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Situational Irony
Book 1, Chapter 6: The Heat-Ray in the Chobham Road
Explanation and Analysis:
The War of the Worlds is written in journalistic, reportage-style prose. Despite the novel's extraordinary circumstances, its prose remains measured, descriptive, and realistic. For example, in Book 1, Chapter 6, the narrator describes how the Martians are "able to slay men so swiftly and silently":
Many think that in some way they are able to generate an intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the parabolic mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light. But no one has absolutely proved these details. However it is done, it is certain that a beam of heat is the essence of the matter.
This passage describes the cause of many violent deaths, but it has a straightforward style. The scientific diction of phrases like "non-conductivity" and "parabolic mirror" implies that the narrator has the technical knowledge to (partially) understand the Martians' technology. The narrator also carefully separates fiction from fact by talking about what "many think" and admitting that no one has "absolutely proved" the Martians' methods. The narrator rarely shares his personal feelings, preferring here and elsewhere to extract the "essence" of what is most important to the story as a whole. The story's consistent realism and attention to detail make it all the more accurate and, given the subject matter, all the more terrifying.
Related Themes:
