Herbert george wells

_(1866-1946)

Herbert G. Wells was born in a poor family In his youth he worked very hard, and, at the same time, managed to get an education. He became a biologist and for some time worked as assistant to a well-known English scientist, a follower of Charles Darwin.

When Wells was quite young he became interested in social problems. He always called himself a socialist, but his socialism was very peculiar He understood that the world had to be changed; it had to be freed from the an­ archy that reigned in capitalist society At an early age he came to the utopian conclusion that only scientists and technicians could solve the existing contradictions. Ac­ cording to Wells it was not revolution, but evolution­ through certain reforms- that could change ihe world. And onlv science and technology could do it.

World War I came as a shock to Wells. He could no

longer be sure of peaceful progress. The October Revo­

lution was, in his opinion, a social "experiment" He did not

have much faith in it. However, in 1920 he visited Russia and was received by V Lenin in Moscow. Lenin's stress on the importance of science and, especially electrification in the reconstruction of the country, astonished him. Du­ ring his stay in Russia, Wells saw the devastation of the country. He described his impressions of this visit in his book Russia in the Shadows and called Lenin "the Kremlin dreamer".

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In Wells' novels science and technology form the background against which the plot develops. Besides this, there is always a very strong social aspect in his works. In this connection Wells always said that he was a follower of Swift. Swift's Gulliver's Travels, he pointed out, was

•also based on fantasy. This fantasy served as a basis for social criticism.

His early cycle of science fiction was written from

189.5 to 1901. Among the works of those years were The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men on the Moo!! and others. In the novels of this

cycle Wells wrote about the fate of civilization. This was his main theme.

A later cycle of novels was written between 1901 and World War I. In these he reflected on the fate of mankind Among them were The War in the Air, The World Set Free

and others.

After World War I, Wells turned to the genre of the

social novel. After his trip to the USSR he returned to social fantasies. In these novels he tried to reflect the danger of fascism in his country and in the rest of the

_world.

THE W'AR OF THE WORLDS

The War of the Worlds, written in 1898, illustrated his belief that great technical achievements could have a ne­ gative side. There was danger that intellect could become stronger than human feelings, and would then destroy them.

Because of the cooling of Mars its inhabitants are faced with the necessity of looking for a new world to live

in. They choose our planet and invade it in great cylinders that fall on the English countryside. The people who see the fall of the first cylinder are very interested in the "Message from Mars" But when the occupants of the cylinder come out of it, they attack the peaceful population. They burn

down everything in their way with a Heat Ray that kills men on the spot and sets fire to trees, houses, and towns.

The Martians are not like human beings. They have an enormous head with eyes in it and sixteen tentacles that are their hands and feet. They have no body, no heart, no feelings, no emotions. In general, they have no organs­ only intellect, which is greatly developed. They cannot

listen to reason, for that requires feeling. There is no way of escaping them

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However, when things become trag-ic and humanity is threatened with destruction, something happens to preven­ tit. Unexpectedly the terrible invaders of our planet begin to die. They are defeated by bacteria. Since the beginning of life on earth human beings had been threatened by bacteria, but they developed immunity against them. There were no bacteria on Mars and the Martians had no re­ sistance. They became the victims of a natural enemy The bacteria were stronger than the Martians' powerful in­ tellect, stronger than the guns made by human beings; the guns were powerless against the Martians. Thus, at the very last moment, the destruction of the world is prevented

The following extract (adapted and abridged) from The

War of the Worlds tells of the destruction effected by the

Martians.

... And this was the little world in which I had been living quietly for years, this fiery chaos! What had happened in the last seven hours I still did not know. I turned my desk chair lo U1e window, sat down, and looked atlhe blackened country, and at the three gigantic black things that were moving in the glare about the sand-pits.

They seemed very busy. I began to ask myself what they could

be. Were they intelligent mechanisms) I felt that such a thing was im­ possible. Or did a Martian sit within each, ruling, directing, as a man's brain sits and rules in his body) I began !o compare !he things lo human machines. I asked myself for !he firs! time in my life how an ironclad or

a steam-engine could seem lo an intelligent lowN animal.

Then I heard !he sound of steps in my garden. I looked down and saw a soldier at the fence. At the sight of another man my fear passed

... ll was a long lime before he could calm his nerves and answer my

questions, and !hen he answered brokenly. l-Ie was in !he artillery, and had only come into aclion about seven o'clock. AI !hat time firing was going on ncar the pit made by !he firs! cylindr and people said lhalthe first party of Martians were crawling slowly towards !heir second cy Iinder under cover of a metal shield ...

"I lay still" he said "!error-stricken" We had been wiped out And

!he smell- good God! Like burnt mea( I I was hurl across the back by the fall of a horse, and there I had to lie until I felt be!!er Just like parade it had been a minute before- then iped out!"

He had hidden under the dead horse for a long time looking out across

!he field. The soldiers had tried lo rush lo the pi!, but had been simply wip.ed out. Then !he monster had risen to its feel, and had begun to walk across !he field among !he few fugitives. l!s hood turned about like !he head of a human being. A kind of arm carried a large metallic case; green

flashes followed by the Heal Ray carne out of il.

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In a few minutes lhere was nol a living lhing left upon the field, and every bush and tree upon it was burning. The giant saved the Station and the houses about it for some lime; then in a moment the Heal-Ray was directed there, and the town became a heap of fiery ruins. Then the thing shut off the Heal-Ray.. and turning its back upon the artilleryman, began to move away towards the smoking pine-woods where the second cylinder had fallen. As it did so, a second glittering giant came out of the pit...

This novel is many-levelled. We hear the author's question, addressed to all mankind: "What will happen to humanity if cold intellect triumphs over feelings and emo­ tions?" This question is, at the same time, a call to people to reorganize their way of life. And, above all, it is a war­ ning to humanity to avoid destructive wars.

Thus, Wells revealed in his novels the possible negative conseguences of technical progress. He showed how tragic the achievements in science could be if they were applied with destructive intentions.

The pessimistic theme that the earth is a temporary

phenomenon, and that the human race is determined to destroy itself, permeates all his work.

I. What is lhe peculiarity of Wells' science ficlion' 2. What surprised Wells most in his conversation with V Lenin in the year 1920' 3. What were the main themes of Wells' works? 4. What did Wells write about in his novel The War of/he Worlds? 5. What did he try to express in this novel?