Reflections On The Future Of Human Civilization In H.G.Wells's Novel The War Of The Worlds

Science Fiction is a literary genre originated in contemporary western countries. A main feature of this new genre is that SF usually combines the scientific theories and literary imagination to explore possibilities about the development in the human world. Although regarded as non-serious literature, many SF works are of deep thoughts and strict logical reasoning. Besides, these works in most cases have successfully predicted the new inventions and developments about the human civilization. Today, more and more people begin to take SF seriously.H. G. Wells's famous SF work The War of the Worlds describes a story in which the Martians launch an attack against the earth and try to exterminate human races. In the novel, Wells expresses deep reflections about the past, present and future of the human civilization. This paper tries to interpret those reflections. In fact, the Martian civilization is a mirror image that reveals one of the possibilities about the future of the human world. On one hand, the ways in which the Martians treat human beings reflect the effects of human activities on the natural environment and other earth species. From a historical point of view, both Martians and Mankind have done more wrong than right to the natural environment. On the other hand, the Martians have used their advanced technology to build weapons to wage wars. This fact reflects the tendency that we are developing our technology and physical sciences in an aggressive manner.The main point of this thesis is as follows: Through his unique cosmic perspective, H. G Wells seeks to enlighten his readers to reconsider the issues of economic...