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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator say he feels on his way home from the heat ray incident?

2. How many houses around the pit catch fire on Friday night?

3. How do the people gathering around the cylinder initially react to it?

4. What happens to the narrator's horse when he goes back to Woking?

5. Why do the narrator and soldier decide to take a long route when leaving Woking?

Short Essay Questions

1. As the curate and narrator fight for position at the opening in the ruined house, what do they see, and how does the narrator react?

2. Why does the narrator hit the curate with the meat chopper?

3. Why does the newspaper editor in London refuse to print a story about the Martians?

4. What does the narrator plan to do when he hears the dog, and what does this show about his situation?

5. Who does the narrator find on Putney Hill, and what do they discuss?

6. What is the narrator's theory about why the Martians come to Earth?

7. What is the significance of the artilleryman's story?

8. How is the curate acting when the narrator first meets him? What does this show about him?

9. What kills the Martians and why is this significant?

10. What happens in the ruined house that makes the narrator hide in the basement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does this novel show that crisis reveals a person's true character?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's use of mythological and Biblical allusions in this novel, and explain what purpose they serve.

Essay Topic 3

Why do the Martians choose Earth as a target for their invasion?

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