The War of the Worlds · Chapter
On Horsell Common explained
The narrator visits the site where the cylinder from Mars has landed on Horsell Common.
What happens
The narrator visits the site where the cylinder from Mars has landed on Horsell Common. He observes a small crowd of curious onlookers, including local townspeople, and notes the initial lack of excitement. Later, he returns to find a larger crowd, with scientists including Henderson, Ogilvy, and Stent attempting to excavate the cylinder. The narrator is asked to contact Lord Hilton to arrange for crowd control.
Themes in this chapter
Alienation and Otherness
The cylinder is an unfamiliar object from Mars, and the narrator reflects on the public's inability to grasp its extraterrestrial origin.
Technology and Destruction
The cylinder's impact caused a charred crater, hinting at the destructive potential of Martian technology.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Visits the cylinder site twice, observes the crowd and the scientists, and is asked to fetch Lord Hilton.
- Ogilvy
Present at the pit directing excavations, asks the narrator to contact Lord Hilton.
- Henderson
Present at the pit with Ogilvy and Stent, assisting with the excavation.
- Stent
The Astronomer Royal, standing on the cylinder and giving directions to the workmen.
- Lord Hilton
Lord of the manor, expected from London; the narrator is sent to find him.
Key passages
“I found a little crowd of perhaps twenty people surrounding the huge hole in which the cylinder lay.”
The narrator saw about twenty people gathered around the large crater containing the cylinder.
Describes the initial small crowd at the site.
“I clambered into the pit and fancied I heard a faint movement under my feet.”
The narrator climbed into the pit and thought he heard a slight noise beneath him.
Suggests activity inside the cylinder.
“The early editions of the evening papers had startled London with enormous headlines: 'A Message Received From Mars.'”
Evening newspapers in London ran sensational headlines claiming a message had arrived from Mars.
Shows how news of the cylinder spread rapidly.