Book Anatomy · The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds: Viewpoint and narration
14 lenses on viewpoint and narration for The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E13 E14
E1. Person and tense: first or third, past or present. Count
First person, past tense. In the narration, past forms come 2,376 times and present forms 185 times.
E2. Whose viewpoint is each chapter? Both
first person. See the full lens on the book page.
E3. Share of the book told by each viewpoint character. Both
The narrator tells roughly 85 per cent. Chapters 14, 16, 17 shift to the brother's viewpoint for about 15 per cent, reported by the narrator after the fact.
Chapters: Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 17
E4. Narrative distance: close inside a head, or far off? AI
Narrative distance is close and intimate. The narrator reports his own sensations, thoughts, and fears directly. When describing the brother's experience, distance increases slightly but remains inside the brother's mind.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 10
The fear I felt was no rational fear, but a panic terror not only of the Martians, but of the dusk and stillness all about me (Ch 5, para 24)
My terror had fallen from me like a garment. My hat had gone, and my collar had burst away from its fastener (Ch 7, para 5)
I crouched at the foot of the staircase with my back to the wall, shivering violently (Ch 10, para 30)
E5. Strict viewpoint or head hopping? AI
Viewpoint is strict to the narrator except in chapters 14, 16, 17 where the narrator reports the brother's experience. No head hopping within scenes.
Chapters: Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 17
E6. Is the narrator reliable? Where are the cracks? AI
The narrator is largely reliable but shows bias. He dismisses early warnings, underestimates the Martians, and admits his own terror and confusion. His memory gap in chapter 26 creates a crack in his account.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 26
At that time it was quite clear in my own mind that the Thing had come from the planet Mars, but I judged it improbable that it contained any living creature (Ch 3, para 6)
They may keep the pit and kill people who come near them, but they cannot get out of it (Ch 7, para 21)
I remember, clearly and coldly and vividly, all that I did that day until the time that I stood weeping and praising God upon the summit of Primrose Hill. And then I forget. (Ch 26, para 2)
E7. Frames and tales within tales. AI
The brother's experience in chapters 14, 16, 17 is a tale within the tale, reported by the narrator. No letters, diaries, or formal documents frame the narrative.
Chapters: Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 17
E8. Narrator asides and addresses to the reader. Both
13 paragraphs where the narrator seems to speak to the reader or about the telling. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 3: The planet Mars, I scarcely need remind the reader, revolves about the sun at a mean distance of 140,000,000 miles, and the light and heat it receives from …
Ch 9, para 20: But I will not weary the reader with a description of that long morning and of the longer afternoon. I did not succeed in getting a glimpse of …
Ch 9, para 21: I got back to lunch about two, very tired for, as I have said, the day was extremely hot and dull; and in order to refresh myself I …
Ch 10, para 20: I was soaked with hail above and puddle water below. It was some time before my blank astonishment would let me struggle up the bank to a drier …
Ch 18, para 13: But my fixed idea of reaching Leatherhead would not let me rest, and in the twilight I ventured out again. I went through a shrubbery, and along a …
Ch 19, para 9: I recall particularly the illustration of one of the first pamphlets to give a consecutive account of the war. The artist had evidently made a hasty study of …
The narrator addresses the reader directly in chapter 27, reflecting on the invasion's aftermath and unanswered questions. Chapter 1 opens with direct address about Mars and human ignorance.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 27
Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes (Ch 1, para 2)
I do not think that nearly enough attention is being given to this aspect of the matter. (Ch 27, para 6)
E9. Documents used: letters, diaries, reports, by type and sender. Both
How often each kind of document is named in the narration. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Document | Mentions |
|---|---|
| will | 15 |
| note | 10 |
| telegram | 7 |
| newspaper | 6 |
| report | 6 |
| manuscript | 1 |
No letters, diaries, or formal reports are used. The narrative is pure first person account with no embedded documents.
E10. What the narrator hides, and where the reader knows more than the lead. AI
The reader knows the Martians will be defeated by bacteria before the narrator discovers it in chapter 25. The narrator's wife survives unknown to him until chapter 26, but the reader has no advance knowledge of her fate.
Chapters: Ch 25, Ch 26
slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain as the red weed was being slain (Ch 25, para 22)
She put her hand to her throat—swayed. I made a step forward, and caught her in my arms. (Ch 26, para 19)
E11. Free indirect style: where the narrator slips into a character's voice. AI
Free indirect style appears when the narrator reports the curate's thoughts in chapters 13, 20, 21 and the brother's thoughts in chapters 14, 16. The narrator slips into their voices briefly.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 20, Ch 21
Why are these things permitted? What sins have we done? The morning service was over, I was walking through the roads to clear my brain for the afternoon, and then—fire, earthquake, death! (Ch 13, para 18)
What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! (Ch 13, para 39)
As my brother began to realise the import of all these things, he turned hastily to his own room, put all his available money—some ten pounds altogether—into his pockets, and went out again into the streets. (Ch 14, para 54)
E12. How thought is shown: tagged, italic or blended. Count
Thought is mostly shown with tags like thought, wondered, reflected.
| Tag | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 43 |
| wondered | 0 |
| reflected | 0 |
| said to himself | 0 |
| said to herself | 0 |
| asked himself | 0 |
| asked herself | 0 |
| told himself | 0 |
E13. What triggers each change of viewpoint? AI
Viewpoint shifts to the brother in chapter 14 because the narrator is separated from him and learns his story later. It returns to the narrator in chapter 18 when the brother's thread ends.
Chapters: Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18
E14. Hindsight: where an older narrator comments on events. AI
The narrator frequently comments with hindsight, especially in chapter 27 where he reflects on the invasion's meaning. Chapter 26 includes hindsight about his wife's survival and his own memory loss.
Chapters: Ch 26, Ch 27
I remember, clearly and coldly and vividly, all that I did that day until the time that I stood weeping and praising God upon the summit of Primrose Hill. And then I forget. (Ch 26, para 2)
Carver’s suggestions as to the reason of the rapid death of the Martians is so probable as to be regarded almost as a proven conclusion. (Ch 27, para 2)
I do not think that nearly enough attention is being given to this aspect of the matter. (Ch 27, para 6)
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