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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 is the name of the professional organization for astronomers?

2. What does the narrator refer to as The Thing when he comes back to town after taking his wife away?

3. How many houses around the pit catch fire on Friday night?

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

5. What is a Deputation?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the ruined house that makes the narrator hide in the basement?

2. How do people feel about the Martians when they first see them? When and why does this change?

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

4. How does the narrator's brother respond when he hears rumors that food supplies may soon arrive? What does this reveal about him?

5. What is the significance of the artilleryman's story?

6. Why are the milkman and the train reassuring to the narrator after the first heat-ray?

7. What does the narrator say is the lesson of his story in the Epilogue?

8. Why is the narrator disappointed the second time in the story that he interacts with the artilleryman?

9. What does the "Committee of Public Safety" do to the narrator's brother, and what does this reveal about human nature?

10. How does the narrator get across the Thames? What does this show about his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When was this novel written? Examine what major events occurred in England around this time, and how they may have influenced this book.

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

Explain how War of the Worlds fits the traditional plot structure of a novel.

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This section contains 749 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample