Sample Literary Interpretation Essays
Blissful Ignorance: A Literary Analysis of The War of the Worlds
by Wolfgang Hoffman
H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds, features the narrator recounting the experiences that he and his brother had in 1890’s Great Britain during a violent invasion by the Martians. The narrator, using reasoning and wit, survives the invasion, facing catastrophic violence and destruction, but many other people perish during the Martians’ attacks, often due to complacent or reckless behavior. Wells’ writing came in a time of social Darwinism, only around forty years after Darwin published his theory of evolution. Aligning with the societal introspection of the time, the novel touches upon the idea that human beings cannot be complacent in their perceived domination over nature. Addressing this idea in her June 2022 Futures article, “H.G Wells, Earthly and Post-Terrestrial Futures”, Heather Alberro analyzes The War of the Worlds and other works by Wells through a lens of critical posthumanism, a perspective that seeks to rebuff the ideas of human superiority or that humans are entitled to power over nature. She describes the novel as a “devastating blow to Anthropocentric notions of human superiority embedded within Western culture” (Alberro 3), recognizing the role human arrogance has in society’s near-downfall in the novel. Therefore, analyzing The War of the Worlds requires a perspective of psychological criticism, revealing the novel’s depiction of humankind’s approach to calamity – one that often results in the threat being underestimated, while simultaneously overestimating humanity’s own ability to address the circumstances, ultimately leading to a search for comfort and normalcy rather than action to deal with the problem.
Writing in a time characterized by a global pandemic, with a lack of resources, a rapidly increasing death toll, and rampant uncertainty, Alberro draws comparisons from the story to COVID-19, an unpredictable world crisis, similar to the Martian threat in the novel. She argues that it “[gestures] towards the need for caution and humility when dealing with unpredictable Earthly- and other-worldly- entities and processes” (Alberro 4), adding to her claim that The War of the Worlds is an acknowledgement of humanity’s cosmic complacency. In that complacency, there is a psychological aspect that makes it worth looking at the novel not just through critical posthumanism, but also through psychological criticism to understand the underlying motivations for society’s inattention to, or recklessness when it comes to dealing with the threats that it faces, so that, on a larger scale, humankind can avoid its internalized conceit, and the pitfalls that come with it.
An example of humanity’s underestimation of the alien threat is when the Martian pod initially lands in Woking. An electrified and bustling crowd soon forms around the pit where the device sits, with the narrator recounting that “there were four or five boys sitting on the edge of the Pit, with their feet dangling, and amusing themselves … by throwing stones at the giant mass” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 3). The carefree behavior of the children is a representation of the lack of caution that the people who are aware of the alien device are taking, ignoring the possibility of the danger the Martians could pose. Much of society in the novel is portrayed as trivializing the Martian invasion, viewing it as an exciting, intriguing development rather than as a cause for concern. Another case of this theme occurs in Weybridge, where the narrator and the Artilleryman find themselves while the Martians are approaching the town. According to the narrator, the citizens of the town were “in golf and boating costumes, wives prettily dressed … children excited, and, for the most part, highly delighted at this astonishing variation of their Sunday experiences” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 12). Despite the obvious danger, and with the knowledge that the aliens have caused numerous casualties, these people still take a lackadaisical attitude to the threat, enjoying the drama of watching the soldiers attempt to fight off the Martians instead of leaving and finding safety. They represent the broader superficial excitement that humanity takes from the invasion.
While many people engage in shallow-minded thrill-seeking, it is not the only way in which humankind underestimates the threat of the Martians in the novel. Much of society dismisses the gravity of the situation out of a premature want to return to normalcy and relief, such as when the narrator asks a group of people near Woking if they have heard any news about the Martian pod that landed in the Horsell Common, to which a woman from the group responds haughtily that “’People seem fair silly about the common’” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 7), and reveals that she’s heard “‘Quite enough’” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 7) about the aliens. This shows a stance of apathy about the Martian threat, which also reflects the general state of Woking, where “maybe there was a murmur in the village streets … but for the most part the daily routine of working, eating, drinking, sleeping, went on as it had done for countless years” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 8). Despite the presence of the Martians, there is little change in the manner in which society goes about its activities, with many people seemingly either feeling that the aliens are no concern, or failing to remember the crux of the calamitous situation. When the narrator meets with the Artilleryman in a demolished London, the Artilleryman recounts there being a few people who managed to reactivate an electric light, which excited them so much that they were “’dancing and shouting till dawn’” (Wells, Bk 2: Chapter 7), which eventually ended in them being captured by Martians that they attracted in their celebration of a minute advance towards normality. There is an urge within much of society in the novel to get back to normalcy and comfort, regardless of the presence of the Martians. Alberro’s comparison of the Martian threat to the COVID-19 pandemic is apropos, as during the pandemic, society sought tranquility and normality, often at the cost of safety, similar to humankind’s response to the Martians in the novel.
This push for a return to a normal state of affairs often stems from an overconfidence in humanity’s ability to weather the attacks from the extraterrestrials. An example of this is when the narrator discusses the alien threat with a few soldiers who debate amongst themselves about the best way to defeat the Martians in the pit in Woking, with one of them suggesting that they should “’shell the darned things strite off and finish ’em’” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 9), whereas the other argues that “there ain’t no time. Do it in a rush, that’s my tip, and do it at once” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 9). Both of their suggestions involve methods of attack that are primitive, and ineffective in comparison to the technology that the Martians possess, thus overestimating their ability to repel them. This is shown later when a group of gunners attempt to halt the progress of the Martian tripods. One of their shots end up damaging one of the tripods, and in their excitement, they fire off the second shot so quickly and haphazardly that their “second volley flew wide of the Martian on the ground, and … both his companions brought their Heat-Rays to bear on the battery. The ammunition blew up, and only one or two of the men … escaped” (Wells, Bk 1: Chapter 15). After their first shot affected one of the aliens, they overestimated their ability to damage the Martians, were not able to repeat the shot, and were taken down by the superior technology of the aliens. This reflects the overall picture the novel paints of society’s overconfidence in its ability to stave off the threat.
Another example of humankind overestimating its power is the Artilleryman’s complex and grand vision for how society can survive by living underground in the sewers of London. His plans immediately begin to lose their logic when he and the narrator attempt to dig a tunnel to the sewers from an inconvenient location, and the Artilleryman takes lengthy breaks, arguing that “’one can’t always work’” (Wells, Bk 2: Chapter 7). His extravagant ideas and his inability to put them into practice reflect the general overconfidence society has in its abilities to find solutions to the problem of the Martians in the novel.
This also parallels Alberro’s comparison of the Martian threat to COVID-19. As Alberro states, “the seemingly invincible Martians are ultimately ‘dethroned’ by earthly bacteria (Nature), not by humanity’s own ingenuity (Science), denoting the ultimate limits of human technological know-how” (Alberro 3, 4). In the case of COVID-19, society had a plan to handle the pandemic, however, just like the Artilleryman, there was a failure to effectively put the plans into practice long term. Further evidence for that comparison is found in how the Martians’ plot is ultimately foiled, and in the reason that they are driven away from Earth – not through human intervention, but through Earth’s bacteria. Despite innovative vaccinations, COVID-19 continues to surge, sickening and killing people, multiple times per year, particularly at times when large gatherings occur, because people no longer take basic precautions, preferring a return to normalcy.
When viewed through a lens of psychological criticism, it becomes clear that The War of the Worlds presents humanity’s response to catastrophic situations as being both dismissive to the gravity of the issue itself, and conceited about its capacity to deal with the threat, resulting in either futile attempts to address it, or none at all, with most of the effort being dedicated to seeking relief and normality instead. These themes represent a reproval of human arrogance and complacency, which Alberro also highlights in her article about the novel. Her perspective of critical posthumanism addresses these issues on a broad scale, and while that is beneficial, it is also important to look at the deeper reasons as to why society holds those arrogant beliefs in the novel. By looking at the novel through psychological criticism, we can learn from the downfalls of humankind in the story, and avoid those fallacies in our own world. A large part of the significance of the War of the Worlds is how it represents a call for societal introspection. We as a society should listen to that call, so that we can advance past our outdated ideals of human hubris, and better handle the threats that we face.
Works cited
Alberro, Heather. “H.G Wells, Earthly and Post-Terrestrial Futures.” Futures, Volume 140,
2022, pp. 1-9.
Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds: The Coming of the Martians. 1898. ENGL 162
Course Resource. Accessed 22 Mar. 2024.
Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds: The Earth Under the Martians. 1898. ENGL 162
Course Resource. Accessed 22 Mar. 2024.
“Blissful Ignorance: A Literary Analysis of The War of the Worlds” by Wolfgang Hoffman is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Essay 4: Literary Interpretation
by Whitney Watson
Although Lorraine Hansberry’s play appears to be focused on the domestic issues of an African American family on the southside of Chicago, it indirectly uncovers the varying concepts of happiness for each individual family member. In A Raisin in the Sun, we observe the conflicts that arise in the Younger family as they are presented with a large sum of money. The play takes place entirely inside the Younger’s small, cramped apartment, which undeniably seems to take a toll on their mental well-being. This concept seems to both support and challenge the ideas of authors Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Graham Hill, who claim material possessions do not contribute to an individual’s happiness. Hansberry uses the condition of this apartment, in addition to a small plant that is mentioned several times throughout the story, to emphasize the idea that although material possessions are not the sole ingredient to happiness, they certainly do play a role in the overall happiness of an individual.
The idea of material wealth can be very tempting to some individuals. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry uses the anticipation of an insurance check’s arrival to uncover the diversity of each family member’s idea of happiness-a concept that in a way, could drive a stake between members of the Younger family. Mama, who is the mother to both Walter and Beneatha, receives an insurance check for $10,000 on behalf of her husband, Walter Sr.’s, death. Ruth Younger is the wife of Walter and mother to Travis Younger. It is revealed that both Mama and Ruth remain static throughout the entirety of the play, as they put their family first and view it as the main factor of their happiness. When Mama uses the insurance money to purchase a new house for the family, she makes it clear that the purchase was made to benefit the entire family, and states “It’s just a plain little old house-but it’s made good and solid- and it will be ours. Walter Lee- it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him” (92). Hansberry uses this statement to shed light on Mama’s true idea of happiness. Instead of being focused on her own personal gain from the money, Mama is considering her family’s needs and the items they need the most. In a sense, Mama’s happiness is directly intertwined with her family’s happiness.
While Ruth Younger’s idea of happiness resembles that of her mother-in-law’s, the wear of living a life while possessing no material wealth seems to be more visible in her character. In the opening scene of the play, the narrator includes “We can see that she was a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but now it is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face” (24). Hansberry includes this description of Ruth to illustrate the strain that this relatively poor lifestyle has had on her as an individual. It is later discovered that Ruth does not feel comfortable bringing another child into this world while living in this condition. Although Ruth’s happiness appears to be family-oriented, this example reveals that she needs to maintain a certain level of financial security in order to be the best woman, mother, and wife that she can possibly be.
As for Walter Younger, the very generous insurance check that his mother receives presents a great opportunity in his eyes. Walter is alone in believing money will solve all his existing problems in life. Walter’s unwavering obsession with money appears to be taking over his life as he expresses his plans to invest in a liquor store with two other men. When Mama inquires as to why he seems to worship money in this fashion, Walter replies “Because it is life, Mama!” (74). Walter’s behavior, in contrast to everybody else in the family, reveals that family alone is not enough, and that material wealth is the only thing that will ever truly please him. In Walter’s eyes, the insurance money will present him with the financial security needed to completely flourish as the man of the household.
In addition to the arrival of the insurance check, Hansberry uses the Younger’s shabby, over-crowded apartment to present her audience with a better idea of the family’s struggles. Several times throughout the play, the Youngers express their distaste for the low-quality living space they inhabit by referring to the apartment as a “beat-up hole” (32) and a “rat trap” (44). There is only one window in the entire apartment, which Mama utilizes to grow a small plant that is mentioned periodically throughout the reading. The plant is described as “…a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the windowsill” (39). Hansberry includes the presence of this plant in the play as it accurately symbolizes the Younger family. This small plant is not receiving enough sunlight to properly thrive, yet Mama continues to care for it throughout the story. Hansberry includes the plant in the closing scene of the play, where she shows Mama taking a last look around the Younger’s apartment before walking out, and then coming back in to retrieve the plant from the kitchen table (151). By using this particular image in the final scene, Hansberry is drawing the connection between the Younger’s happiness and the act of moving out of the apartment. Just like the plant, the Youngers will finally be able to grow outside of this apartment that has negatively impacted their mental well-being for so many years. The Younger’s biological needs are being met, however without a comfortable amount of material wealth (or sunshine), they are not capable of fully thriving.
In A Raisin in the Sun, the varying ideas of happiness that Hansberry includes in the writing somewhat correspond to other authors’ findings on the topic. Author and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has written several books on the concept of happiness and deems “flow” to be the main contributor. Csikszentmihalyi believes that flow consists of an individual engaging themselves in an activity which they are very passionate about (Csikszentmihalyi 824). This idea includes activities such as composing music, playing a sport, or even partaking in a job that you love doing. He also argues that material wealth does not contribute to overall happiness. Author Graham Hill offers yet another perspective on the topic, claiming “…relationships experiences, and meaningful work are the staples of a happy life” (Hill 3). Like Csikszentmihalyi, Hill also emphasizes the idea that material items take away from an individual’s happiness.
Throughout the play, Walter is seen chasing this “flow” and appears to find it in ways that are not contributing to his happiness, but instead doing the opposite. Walter engages himself in an unhealthy example of flow when he goes to the Green Hat, a local club. There, he drinks and listens to the jazz band play, and expresses his joy from this by stating “You can just sit there and drink and listen to them three men play and you realize that don’t nothing matter worth a damn, but just being there” (106). By including this example in the writing, Hansberry demonstrates that Walter attempts to find happiness in other ways that are not through material wealth, such as through Csikszentmihalyi’s idea of flow, but is never successful.
In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter expresses his dislike for the job he has as a chauffeur and refers to it as “no kind of job” (73). Walter believes that with the insurance money, it is possible for him to possess a job that he would actually enjoy doing. Walter hopes that the extra money will allow him to pursue greater opportunities for happiness through the work that he performs. This idea supports Hill’s statement that meaningful work is a main contributor to a happier life. If Walter were able to find a job that he could take pride in, he may not be so driven towards the idea that money is everything.
As Hansberry includes examples that intertwine with these authors’ ideas of happiness, she also makes it a point to contradict their ideas. Both Csikszentmihalyi and Hill argue that material items and wealth take away from an individual’s happiness and further complicate things. While this may be true to an extent, Hansberry includes several examples throughout the play that illustrate the importance of at least some amount of material wealth in relation to the characters’ happiness. Throughout their writings, both Csikszentmihalyi and Hill fail to factor in the racial discrimination that the Youngers face on a daily basis. Because they are an African American family during 1950s, the Younger family is presented with an entirely different set of challenges not included in these authors’ works. Walter, Ruth, and Mama are all very limited in the types of jobs they may hold. In addition to this, Mama purchases the family’s new home in a primarily white neighborhood, which makes them targets for neighborhood bombings, as mentioned in the play. These complicating factors prevent the Youngers from feeling financially secure and even cause them to question their safety in the new neighborhood. Csikszentmihalyi and Hill appear to overlook this factor when considering their ideas and fail to factor in this concept from a different perspective. Without basic necessities such as a safe place to live or a job that makes them proud, the Younger family is unable to thrive and reach their peak happiness in life.
Although happiness may be seen as ‘one size fits all’ to some authors, Hansberry illustrates that happiness is unique to each individual and the challenges they may face. The insurance check not only provides the Youngers with a large amount of money, but it also presents them with the opportunity to discover their true source of happiness. While family is maintained as very important to the static characters in the story, Hansberry incorporates small details that demonstrate that family is not enough to keep the Youngers happy. Material possessions may not be the key to a happy life, but a certain level of wealth is needed for every member of the Younger family to thrive.
Works Cited
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “If We Are So Rich, Why Aren’t We Happy?” American
Psychologist, vol. 54, no. 10, Oct. 1999, p. 821-827. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/
10.1037/0003-066X.54.10.821. Accessed 14 December 2023.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Random House, Random House, Inc., 1958.
Hill, Graham. “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” The New York Times, 10 Mar. 2013, p. 1.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgov&AN=edsgcl.
321708648&site=eds-live. Accessed 14 December 2023.
“Essay 4: Literary Interpretation” by Whitney Watson is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
