The War of the Worlds · Chapter
Under Foot explained
The Narrator and the Curate remain trapped in a ruined house at Halliford, surrounded by the Black Smoke.
What happens
The Narrator and the Curate remain trapped in a ruined house at Halliford, surrounded by the Black Smoke. After days of waiting, they escape and journey through a devastated landscape toward Twickenham and Richmond, encountering dead bodies, abandoned property, and Martians who capture humans rather than kill them. The Narrator is driven by anxiety for his wife in Leatherhead, while the Curate proves lethargic and fearful. They hide in a ditch after witnessing Martians collecting people, and eventually seek shelter in a villa in Sheen.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Instinct
The Narrator's drive to find food and escape contrasts with the Curate's paralysis, highlighting the instinct to survive versus despair.
Alienation and Otherness
The Martians' incomprehensible behavior—capturing rather than killing—deepens the sense of alien otherness and human helplessness.
Technology and Destruction
The Black Smoke and fighting-machines demonstrate advanced Martian technology used for systematic destruction and control.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Anxious for his wife's safety, he takes initiative to find food and escape, leading the way through the devastated landscape.
- The Curate
Whimpering, selfish, and lethargic; he repeatedly resists action and weeps in fear, slowing their progress.
- The Martians
Deploy Black Smoke, use a fighting-machine to pursue and capture humans, and are seen collecting people into a metallic carrier.
Key passages
“The fifth cylinder, the fifth shot from Mars, has struck this house and buried us under the ruins!”
The Narrator realizes that the fifth Martian cylinder has hit the house, trapping them beneath the rubble.
Reveals the ongoing Martian landing and the immediate danger to the Narrator and Curate.
“I resolved to leave him—would that I had!”
The Narrator decides to abandon the Curate, later regretting that he did not follow through.
Foreshadows future conflict and the Narrator's frustration with the Curate's passivity.
“He used no Heat-Ray to destroy them, but picked them up one by one.”
The Martian does not kill the fleeing people but collects them, suggesting a purpose beyond destruction.
First indication that Martians may have other intentions, such as harvesting humans.