How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It seems to me now almost incredibly wonderful that, with that swift fate hanging over us, men could go about their petty concerns as they did. […] For my own part, I was much occupied in learning to ride the bicycle, and busy upon a series of papers discussing the probable developments of moral ideas as civilization progressed. (1.1.19)
Once again, the narrator is harping on his point about human complacency. When huge changes were about to take place, people kept doing everyday little things, like learning to ride a bike. The narrator seems to judge people pretty hard here, but what should they have done? How can anyone prepare for the unthinkable?
Quote #5
I fancy the popular expectation of a heap of charred corpses was disappointed at this inanimate bulk. (1.3.3)
We could think of the first contact with the Martian cylinder as expressing the foolish complacency that the narrator mentions. For instance, when people first see the cylinder, they don't understand how important it is. What people would rather see is something exciting and new, but still within the realm of their experience. (For instance, while they don't want to see a Martian cylinder – which they can't understand – they might be more curious to see something like a railroad accident.)
Quote #6
[…] both [newspapers] overlooked, just as I did, two obvious modifying influences. (1.7.27)
The narrator beats himself up (and other humans) a lot over not realizing things in the moment. Here, the narrator says that he overlooked some issues that were "obvious." But, since everyone overlooked these issues, are they really all that "obvious"?