point of highest emotion and suspense.
Question #43: What does the narrator discover about the Martian machines as he watches from the ruined house?
Answer #43: As he watches from the ruined house, the narrator discovers that the Martian machines are not tripods,
but actually have five legs. In addition he sees that it has may tentacles that are able to reach and grab. The machine's
joints are also very flexible.
Question #44: In the chapter that takes place in the ruined house, how does the narrator describe the Martian's
internal anatomy?
Answer #44: In the chapter that takes place in the ruined house, the narrator describes the Martian's internal anatomy
as being very different from human anatomy. The Martians do not have complicated digestive tracts, like humans;
instead, they inject themselves with the blood of living creatures in order to feed.
Question #45: When the curate and the narrator are first trapped in the ruined house, how does their conflict begin to
intensify?
Answer #45: When the curate and the narrator are first trapped in the ruined house, their conflict begins to intensify
when the curate's complaining and fear take over his behavior, and he begins to eat more than his share of the food,
and forgo sleep.
Question #46: As the curate and narrator fight for position at the opening in the ruined house, what do they see, and
how does the narrator react?
Answer #46: As the curate and narrator fight for position at the opening in the ruined house, they see Martians
capturing and feeding off of humans. The narrator reacts with terror, but also fascination; he wonders why the Martians
are killing so many humans, since they seem to need them for food.
Question #47: Why does the narrator hit the curate with the meat chopper?
Answer #47: The narrator hits the curate with the meat chopper because the curate has gone crazy and gotten out of
control. When the narrator tried to take the last bottle of burgundy away from them, he began complaining loudly and
yelling through the opening, risking detection by the Martians. The narrator tried to reason with him and get him to stop,
but the curate just yelled louder. Therefore, he hit him with the meat chopper to stop him.
Question #48: What happens in the ruined house that makes the narrator hide in the basement?
Answer #48: In the ruined house, the narrator hides in the basement because a Martian, attracted by his fight with the
curate, sticks a tentacle into the kitchen and touches the curate's body. Terrified, he runs to the basement to get away.
Question #49: What does the narrator plan to do when he hears the dog, and what does this show about his
situation?
Answer #49: When he hears the dog, the narrator plans to lure it inside the house so that he can kill and eat it. This
shows that his situation has become very desperate, and that he is now willing to do anything to find food.
Question #50: When the narrator leaves the ruined house, what does he find, and what does this seem to indicate?
Answer #50: When the narrator leaves the ruined house, he finds that the Martians are nowhere to be seen. The
ground is littered with the bodies of dead Martians. This seems to indicate that the Martians have retreated, or that they
have been defeated.
Question #51: When the narrator leaves the ruined house, why does he start walking toward London?
Answer #51: When the narrator leaves the ruined house, he starts walking toward London for two reasons. First, he
does not know what else to do. Second, he still has a dim hope that he can find some information about his wife.
Question #52: As the narrator walks from the ruined house toward London, what does he see, and how does this
affect his attitude?
Answer #52: As the narrator walks from the ruined house toward London, he sees no living people, only the dead
bodies of Martians and humans. This affects his attitude in that it makes him feel lonely and hopeless, and he now
believes that he is the only living person in the area.
Question #53: Who does the narrator find on Putney Hill, and what do they discuss?
Answer #53: On Putney Hill, the narrator finds the artilleryman who he traveled with earlier. They discuss what each
of them believes is the future of humanity. The narrator believes that humanity as they know it is now over, and that
soon the Martians will keep humans as pets and slaves. The artilleryman believes that they should start an underground
culture, in the drainpipes, in order to rebuild society.
Question #54: The second time in the story that the narrator interacts with the artilleryman, why is he disappointed?
Answer #54: The second time in the story that the narrator interacts with the artilleryman, he is disappointed because
the artilleryman turns out to be lazy and power-hungry. The artilleryman is only interested in rebuilding society so that he
can rule it; he is not interested in doing any actual work, or in saving his fellow man.
Question #55: After he leaves the pub, why does the narrator walk toward the Martian down the road?
Answer #55: After he leaves the pub, the narrator walks toward the Martian down the road because he has the
sudden feeling that he would like to end his life. He has lost hope completely, and no longer thinks that he has anything
to live for.
Question #56: After the narrator walks toward the dead Martian, what does he see, and why is this important?
Answer #56: After the narrator walks toward the dead Martian, he sees at least fifty dead Martians in one area. This is
important because it indicates that the invasion is over and all of the Martians have been killed.
Question #57: What happened to the narrator directly after he discovered that the invasion was over?
Answer #57: Directly after he discovered that the invasion was over, the narrator was found in the street, singing
deliriously about how he was the last man alive. This shows that he had lost hope for the future and gone nearly mad
before he saw that other people were alive.
Question #58: Describe the narrator's experience when he goes back to his house after the invasion.
Answer #58: When he goes back to his house after the invasion, the narrator finds that it has not been disturbed at all
since he left, but that his wife is not inside. Just as he starts to lose hope again, he hears voices outside, talking about
how the house is deserted. When he goes outside, he finally finds his wife and cousin.
Question #59: What killed the Martians, and why is this significant?
Answer #59: The Martians were killed by bacteria. This is significant because humans had gained an immunity from
these bacteria, since they lived around them for so long. Despite all their weapons and technology, the Martians were
killed by some of the least advanced creatures on the planet.
Question #60: In the Epilogue, what does the narrator say is the lesson of his story?
Answer #60: In the Epilogue, the narrator says that the lesson of his story is that Earth is not safe from other planets.
The people of Earth can no longer maintain their sense of superiority and safety from any other planet.
Chapter Abstract/Synopsis
* The narrator says that the Martian invasion could not have been predicted, because scientists assumed that Mars
could not support life. * The narrator theorizes that life began on Mars before Earth, and that Martians began to look to
other planets once their resources became scarce. * Ogilvy, an astronomer and friend of the narrator's, becomes excited
when two flaming gas jets speed toward Earth from Mars.
*
* A falling star is sighted, which is followed by a greenish gas. Ogilvy gets up early the next morning to try to find where
the object landed. * Ogilvy finds the object in the common. It is an extremely hot cylinder, dug deep in the earth from its
impact. The top of the cylinder starts to twist off, and believing there may be a man inside, Ogilvy runs to the village to
get help. * Ogilvy and Henderson, a reporter, go back to the cylinder. When they hit it with a stick, nothing happens. A
rumors spreads in the village that there is a dead man from Mars in the common, and the narrator decides to go an
investigate it for himself.
*
* When the narrator gets to the common, there is a group of people there staring at the cylinder. No one there thinks
that there is anything living inside. * After about two hours, the narrator goes back home. The earlier edition of the paper
there says that Woking has received a message from Mars. * When the narrator goes back to the commom, there are
many people, including Ogilvy and Henderson, trying to dig up the cylinder.
*
* Several hundred people now watch the cylinder. One man falls into the pit with it, and cannot climb out. * The cylinder
opens, and a Martian emerges. It is a large gray-brown mass, with disk-shaped eyes and tentacles. It moves awkwardly
due to the higher gravity on Earth, and then falls into the pit. Another Martian comes out of the cylinder. * The narrator
runs away from the Martians. As he does, he thinks he hears a scream coming from the pit.
* Some people have taken cover in bushes in the common, while one group goes close to the pit to wave a white flag,
including Henderson and Ogilvy. * A flame and black smoke shoot up from the cylinder, and it makes a hissing sound.
The men on the common burst into flames and are charred to death. The surrounding vegetation turned to nothing but
black ash. * The narrator stands stunned for a moment, then becomes extremely afraid and runs away.
* Forty people were killed by the Heat-Ray in the common. No one knows how the Martians killed them, since the
Heat-Ray is a beam of invisible heat. * Almost no one outside of Woking has yet heard about what happened in the
common.
* The narrator runs back towards home. On the way, he asks if anyone heard what happened in the common, but they
have not. They seem to think that a big deal is being made out of nothing. * The narrator tells his wife what happened,
but assures her that the Martians move slowly, and that the government could kill them with one artillery shell. He
wonders if the Martians are also afraid of humans.
* Henderson sent a telegram to London about the Martians, but no one believes it. Since Henderson does not respond,
his editor does not print the story because he cannot confirm it. Therefore, no one outside Woking knows about the
Martians. * People continue to go to the common to see the Martians. Anyone who ventures near the pit does not return.
* About four hundred soldiers guard the common. That night, the crowd around the common sees another cylinder
falling to Earth.
* The milkman comes to the narrator's house, and says the soldiers have been told not to kill the Martians if possible. *
The narrator goes to the common and describes the Martians to the soldiers. The soldiers argue about the best way to
deal with the Martians. * Hammering noises and smoke are coming from the pit. The Martians seem to be building
something. * Shells are dropped in the woods where the second cylinder fell, to destroy it before it opens. This destroys
a nearby college, and cracks the narrator's chimney. * The narrator no longer feels safe, and takes his wife and a
servant to Leatherhead to stay with his wife's cousin. The town is in a panic as everyone tries to evacuate.
* The narrator goes back to return the cart he borrowed for the trip to Leatherhead. As he nears his home, he sees
another falling cylinder. * His horse is spooked by lightening, and as tries to regain control of it, he sees two objects he
calls "Things." The Things are over one hundred feet tall, are look like giant tripods with large disks on top, and
tentacles extending from them. * The horse falls and breaks its neck, and the narrator hides in a trench. He runs home
soaking wet. On the way, he sees the dead body of the man from whom he borrowed the horse and cart.
* The narrator changes his clothes and eats. From his window he sees dead bodies and overturned carts in the streets.
* The narrator invites an artilleryman he sees outside to come in and eat. The artilleryman has not eaten since the day
before, and he explains the events of the previous night. * The previous night, the Martians moved the cylinder and the
metal disks covering it from the commons. The disks rose up into the Things that the narrator saw. * The artilleryman's
horse fell, and the rest of his unit was killed. He was trapped under a pile of charred bodies, and had been hiding from
the Things until he met the narrator.
* The narrator and the artillery man take as much food and whiskey as they can, and decide to take a long route of
escape. On their way, they met a lieutenant and a few soldiers who do not believe their story about the Martians. * The
soldiers tell them to go to Weybridge, where people are evacuating. No one there seems fully aware of the danger. The
soldiers in Weybridge tell people to leave now, or hide in their cellars. * Five Things appear over the hill and begin firing
Heat-Rays. The narrator jumps into the Thames and yells for everyone to do the same. * Soldiers hidden on the river
bank destroy one of the tripods with shells, and it falls into the river. Two Things take it away, while two others stand
guard. * The water temperature rises dramatically from the heat ray, but the narrator manages to escape the Martians
by staying in the water.
* New cylinders continue to fall. The narrator paddles across the boiling river in a boat, using his hands. * On the other
bank, the narrator meets a curate. The curate asks why God would let this invasion happen, and sees no point in going
on. * The narrator tries to console the curate by saying that a Martian has been killed, so they are mortal. * They hear
gunfire, and begin traveling north together. The curate remains gloomy and hopeless.
* The narrator's brother is a medical student in London. The papers there have not reported much about at the invasion.
* The narrator's brother tries several times to take a train and check on his brother, but there is no service. * Reports in
the papers become more and more alarming. People coming to London on the trains say that people are evacuating.
The narrator's brother believes the narrator to be dead. * In the middle of the night, police run down the streets, yelling
for people to evacuate before the Martians arrive. The narrator's brother gets his money and leaves.
* Martians advance on Surrey and begin to march north. Hidden soldiers destroy one of the feet of the tripods, but the
Martian inside comes out and repairs it. * More tripods join the march. They pass out black tubes to the other tripods.
These black tubes are new weapons that they have built, and they emit a black smoke that is fatal to humans. They can
now massacre humans on a large scale. * The tripods continue to march north toward London.
* The narrator's brother cannot find transportation, and the streets are filled with citizens trying to evacuate. He takes a
bike from a shop that is being looted, and rides it until it breaks. * He runs into two women on a carriage. A group of men
are trying to steal their carriage. The narrator's brother almost fights them off, but they get up. The younger woman in
the carriage shoots the robbers. * The three of them agree to travel together. The older woman is very emotional, but
the younger is strong and logical. They begin traveling north toward Harwich. * The group travels through a street full of
people evacuating. As they try to get through, they see people becoming violent and uncaring. They finally get through,
and continue north. * Along the way, the group hears rumors that food will arrive soon, if they wait. They decide to press
on in order to get farther away from the danger.
* The narrator explains that he is writing of his brother's escape in order to illustrate the terror and chaos in London. *
The Martians have taken over London, and half of the members of the government are now hiding in Birmingham. * The
group's pony is seized, and they continue on foot. They negotiate passage on a crowded paddleboat down the river.
Next to this boat is a large warship called the Thunder Child. * The Thunder Child rocks their paddleboat as it speeds
towards the shore. It fires shells at two tripods, which fall.
* The narrator and curate stay for two days in an abandoned house. Annoyed by the curate, the narrator locks himself in
a room and worries about his wife. He tells himself that the Martians must have gone toward London and not
Leatherhead. * The narrator and curate start towards Leatherhead. The curate, still very afraid, only goes because he
does not want to be left alone. * Near Kew, they see several Martians. As they hide, they see the Martians picking up
humans and putting them in cages. * The pair finds another house, stocked with food. A fifth cylinder crashes into the
house next to them, burying them under a pile of dirt. They hear hammering from the new pit.
* From the ruined house, the narrator sees one of the fighting machines up close. It actually has five legs, which are
very flexible and capable of grabbing and carrying things. * He also sees a Martian. It is only a head, with four hands on
each side of its mouth. It has an eardrum on the back of its head. They do not eat or sleep; instead, they inject
themselves with the blood of living things. Dead creatures found in the cylinders later seem to have been used for this
purpose. * Red plants sprout up near water sources the Martians have visited. * Martians do not wear clothing. Instead,
they crawl into different complex machines for different purposes.
* The curate begins to go insane. He eats more than his share of the food, sleeps little, and weeps frequently. The
narrator fights him just to stop him from eating all of the food. * The two fight over position at the opening in the wall, so
that they can see the Martians. They see the Martians feed off of the humans in the cages.
* The narrator sees the curate drinking the last bottle of wine in the house. They fight, and the curate starts yelling
loudly through the opening in the wall. The narrator cannot reason with him. * The narrator hits the curate with the blunt
end of a meat chopper and knocks him out. * A Martian tentacle reaches into the kitchen and touches the curate. The
narrator hides in the basement. A tentacle unlocks the door to the cellar, touches his boot, then grabs a piece of coal
and leaves. * The narrator stays still for a long time. On his eleventh day in the house, he finally goes to the kitchen.
* In the kitchen, the narrator finds that the Martians have taken the curate and the rest of the food. He spends the next
few days with no food, only water. * The narrator hears a dog a few days later, and decides to see if he can kill and eat
it. From the opening, he sees that the Martians are gone. He leaves the house on the fifteenth day.
* The narrator digs for vegetables in a nearby garden, then starts walking to London. * He finds no one, only dead
bodies, and thinks that he must be the only living person in the area.
* The narrator sleeps in an inn, thinking of the curate and his wife. The next day, he decides to go toward Leatherhead
to try to find some information about her. * On the way, he sees a man holding a machete. It is the artilleryman who he
traveled with earlier. They talk about the future of humanity. * The narrator thinks that human civilization as they know it
is over. The artilleryman believes that they will have to move to the sewers to escape the Martians, and will one day be
able to use their own machines against them. * The narrator soon realizes that the soldier is selfish, and only wants to
eat, drink, and think about ruling his own colony. The narrator wants to leave and find some information about his wife.
* The narrator leaves the soldier and heads toward London. Near the center of the city, he hears the constant cry of a
Martian. * The narrator finds some food in a pub, and falls asleep. He awakes to the Martian cry. He begins exploring. *
He sees a damaged Martian fighting machine, with pieces of dead Martians inside. The Martian cry stops suddenly. He
sees a Martian down the road. * The narrator suddenly feels as if he would like to die, and walks toward the Martian. As
he does, he realizes it is dead. He counts more than fifty dead Martians in the area. * All of the Martians are dead, killed
by bacteria on Earth to which humans had become immune. The narrator imagines survivors returning to their homes.
* The narrator recounts what he has been told of the next three days, as he does not remember them. A family found
him in the street, delirious and singing, and took him in for four days. * When he is well again, he walks to the train, and
takes a free ride home. His neighbor greets him as he walks down his street. * The narrator's house is just as he had left
it. He goes inside, and finds that no one seems to have been inside since he left. He loses hope of finding his wife there.
* Outside, he hears people talking. He walks outside to find his cousin and his wife. She faints, and he catches her.
* Scientists have learned much from examining the Martian's bodies, as well as their tools and machines. They still do
not know how their Heat-Ray machine or poison gas worked. * The narrator believes that they should prepare for
another invasion, although it may never come, since the Martians cannot live on Earth. The Martians have invaded
Venus. * The narrator believes that the lesson of this experience was that Earth is not safe from other planets, as
everyone had previously believed. * The lesson of his personal story was that crisis reveals a person's true character.
Daily Lessons
Objective: The author spends a great deal of the first chapter explaining why people never expected an invasion from
Mars. This sets up a major theme of the novel: that humans, and the English in particular, feel superior to others and
immune to outside attack. In this lesson, the students will describe the reasons why humans feel superior, and examine
the author's treatment of this theme in the first chapter.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Why did humans never expect the invasion from Mars?
Why did humans feel that there could not be life on Mars? What evidence is there in the book so far that humans feel
superior to any other races that could exist? 2) Pairs activity: Make a list of the reasons that the English, in particular,
felt superior to those of other nationalities. Use evidence from the story. 3) Debate: The author asks "Are we such
apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?" Explain what the author means by this. Do
you agree with his reasoning? Why or why not? 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, explain why you think the author
began the novel by explaining human beings' feeling of superiority.
Objective: Understanding the concept of narrative voice is crucial to comprehending this story, and why it is written
the way it is. In this lesson, the students will describe the narrative voice of the story, and predict how this voice will
affect the narrative as the invasion begins.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What do we learn about the narrator from the first
chapter? Where is he from? To what social class do you think he belongs? What was his attitude about the gas jets
when he first spotted them? 2) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, explain why the narrative is in past
tense. What does this indicate about the narrator's experience? Why did he choose to write his story? 3) Pairs activity:
Discuss the concept of narrative voice. How would you describe the narrative voice of the story, based on this first
chapter and the class discussion? How do you think this will affect the story? Share your answers with the class. 4) For
homework: In a few paragraphs, describe how the narrator is different from others in his community. How do you think
his attitude will affect his description of the Martian invasion?
Objective: In Chapter Two, the narrator describes the media's flippant reaction to the Martian invasion. In this lesson,
the students will examine the media's treatment of the invasion, and describe how this affected the villagers of Woking.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: How do the local newspapers react to news of the
invasion at first? Do they seem concerned about the invasion? How do you know? 2) Pairs activity: Describe how the
newspapers portrayed the cylinder crash in this chapter. Discuss why you think they portrayed it this way. Share your
answers with the class. 3) Individual writing activity: In a few paragraphs, answer these questions: How do the villagers
react to news of the cylinder at first? Do you think the newspaper coverage of the crash has affected their reaction to it?
How? 4) For homework: Write a short article, based on what you think the newspaper article in the Daily Chronicle said.
Be sure to incorporate what you discussed in class.
Objective: In Chapter Two, Ogilvy and the narrator, the two characters with scientific backgrounds, have mixed
reactions to the cylinder crash. In this lesson, the students will analyze how the scientific community has reacted to the
invasion so far.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What scientific knowledge do we have so far about the
invasion? What conclusions does Ogilvy draw about the cylinder in this chapter? Why? 2) Pairs activity: Describe
Ogilvy's attitude toward the cylinder. Explain why Ogilvy assumes that there must be a man inside the cylinder. What
does this say about Ogilvy? 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe why both the narrator and
Ogilvy are more excited about the cylinder than afraid of it. 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, analyze what Ogilvy
and the narrator's reaction to the cylinder says about the assumptions of the scientific community in general.
Objective: In Chapter Three, a newspaper in London prints a story that says that a message has been received from
Mars. This is just one example of how a lack of effective communication has compounded the problem of the Martian
invasion. In this lesson, the students will study how poor communication has effected the story so far.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Explain how news of the invasion has traveled so far.
Have the people of Woking been given accurate information? How about in London? 2) Pairs activity: Discuss what the
newspaper in London says about the cylinder crash. How is this an example of a bad communication? 3) Individual
writing activity: In a few paragraphs, describe who knows about the invasion, and what they have each told other people
about the cylinder. 4) For homework: In at least one paragraph, describe how poor communication has made the
Martian invasion an even worse problem for the humans.
Objective: In Chapter Three, interest in the cylinder increases, but no one prepares for any negative consequences of
the cylinder crash. This foreshadows the coming conflict. In this lesson, the students will define the concept of
foreshadowing, and evaluate how this technique has been used in War of the Worlds so far.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: In your own words, describe the concept of foreshadowing.
Choose at least one instance of foreshadowing from what you have read of War of the Worlds so far. Explain to the
class why the passage you picked is an example of foreshadowing. 2) Individual writing activity: In at least one
paragraph, explain the purpose of using foreshadowing in a story. What is the author trying to accomplish by using this
technique? 3) Class discussion: How does the author use foreshadowing in Chapter Three? How is the unscrewing of
the top of the cylinder an example of foreshadowing? 4) For homework: In at least one paragraph, describe what you
think the author is foreshadowing with his description of the unscrewing of the cylinder. What do you think is inside? Be
specific.
Objective: This chapter offers the first description of the Martians' appearance. In this lesson, the students will
compare and contrast human beings to what the reader knows about the Martians so far.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What comes out of the cylinder? What does the Martian
look like? Why is it difficult for them to move? What happened to the man who fell into the pit? What are the Martian's
intentions? 2) Pairs activity: Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the Martian's appearance to human's. You
may also draw the Martians if you wish. Share your description with the class. 3) Individual writing activity: In a few
paragraphs, describe what the villagers may have expected the Martians to look like. Why do you think they thought
this? What does this say about them? 4) For homework: In at least one paragraph, describe what you thought would
come out of the cylinder, and explain why you thought so.
Objective: In this chapter, the Martians launch their first attack on the humans, and the students now have enough
information to make predictions about the Martian's goals. In this lesson, the students will analyze the Martian attack,
and make predictions about what the Martians may plan to do next.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What do the humans attempt to do when they go closer
to the pit? What is ironic about this? What does the the heat-ray do? 2) Pairs activity: Describe in detail how the
heat-ray seems to function. Is there a human weapon like this? When was this novel written? What do you think was the
most advanced military weapon available at the time? 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe
why you think the Martians shot the heat-ray. Were they defending themselves from a perceived threat, or do you think
they planned to kill the humans all along? 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, describe why you think the Martians
came to Earth. What do they intend to do? Use evidence from the story to support your conclusions.
Objective: The narrator uses this chapter in order to give information the Martian heat-ray that he gained later,
interwoven with his flashback portrayal of his ordeal. In this lesson, the students will examine how and why the author
uses the flashback technique in this narrative.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: How does the author use flashbacks in this chapter?
Why do you think he uses this technique? What does this accomplish? 2) Pairs activity: Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of using the flashback technique. What does it allow the author to do? What might be some problems
with this technique? 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe what information the reader gained
from the flashback in Chapter Six. 4) For homework: Think of a novel, movie, or television show that uses flashbacks
frequently. In a few paragraphs, compare and contrast this to how the author has used flashbacks in War of the Worlds.
Objective: By this point in the novel, both the narrator and other characters have shown fear and disrespect towards
those who are different from themselves. The humans still assume that they will defeat the Martians, because they
believe that their race is superior. In this lesson, the students will analyze how the human's treatment of the Martians is a
metaphor for humans' discrimination against each other.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: How do many people think that the Martians will be
defeated? Why do they have confidence that this will happen? 2) Pairs activity: Think about the time period in which the
novel was written. Discuss the different types of discrimination that you think may have been present in England at this
time. Share your answers with the class. 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe how the
English seem to feel about their vulnerability to outside invaders. Why do you think this is the case? 4) For homework: In
a few paragraphs, analyze how the author has described people of other races and ethnicities so far. How does this
relate to the humans' reaction to the Martians?
Objective: This chapter includes many suspenseful descriptions of the top of the cylinder unscrewing. In this lesson,
the students will assess how the author creates suspense in War of the Worlds.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Why do you think that the author spent so much time
describing the cylinder unscrewing? After the man fell into the pit and died, why do you think that the author has chosen
to include this chapter, where everything is relatively calm? 2) Debate: Why have the residents of Woking fallen back
into their routine? Do you think that they are being arrogant, or just hoping the threat will go away? Use evidence from
the text to support your points. 3) Individual writing assignment: In at least one paragraph, describe the general feeling
you get from this chapter. How specifically, did the author give you this feeling? 4) For homework: Think of a very
suspensful novel or movie. In a few paragraphs, describe how that storyline compares to that of War of the Worlds.
Objective: In Chapter Nine, the narrator lies to the cart owner in order to rent his last cart. In this lesson, the students
will form an opinion on whether they think it is acceptable to use deception to save oneself.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Why did the cart owner agree to rent the narrator his last
cart? What lie does the narrator tell the owner of the cart? Why does he do this? 2) Debate: Do you think that the
narrator did the right thing by lying to the cart owner? Why or why not? 3) Individual writing activity: In a few paragraphs,
answer the following questions: What do you think will happen to the man the narrator rented the cart from? What will
the narrator do next? 4) For homework: Think of a recent crisis that you have seen in the news. Describe in a few
paragraphs how some people took advantage of that crisis, and whether you think this was justified.
Objective: In Chapter Ten, the narrator first sees the Martian tripod. In this lesson, the students will compare Martian
technology to the technology available to humans at the time.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What weapon does the narrator see in this chapter?
What makes this weapon different from anything humans could build? How does the narrator escape from this weapon?
2) Individual writing activity: In a few paragraphs, describe the time in which the novel is set. What types of military
weapons might have been available to humans at this time? 3) Pairs activity: Use a Venn diagram to compare the
Martian tripod to the strongest human weapon that you can think of that existed at the time of the story. 4) For
homework: In a few paragraphs, describe whether you think the humans can defeat the Martians, based on what you
have seen in this chapter. Why or why not?
Objective: Until the destruction in Chapter Eleven, humans maintained the belief that they were invulnerable to
outside attack. In this lesson, the students will analyze how the author uses the Martian attack to expose human
vulnerability.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Who is the artilleryman? What has happened to him
when the narrator meets him? What is the author doing when he meets the artilleryman? Why? 2) Pairs activity: Make a
list of the reasons that humans were vulnerable to a Martian attack. What attributes of humanity made them susceptible
to the invasion? Be prepared to explain your list items to the class. 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one
paragraph, describe how the humans underestimated the Martians. Why do you think they assumed that their
technology was superior? How is this proven to be false? 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, describe whether you
think the humans can overcome their vulnerabilities, and defeat the Martians. Explain why or why not.
Objective: In Chapter Twelve, the military destroys one of the Martian tripods, indicating that the Martians can be
killed. In this lesson, the students will analyze the mortality of Martians, and assess how the humans may be able to
defeat the Martians.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What happened to the Martians at Weybridge? What new
information does this give the reader about the Martians? Why does the battle in the river give hope to the humans who
saw it? 2) Pairs activity: Analyze how the humans were able to defeat the Martians at Weybridge. Compare your ideas
regarding how the Martians will respond to this defeat. 3) Individual writing activity: Answer the following questions in a
few paragraphs. How was the narrator able to escape from the Martians in Chapter Twelve? What does this indicate
about human beings in general? What attributes does this highlight about human nature? Do you think that the Martians
share this attribute? 4) For homework: Who do you think will ultimately be defeated, the Martians or the humans? Use
specific reasons based on evidence from the text.
Objective: In Chapter Thirteen, the narrator meets the curate, who is panicky, dependent, and cowardly. In this
lesson, the students will compare and contrast a new character, the curate, to the narrator.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What is the curate doing when the narrator meets him?
What is a curate? Why doesn't the curate think that there is any point in going on? 2) Pairs activity: Work together to
compare and contrast the character traits of the narrator versus those of the curate. Be prepared to share your answers
with the class. 3) Individual writing assignment: Answer the following questions in at least one paragraph. What is ironic
about the curate's attitude? What is a curate supposed to provide to people? 4) For homework: Based on the class
discussion, what do you think could be some future conflicts between the curate and the narrator? Your answer should
be at least two paragraphs long.
Objective: The narrator has previously indicated that Londoners look down on those who dwell in the country, and
this is illustrated as the story of the narrator's brother begins in this chapter. In this lesson, the students will investigate
the attitudes of Londoners toward those who live in smaller towns, and vice versa.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: How do Londoners react to news of the invasion? How is
this similar to how the villagers of Woking reacted? How is this different? 2) Pairs activity: Work together to gather
evidence from the text and answer the following questions. How do Londoners seem to feel about those who live in
small towns? How do villagers seem to view those who live in London? Why do you think that this is true? 3) Individual
writing assignment: In at least one paragraph, answer the following questions. What do these characters' prejudgments
reveal about human nature? How might this prove to be a disadvantage in this crisis? 4) For homework: In a few
paragraphs, describe whether you think this kind of prejudice still exists today. Why do you think the author chose to
include this conflict in the novel?
Objective: In this chapter, the Martians start a massive battle and reveal a new weapon that can exterminate many
humans at once. In this lesson, the students will analyze the concept of rising action in a plot.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Name some of the different parts of plot structure that
you know of. What characterizes each part? Which parts have we seen so far in War of the Worlds? 2) Individual writing
assignment: In at least one paragraph, answer the following question: What is rising action? 3) Pairs activity: Work
together to describe the points of rising action in the story so far (the points at which the action escalated). 4) For
homework: Based on the class discussions, predict in at least one paragraph what you think the climax of the story will
be after this rising action.
Objective: In this chapter, the narrator's brother proves himself to be a noble and goodhearted character .In this
lesson, the students will describe and analyze the characterization of the narrator's brother.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What happens to the narrator's brother's bicycle? What
occurred when the he came upon the carriage? How did he respond to this situation? 2) Pairs activity: What does the
narrator's brother do when he hears that food may be available soon if they wait? Why? What would you have done in
this situation? 3) Individual activity: Make a list of at least ten adjectives that describe the narrator's brother. Be prepared
to discuss your list with the class. 4) For homework: What is a protagonist? In what ways does the characterization of
the narrator's brother show him to be a protagonist?
Objective: In Chapter Seventeen, a boat captain crams his boat over capacity for extra profit - one example of a
character taking greedy advantage of the chaos around him. In this lesson, the students will examine ways in which
characters in War of the Worlds use the crisis for selfish gain.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Why does the boat captain put so many people on the
boat? What other examples of selfish behavior can you think of from the story so far? 2) Pairs activity: Think again about
when the narrator tricked the cart man out of his last cart. Do you think that was just as wrong as what the boatman did?
Discuss your reasoning with each other. 3) Individual writing activity: In a few paragraphs, answer the following
questions: Why do you think some people have a tendency to take advantage of a crisis for their own gain? What could
make someone do this? 4) For homework: Can you think of some real-life examples of people using a crisis to make a
profit or for some other gain? Compare that situation to the one we discussed in class.
Objective: In Book Two, Chapter One, a falling cylinder nearly destroys the house in which the narrator is hiding,
representing the climax of the story. In this lesson, the students will define the concept of a climax in literature, and
explain how the events of this chapter fit that definition.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: Use the internet or a reference book to find a definition of the
climax of a story. Write a definition of this literary term in your own words. 2) Class discussion: What is a climax in
literature? In what way was the action rising before this point in the story? What highly emotional event occurs in this
chapter? 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe how this chapter represents the climax of the
story, based on the definition you formed earlier in class. 4) For homework: In at least on paragraph, answer this
question. How do you think that the crashing of the cylinder near the house will serve as a turning point in the action of
the story?
Objective: In Chapter Two, the narrator gives a detailed account of the Martian's biology. In this lesson, the students
will describe the Martian's anatomy, and explain how this gives the reader new insight into the Martians' possible
motivations.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What new details does the reader gain about the
Martians in this chapter? What do they look like? How do they eat? How do they reproduce? 2) Pairs activity: Make a
table and use it to compare and contrast Martians to humans in detail. Make a list of attributes on each side based on
the new knowledge you have gained from Book Two, Chapter Two. 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one
paragraph, explain the new motivation that the Martians have for invading Earth, based on clues from this chapter. 4)
For homework: Think back to what you said at the beginning of the story, regarding why the Martians invaded Earth.
Have you changed your view on this, based on this chapter? Explain why or why not.
Objective: In Chapter Three, the narrator shows his strong will to survive, in contrast with the curate's cowardice. In
this lesson, the students will examine one of the main themes of the novel: how a crisis brings out a person's true
character.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: How is the curate acting in this chapter? Why is he acting
this way? How does the narrator react to the curate in this chapter? How does he react to what he sees outside? 2)
Pairs activity: Compare how the curate responds to a crisis to how the narrator responds. Use this information to
analyze what this response says about them as characters. 3) Debate: One of the themes of this novel is that a crisis
reveals a person's true character. Do you believe that this is true? Use evidence from the text to back up your
assertions. 4) For homework: Explain in a few paragraphs how the Martian crisis has revealed the true character of the
narrator's brother. What do you think is his function in the novel?
Objective: The narrator's conflict with the curate is resolved in this chapter when the narrator is forced to kill the
curate. In this lesson, the students will define the literary concepts of conflict and resolution, and apply those concepts
to their reading of Book Two, Chapter Four.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: Use resources available to you in your classroom to find
definitions of conflict in literature. Define the concept and purpose of conflict in literature in your own words. 2) Class
discussion: What is the main conflict in this chapter? What is the cause of that conflict? How does the narrator resolve
that conflict? 3) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph, describe the function of conflict in literature. What
purpose does the conflict between the narrator and the curate serve in this chapter? 4) For homework: List some of the
other conflicts that have arisen in the novel so far. If they have been resolved, briefly describe how. If not, explain how
you think that they will be resolved.
Objective: By Chapter Five, the narrator' s motivation has changed from a need to find his wife to a need to survive. In
this lesson, the students will discuss the literary concept of motivation, and assess the motivations of the narrator in this
chapter, as well as other characters.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: Work together to determine what motivation is as a literary
concept. Write a definition in your own words and be prepared to share with the class. 2) Individual activity: Consider
what has happened to the narrator in this chapter and previously. Make a list of the things that motivate the narrator to
act as he does. 3) Class discussion: Why does the narrator pump water, risking detection by the Martians? Why does
he want to lure the dog inside? What is his primary motivation at this point in the story? How has his motivation changed
since the beginning of the story? Why? 4) For homework: In at least one paragraph, describe what motivated the curate.
How did he try to fulfill this motivation? How was this a problem for him?
Objective: The desolate landscape in Chapter Six symbolizes the narrator's dismal hope for the future. In this lesson,
the students will examine the concept of symbolism in literature, and analyze how the author uses symbolism in Book
Two, Chapter Six.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: What is symbolism? Define in your own words. What purpose
does symbolism serve in literature in general? Discuss. 2) Individual writing activity: Find three examples of symbolism in
War of the Worlds - at least one from Book Two, Chapter Six. Describe in at least one paragraph what each symbol is
intended to mean. 3) Class discussion: Why would an author use symbolism, instead of overtly telling the reader the
message they are trying to convey? What purpose does symbolism serve in this chapter of War of the Worlds? 4) For
homework: In a few paragraphs, describe what the desolate landscape of Book Two, Chapter Six is intended to
symbolize.
Objective: In Chapter Seven, the artilleryman reveals himself to be a lazy man who only wants to have power over
others. In this lesson, the students will examine one theme of the novel, that a desire for power corrupts a person's
morals.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: Describe the artilleryman. How has he changed since the
narrator first met him? What does he think that humans should do, in order to restart civilization? 2) Debate: Do you
think that the artilleryman has a good plan for rebuilding civilization? Why or why not? Use evidence from the text to
support your argument. 3) Pairs activity: What is the artilleryman's attitude toward work? If he is so lazy, why does he
want to be the leader of a colony? Discuss. 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, describe how the artilleryman's
desire for power has corrupted his moral system. Use specific examples from Book Two, Chapter Seven.
Objective: In this chapter, the narrator comes upon many dead Martians, and explains that they died from bacteria
present on Earth to which humans had grown immune. In this lesson, the students will describe what killed the Martians
and why, and analyze why the author chose to kill the Martians in this way.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What does the narrator see when he arrives in London?
What has killed the Martians? How does the narrator know this? 2) Individual writing activity: In at least one paragraph,
describe why the bacteria killed the Martians and not humans. What is ironic about this? 3) Debate: Why do you think
that the author chose to kill the Martians in this way? Would it have been better to have the Martians die in an epic
battle with the humans? Why or why not? 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, answer these questions. If the
Martians are all dead, why does the author want to kill himself? How does this attitude reflect on the human's ability to
fight the Martians?
Objective: This chapter contains the happy resolution, or denouement, of the story, as the narrator returns home and
is reunited with his wife. In this lesson, the students will define the concept of a denouement, and assess how this
chapter fits that definition.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Pairs activity: Use resources available to you in your classroom to find
definitions of a denouement. Define the concept and purpose of a denouement in literature in your own words. 2) Class
discussion: What is a denouement? What is falling action? What conflicts are resolved in this chapter? Do you like the
way that these conflicts were resolved? Why or why not? 3) Individual writing activity: Answer these questions in at least
one paragraph. Based on the falling action in the story, is this the way you expected the action of the story to be
resolved? Why or why not? 4) For homework: Use the internet to research criticism of the denouement of War of the
Worlds. Choose one of these pieces of criticism, and explain in a few paragraphs why you agree or disagree with the
critic.
Objective: The narrator explains in the epilogue all that humans have learned from the invasion. In this lesson, the
students will analyze how the author uses the epilogue to express the general message of the story.
Tasks, Ideas, Challenges and Homework 1) Class discussion: What has happened since the Martian attack? What does
the author say that humans have learned from the invasion? 2) Pairs activity: Since the action of the story is already
over, why is there an epilogue in the story? What purposes does the epilogue serve? Compare your ideas, and be
prepared to share them with the class. 3) Individual writing activity: In a few paragraphs, describe the lesson that the
narrator says the humans have learned from the invasion. Do you think that they have? Will they be better prepared if
there is another invasion? 4) For homework: In a few paragraphs, describe what you think is the general message that
the author is trying to convey in War of the Worlds. Why did he write this? What does he want the reader to learn?
Essay Topics
Why did the humans think that they were immune from a Martian attack? Be specific, and give at least five reasons.
Why did the Martians choose Earth as a target for their invasion?
In what ways does this novel show that crisis reveals a person's true character?
What advantages do the Martians have over the humans, and vice versa?
How and why do people use a crisis for personal gain in War of the Worlds?
Describe the Martians in detail, and explain why they are so different from humans.
Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using the flashback technique in general, and specifically in this novel.
Why do you think that the author chose to never give the narrator a name? What effect does this have on the story?
Did you think that the ending of War of Worlds was effective? Why or why not?
Analyze how the author discusses discrimination in War of the Worlds.
Describe and analyze how H.G. Wells uses symbolism in War of the Worlds.
Explain how War of the Worlds fits the traditional plot structure of a novel.
Based on the character of the curate, what do you think H.G. Wells is trying to say about religion in this novel?
Analyze the character of the artilleryman and what you think he is meant to represent.
Examine the author's use of mythological and Biblical allusions in this novel, and explain what purpose they serve.
What purposes does the narrator's brother serve as a character?
Describe the author's use of foreshadowing in War of the Worlds, and what role this technique plays in the narrative.
In what ways is War of the Worlds a social commentary?
Research all of the scientific claims that the narrator makes in War of the Worlds. Analyze whether or not each of these
claims could be accurate.
When was this novel written? Examine what major events occurred in England around this time, and how they may have
influenced this book.
Fun Activities
Alternative Ending
Describe a different way that this book could have ended, based on the events leading up to the death of the Martians.
Crossword Puzzle
Make a crossword puzzle based on the places mentioned in War of the Worlds and what occurred in each place.
Petition
Write an introduction to a petition to your school board, explaining why this book should or should not be taught at your
school.
Talk Show
Pair up with a classmate, and perform a short talk show skit where one of you is the host, and the other is the narrator.
Timeline
Make a timeline of the events of the novel. Be careful to examine when the narrator's brother's storyline occurs. Include
place names.
Director
If you were making a film adaption of this story, who would you cast in the main roles? Why?
Film vs. Print Version
Watch clips from the recent film version of this novel. Do you think that the director portrayed the story accurately? Why
or why not?
Hysteria
Listen to the radio broadcast of Orson Welles. Discuss why he made this broadcast at that particular time.
Map
Using a copy of a map of England, mark the places in the novel and explain what happened there.
Influences
Research the author's life, and discuss how his personal life and education may have influenced the novel.
Book Cover
Draw a book cover for War of the Worlds.
Critics Summary
Imagine that you have been hired to write an exciting and informative summary for the back of this book. What would
you write?
Comic Strip
Choose your favorite part of the book, and draw a comic strip of it using at least five panels.
Acrostic Poem
Using the title of the novel, write an acrostic poem. You only need to use the words "war" and "worlds" for the poem
itself, but write out the whole title.
Song
Choose a song that you think expresses a theme of the novel, and explain why you think so.
Questions
Write down a question you have about the novel and place it in a paper bag. Each student should draw a question and
try to answer it.
Obituary
Write an obituary for one of the characters who died in War of the Worlds.
Diamante Poem
Write a diamante poem about the character of your choice.
Quotation
Choose your favorite quote from the novel and explain why it is your favorite to a partner.
Character
Choose the character with whom you identify most, and tell the class why.