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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. What disability does Henderson have?

2. What are the gas jets in the sky originally assumed to be?

3. What happens to a few people when the crowd is escaping from the heat ray?

4. Where does the soldier hide until meeting the narrator?

5. About how many people surround the pit the morning after the cylinder lands?

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 author take his wife to his cousin's house? What is the state of the town at that point?

3. How do people in Woking initially react to news of the Martian attack?

4. Why do scientists think that Mars cannot support life?

5. After the narrator walks toward the dead Martian, what does he see, and why is this important?

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

7. When the narrator first meets the artilleryman, what does the soldier say happened to his unit?

8. What fact do scientists overlook when considering whether Mars can support life?

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

10. As the narrator walks from the ruined house toward London, what does he see, and how does this affect his attitude?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

Describe the author's use of foreshadowing in War of the Worlds, and what role this technique plays in the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Martians in detail, and explain why they are so different from humans.

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This section contains 787 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample