http://matthewman.net/2009/08/09/this-is-the-end-but-was-the-moment-prepared-for/ A personal blog — Thoughts on TV, theatre, new media and computing Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:42:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://matthewman.net/2009/08/09/this-is-the-end-but-was-the-moment-prepared-for/comment-page-1/#comment-857 Scott Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:28:59 +0000 http://matthewman.net/2009/08/09/this-is-the-end-but-was-the-moment-prepared-for/#comment-857 <p>Hmm. I must admit I'd never really picked up that element of hubris. I'll bear it mind the next time I reread it, though.</p> Hmm. I must admit I'd never really picked up that element of hubris. I'll bear it mind the next time I reread it, though.

]]> http://matthewman.net/2009/08/09/this-is-the-end-but-was-the-moment-prepared-for/comment-page-1/#comment-856 Nigel Mayo Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:05:24 +0000 http://matthewman.net/2009/08/09/this-is-the-end-but-was-the-moment-prepared-for/#comment-856 <p>I thought there was a point behind the ending of The War of the Worlds, rather than it being a purely arbitrary deus ex machina, in that it is a small and seemingly insignificant natural organism that defeats the Martians, rather than all the technology humans can muster. So the book is showing up the hubris and dangers of an over-reliance on scientific and technological progress, both by the Martians and humanity. This seems to be a theme present in other of Well's work too (for example, The Time Machine). So, while I can understand why you think it is unsatisfying structually, I think thematically it adds a lot to the novel.</p> I thought there was a point behind the ending of The War of the Worlds, rather than it being a purely arbitrary deus ex machina, in that it is a small and seemingly insignificant natural organism that defeats the Martians, rather than all the technology humans can muster. So the book is showing up the hubris and dangers of an over-reliance on scientific and technological progress, both by the Martians and humanity. This seems to be a theme present in other of Well's work too (for example, The Time Machine). So, while I can understand why you think it is unsatisfying structually, I think thematically it adds a lot to the novel.

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