The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells (1898)
“The British Empire discovers what it feels like to be colonized — by a civilization from Mars.”
Characters in The War of the Worlds
by H.G. Wells · 1898 · 5 characters analyzed
Cast: The Narrator, The Artilleryman, The Curate, The Narrator's Brother, The Martians.
Character Analysis
Unnamed, educated, analytically minded — a 'philosophical writer' who becomes an accidental war correspondent. His passivity is both a survival strategy and a narrative device: by observing rather than acting, he can describe and interpret the invasion for the reader. His psychological damage — the permanent anxiety, the haunted glances at the sky — suggests that witnessing the collapse of civilization leaves wounds that do not heal.
Educated, analytical, uses Latinate vocabulary and philosophical frameworks. References classical history and scientific concepts casually.
