The War of the Worlds Rules and Order Quotes

Whatever else might be different between our time and the 1800s, this at least has stayed the same: some people get to be closer to the action – or even get to go backstage. Here, the narrator is glad to be part of the inner circle that sets up the railing. We might say that the "railing" is what separates out the leaders – the people who set up the rules – from everyone else. It's also interesting that this takes place on the common, the area where everyone should be allowed.

This is one of the few hints we get about life before the invasion, and according to this hint, life is good. Now, this might not be so clear-cut as it seems, but it appears as if the narrator has a somewhat posh lifestyle. He's got a house (possibly a rental), he feels free to walk around the neighborhood instead of working, and he has "many little luxuries." We might reasonably ask how he can afford this sort of life. Well, one possible explanation is that he can afford all this because society is set up in a certain way. He gets to live his life because other people live less rich lives. (We're thinking about the native people in the British colonies, but we might also include some of the British working class here too.)

This quote offers a concise statement of what the rest of the book shows us. There was the social order before the Martian invasion, but then the Martians wreck that social order. We think that's a fairly good summation the book, though we might ask why the narrator repeats "social order" twice. Is it because the Martians can't hurt some other kind of order? For instance, just because the Martians invade doesn't mean the rules of physics or biology go out the window.

If you were looking for a symbol of rules and order, you could do worse than the train. After all, the train has to keep to a certain schedule. Unless, of course, that schedule is interrupted by invading aliens using Heat-Rays. (Or, really, any type of ray.) For more on this, check out the Martian vs. human technology section in "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory."

Ever since the Spanish Armada (and likely even before that), British power has been associated with sea power. They have the best navy around and don't you forget it. So, in some ways, British life in the 19th century is based on the fact that they have a fantastic navy. Yet we see that the Martian invasion is undermining this basis for the British way of life. (Although the Martians seem to leave untouched that other basis for the British way of life: tea.)

Okay, so maybe the Martians have left the tea untouched, but look at all the other things they're ruining: the police, the railroads, the whole "social body." But maybe the Martians aren't totally to blame. Perhaps part of the reason why the social order is falling apart is that people aren't doing enough to keep it together. Also, check out that language: "guttering, softening, running" – that sounds a lot like words you would use to describe candle wax, something solid that doesn't stay solid. (For more on liquid metaphors, check out "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory.")

While we might think of rules and order as something to do with large amounts of people – the nation or the city – let's spare a moment for this tiny setting of rules and order. The curate wants to eat and the narrator wants to start rationing food. As with most of the rules/order in this book, it doesn't quite work out. According to the narrator, the curate can't be reasoned with, so a situation that should be about rules becomes more about power. Or is power always at the heart of rules and order?

This is the artilleryman making clear that the new sort of society he wants to start is one based on rules and order. In fact, to the artilleryman, the Martian invasion seems to represent an opportunity to put some new rules and order into place. Hmm. Remember how it didn't work out so well when the narrator tried to run a house with the curate founded on rules? Here, you would think the narrator would be satisfied (finally, rules!), but the artilleryman turns out to be a weak and "undisciplined" dreamer (2.7.96). (Again, that word "discipline.")

When the narrator imagines the recovery, he envisions the return of "the pulse of life." That's a very natural image, but also something very ordered. Pulses tend to be regular, following a certain rule. So, the narrator imagines the Martian invasion as letting the sheep run wild (who knows what sort of hijinks they'll get into) and imagines the recovery as the return of order.

We get a lot of general pronouncements about the world after the Martian invasion. Sure, sure, there's a new "commonweal of mankind" (2.10.8), but we don't get a lot of concrete descriptions of what's going on. What does a "commonweal of mankind" even mean? This passage does provide us with one strong image of the new order, though. Instead of people leaving the dirty work to the laborers, everyone is pitching in and trying to help out.