Theme: alienation
The War of the Worlds / Urban Isolation
I was weary after eating, and went into the parlour behind the bar, and slept on a black horsehair sofa I found there. I awoke to find that dismal how...
The War of the Worlds / Monotony of Existence
All these—the sort of people that lived in these houses, and all those damn little clerks that used to live down _that_ way—they’d be no good. They ha...
The War of the Worlds / Curiosity and Connection
“It’s a pity they make themselves so unapproachable,” he said. “It would be curious to know how they live on another planet; we might learn a thing or...
Frankenstein / Creator and Creature
I did not know the names of the towns that I was to pass through, nor could I ask information from a single human being; but I did not despair. From y...
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea / Beauty and Isolation
But, beautiful as it was, I could only take a rapid glance at the basin whose superficial area is two million of square yards. Even Captain Nemo’s kno...
Frankenstein / Isolation in Nature
But I was in no mood to laugh and talk with strangers or enter into their feelings or plans with the good humour expected from a guest; and accordingl...
The War of the Worlds / Natures Wrath
All about me the red weed clambered among the ruins, writhing to get above me in the dimness. Night, the mother of fear and mystery, was coming upon m...
Frankenstein / Isolation and Virtue
My vices are the children of a forced solitude that I abhor, and my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal. I shall fee...
The War of the Worlds / Martian Physiology
They were huge round bodies—or, rather, heads—about four feet in diameter, each body having in front of it a face. This face had no nostrils—indeed, t...
Frankenstein / Disillusioned Pursuits
I returned home not disappointed, for I have said that I had long considered those authors useless whom the professor reprobated; but I returned not a...
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea / Culinary Discomfort
The water was fresh and clear, but it was water, and did not suit Ned Land’s taste. Amongst the dishes which were brought to us, I recognised several ...
The War of the Worlds / Technological Horror
The Cardigan men had tried a rush, in skirmishing order, at the pit, simply to be swept out of existence. Then the monster had risen to its feet and h...
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea / Existential Struggle
My clothes encumbered me; they seemed glued to my body, and paralysed my movements. My mouth filled with water; I struggled against being drawn down t...