The War of the Worlds - Literature Notes
a well known astronomer at Ottershaw
narrator watches the red planet with him after a strange occurrence
Schiaparelli - an example of someone who watched the red planet and disregarded his observations
Perrotin of Nice - another observer who ignored the warning signs of invasion.
Chapter 1 - The Coming of the Martians
The narrator tells the reader that Earth has been under scrutiny for many years. Martians have been watching us with greedy eyes because their world is becoming uninhabitable. He asks that we not judge the Martians so strongly because humans have also committed countless acts of atrocities among ourselves, so we cannot blame the Martians for their survival instincts. Our narrator contends that great minds must have noticed fluctuations in the stars that implied a threat, but ignored it. He cites several cases of such events. The narrator learnt of one such disruption from his friend Ogilvey and went to observe the red planet, with him, one night. He too noticed an anomaly, one that continued for ten nights with the world now noticing. They later realized that these were missiles aimed and on a trajectory towards Earth, yet people went on with their lives, ignorant and unconcerned. The narrator himself went about the business of living his life, doing ordinary things such as taking a walk with his wife, not realizing the threat that Earth faced.
Chapter 2 - The Falling Stars
The first star fell and primarily went unnoticed. The protagonist himself did not see it, for he was busy in his study. Everyone ignored the fallen star, but Ogilvey decided to check on it. He located it