Inconsistencies in "War of the Worlds"

[beecus]

I'm not sure if this counts but Book II is called ''Earth Under the Martians'' and yet it is only London ;D

[theredweed]

alabaster said:

I think the biggest inconsistency was that the Martians were supposed to be to us as we are to lemurs, and had been watching our planet for millions of years, yet it didn't occur to them to take note of our planet's most numerous organisms; bacteria and viruses.

This could represent the lack of fine detail that comes with pride through supperior beings. They were so proud of themselves that they didnt stop to think about bacteria. Plus they would find it hard to get germ samples without stepping food on the planet.

I think that the martian invasion in 1898 was a mock up for when they tried it again.

[Poyks]

Something I've just noticed! Sorry if this has been mentioned before.

The first sighting of the cylinder approaching Earth was 12th August and I always thought of the whole story happening late summer. On the first page of the Thunderchild, it reads "If one could have hung, that June morning, in a balloon....." Surely the war didn't last that long?

[mctoddridesagain]

There was no sighting of a cylinder approaching earth, it would have been impossible to see them.

Two incidents before the first cylinder lands are mentioned.

The first is clearly some years before the invasion:

'During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen on the illuminated part of the disk, first at the Lick Observatory, then by Perrotin of Nice, and then by other observers. English readers heard of it first in the issue of Nature dated August 2. I am inclined to think that this blaze may have been the casting of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their planet, from which their shots were fired at us. Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.'

2 August 1894 - the only explicit date mentioned in the book, and some years before the invasion.

The second incident is when the Narrator is in the Ottershaw observatory with Ogilvy and witnesses the explosions on Mars:

'The storm burst upon us six years ago now. As Mars approached opposition, Lavelle of Java set the wires of the astronomical exchange palpitating with the amazing intelligence of a huge outbreak of incandescent gas upon the planet. It had occurred towards midnight of the twelfth; and the spectroscope, to which he had at once resorted, indicated a mass of flaming gas, chiefly hydrogen, moving with an enormous velocity towards this earth.'

No specific dates are given, there only being an oblique reference to 'the twelfth' - the twelfth of what, though? The reference to 'six years ago' clearly indicates that the Narrator is writing his account of the War six years after the event; it tells us nothing of when those events took place. I suspect you have confused the mention of '2 August' with the reference to 'the twelfth'.

Other clues are that between 1894 (the casting of the gun) and the launch of the invasion fleet, there were two oppositions ('...Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.'); the firing of the Martian gun occurs during an opposition, but is that the second of the two oppositions mentioned, or yet another subsequent opposition? I do not know enough about the relative motions of Earth and Mars to know, but someone may care to consult an astronomical table. Apparently, oppositions occur roughly every 26 months. So the opposition of July/August 1894 would have been followed by one in September/October 1896, then November/December 1898, and January/February 1901 and so on.

The third clue, of course, is that the War takes place in the early 1900s - 'And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.'

EDIT: This link is fab! mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allabout/nightsky/nightsky03.html

It plots the orbits of Mars and Earth; you can enter any date and see where both planets were, and using various 'play' buttons you can then jump about either side of the date you've entered to 'fine tune' it.

Some have speculated that the invasion occurred in the summer of 1903. Certainly, there was an opposition in late March 1903. The Narrator indicates that the night he saw the flame on Mars it was a warm evening, which is conceivable in late March (the opposition of 1901 was in February - there are no warm evenings in February!). And yes, Poyks, you're right about the reference in the 'Thunder Child' chapter - 'If one could have hung that June morning in a balloon in the blazing blue above London every northward and eastward road running out of the tangled maze of streets would have seemed stippled black with the streaming fugitives...' This gives the Martians up to three months (as the exact June morning is not specified, so it could have been late in the month) to get to Earth, which seems plausible to me. Others may differ, though.

[MikeH]

Did you perhaps get the 12th of August date from Jeff Wayne's musical?

One of the first lines (after the introduction) is "At midnight, on the 12th of August...", however in the book it appears that most of the events happen in June.

[TommyAtkins]

The Martians definitely invade in June.

The month is mentioned twice - once in the quote above and also when the Narrator and the Curate are trapped in the ruined house:

"And while within we fought out our dark, dim contest of whispers, snatched food and drink, and gripping hands and blows, without, in the pitiless sunlight of that terrible June, was the strange wonder, the unfamiliar routine of the Martians in the pit."

Christopher Priest in his book 'The Space Machine' goes with the hypothesis of the invasion happening in 1903.

The timing of the opposition in late March makes this the more likely date, and it's the one that I go with.

[Poyks]

Yep, it all makes sense now. Thanks to all for answering my question.

[Jehuty]

This isn't an error just something inanely amusing I noticed.

Considering England is being attacked by Martians I thought it was funny that the artilleryman was told (in chapter 12) to report to Brigadier General Marvin:-)

[mctoddridesagain]

jehuty said:

This isn't an error just something inanely amusing I noticed.

Considering England is being attacked by Martians I thought it was funny that the artilleryman was told (in chapter 12) to report to Brigadier General Marvin:-)

Well spotted! ;D

Of course, there's another famous Marvin...


"Martians? Don't talk
to me about Martians..."

[punkye]

Maybe the other three cylinders were aimed at Venus? I remember towards the end the Narrator (what is it with H.G. and unnamed characters, anyways?) notes a sinuous symbol appearing on Mars and a similar one appearing on Venus simultaneously, suggesting that the Martians had conquered there after failing with Earth...

[<[Iron Man]>]

Lol i'd like to have seen the Martians settling on Venus when you'd have an extreme pressure atmosphere, Sulfuric Acid rain and incredible heat. So in short they'd be crushed, melted and burnt! I think perhaps the point of them landing on Venus was a desperate but doomed attempt to colonise an uninhabitable planet.

[Chris]

But when The War Of The Worlds was written, people believed it had a humid atmosphere with vast tropical jungles, probably filled with dinosaurs or something. Having the martians all die because venus is uninhabitable is 'out of universe', 'in universe' it was very possible...

Don't forget, 'in universe' Mars was red because of the Red Weed.

[Ulaaaa!]

With Venus taken by the Martians do you think that they would still want to take Earth?

[broton]

mikeh said:

Did you perhaps get the 12th of August date from Jeff Wayne's musical?

One of the first lines (after the introduction) is "At midnight, on the 12th of August...", however in the book it appears that most of the events happen in June.

It's clear from the book that it is the 12th of August - the "nick" is reported on the 2nd August, then the gas emissions start on "the 12th".

[broton]

mctoddridesagain said:

Other clues are that between 1894 (the casting of the gun) and the launch of the invasion fleet, there were two oppositions ('...Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.'); the firing of the Martian gun occurs during an opposition, but is that the second of the two oppositions mentioned, or yet another subsequent opposition?

I disagree that two oppositions went past before the cylinders were launched. It reads to me that the nick was seen, and then 10 days later the emissions were observed. The remark about the next two oppositions looks to me like the nick was still visible the next two times Mars was close.

[mctoddridesagain]

broton said:

I disagree that two oppositions went past before the cylinders were launched. It reads to me that the nick was seen, and then 10 days later the emissions were observed. The remark about the next two oppositions looks to me like the nick was still visible the next two times Mars was close.

If by 'nick' you mean the 'great light' of 1894, then you're saying that the Martians cast their colossal cannon and ten days later were firing their cylinders from it? Not very likely. Also, that means the Martians fired their cylinders in 1894, which is not borne out at all by the text.

And where do you get '10 days later' from anyway? The only mention of 10 days is here:

Hundreds of observers saw the flame that night and the night after about midnight, and again the night after; and so for ten nights, a flame each night.

It is not simply a statement of time elapsed, but an observation of the number of cylinders the Martians fired, each a day apart.

Also, you ignore the end of the introductory paragraph:

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, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment. [emphasis added]

The final sentence clearly infers that the invasion took place in the early twentieth century - the invasion was 'the great disillusionment'.

And so between 1894, when the initial strange markings (presumed to be the casting of the gun) were seen, and the invasion 'early in the twentieth century', enough time passed for at least two oppositions.

Now, I don't say for sure that the invasion did occur in 1903, merely that the clues Wells leaves, and the known astronomical facts, point in that direction as the most plausible date. But we do know this: the invasion did not occur before 1900.

Arm yourself with a copy of the book, read my earlier post more carefully, and then tell me if you really think Wells even implies that the Martians invaded in 1894, which is what you mean by your comments.

[broton]

mctoddridesagain said:

broton said:

I disagree that two oppositions went past before the cylinders were launched. It reads to me that the nick was seen, and then 10 days later the emissions were observed. The remark about the next two oppositions looks to me like the nick was still visible the next two times Mars was close.

If by 'nick' you mean the 'great light' of 1894, then you're saying that the Martians cast their colossal cannon and ten days later were firing their cylinders from it? Not very likely. Also, that means the Martians fired their cylinders in 1894, which is not borne out at all by the text.

We'll come to that later, but from just that bit, it certainly reads like that

mctoddridesagain said:

And where do you get '10 days later' from anyway?

Simply from the fact that the great light is seen on the 2nd and the first blast on "the 12th"

mctoddridesagain said:

Also, you ignore the end of the introductory paragraph:

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, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment. [emphasis added]

The final sentence clearly infers that the invasion took place in the early twentieth century - the invasion was 'the great disillusionment'.

Absolutely correct, but I would say "forgot" rather than "ignored"

mctoddridesagain said:

And so between 1894, when the initial strange markings (presumed to be the casting of the gun) were seen, and the invasion 'early in the twentieth century', enough time passed for at least two oppositions.

Reading it again now, I agree - I would suggest three, the two where the marking was seen and then the third when the cannon fired its shots. This would be about 1902 if I've got my sums right

mctoddridesagain said:

Now, I don't say for sure that the invasion did occur in 1903, merely that the clues Wells leaves, and the known astronomical facts, point in that direction as the most plausible date. But we do know this: the invasion did not occur before 1900.

Arm yourself with a copy of the book, read my earlier post more carefully, and then tell me if you really think Wells even implies that the Martians invaded in 1894, which is what you mean by your comments.

Oh I had the book (and a beer) to hand when I wrote that post. I still say that without the "early in the twentieth century" line it could read as if the 12th August 1894 was when the first explosion was seen - although it would not necessarily be conclusive.
What make it strange - to me - is this mention of "the 12th" - as Wells doesn't say what it is the 12th of, or in what year it is a curious fact to include.

Also, I have just noticed that the 2nd of August was the date on the issue of Nature that was how English readers first heard of the light - so the light itself must have appeared a day or two before that.

[glow=orange,2,300]broton[/glow]

[broton]

mikeh said:

Did you perhaps get the 12th of August date from Jeff Wayne's musical?

One of the first lines (after the introduction) is "At midnight, on the 12th of August...", however in the book it appears that most of the events happen in June.

Yes, but the gun would have fired off several months before the cylinders arrived. It is not clear from the book exactly when the shots were fired.

[glow=orange,2,300]broton[/glow]

[mctoddridesagain]

broton said:

Simply from the fact that the great light is seen on the 2nd and the first blast on "the 12th"

Ah, I see what you mean. However, I think the mention of 'the twelfth' is completely separate from the 'August 2' reference. The paragraph about the light on Mars (which is a completely different, and earlier, event than the 'gunshots'), is referring to the 1894 events, including the report on August 2. It sets the scene by introducing a presentiment of subsequent events.

The following paragraph then skips forward to the events immediately prior to the invasion, that is, the 'gunshots' on Mars, which first Lavelle, and then Ogilvy and the Narrator observe.

broton said:

Absolutely correct, but I would say "forgot" rather than "ignored" [

Ah, bad choice of word on my part!

broton said:

Oh I had the book (and a beer) to hand when I wrote that post. I still say that without the "early in the twentieth century" line it would look strongly as if the 12th August 1894 was when the first explosion was seen - although it would not necessarily be conclusive.
What make it strange - to me - is this mention of "the 12th" - as Wells doesn't say what it is the 12th of, or in what year it is a curious fact to include.

Also, I have just noticed that the 2nd of August was the date on the issue of Nature that was how English readers first heard of the light - so the light itself must have appeared a day or two before that.

The mention of 'the twelfth' in that vague way is a typical Wells habit, it's a sort of throwaway remark which assumes the reader to have some familiarity with (fictional) events, it's simply a way of drawing the reader into the narrative. It's as if, in conversation, he were to say 'Oh, you know such and such' and then explains it anyway. He often did it in other books and short stories.

[broton]

Interestingly, using that wonderful link above, the only time Mars and Earth were 40 million miles apart was in the conjunction of 1894...the others (up to 1903) were much farther apart

[glow=orange,2,300]broton[/glow]