Literary Criticism on The Star by H.G. Wells Research Paper

Literary Criticism on The Star by H.G. Wells - Research Paper Example They made a mysterious and previously inaccessible world of space friendly and interesting for everyone. They gave people the stars and heavenly heights. The two greatest world fantasy writers were H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clarke. Who was not absorbed in the childhood by their exciting novels and short stories? Both of them along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback, have been referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". They have always been at the forefront of scientific thinking, they challenged the traditional and conservative views of many people who rejected the advanced and innovative research ideas and stubbornly followed old, outdated conceptions of the universe, the origin of man and the so-called â€Å"higher divine power.† In this work we will make at attempt to reflect the points of view of the both writers to the power of human thought, the role of science in the modern world, as well as the growing conflict between traditional religious beliefs and progressiv e scientific views. The objects of this essay are the novels â€Å"The Star† by H.G. Wells and â€Å"The Star† by Arthur C. Clarke. â€Å"The Star† by H.G. Wells is an apocalyptic short story written in 1897. ... A famous master mathematician publishes his calculations according to which â€Å"the star would either hit Earth or pass by at close proximity, which would lead to apocalyptic ecological consequences† (Wells). The terrible prognoses come true and soon the whole planet is overwhelmed with earthquakes, ice-melting, floods, tsunamis causing â€Å"the devastation across the world. Most of human population perishes, and its works remain unusable, cities, cathedrals, farms, etc. and when it seems that nothing can save the humanity the killing star suddenly slightly changes its orbit about the Earth to a more distant one† (Wells). According to Martian astronomers the Earth’s survival was a real miracle â€Å"despite the huge havoc that has been brought upon its surface† (Wells). The star did much hard to the planet and the humanity: Extensive areas of Greenland lost its ice cover and turned green and favorable for inhabiting, the Earth’s climate has great ly changed and now people have to settle close to poles where it is much warmer than in other regions. The author underlines that these significant and terrible changes which caused millions of deaths all around the world, were just a small and minor event for the Universe where thousands of planets and stars perish every day â€Å"Which only shows how small the vastest of human catastrophes may seem, at a distance of a few million miles†(Wells). Another strong idea placed in the center of this story is non-divine nature of the universe in general and our planet in particular. The author vividly shows that all the events occurring in the world whether it is death of a civilization or some minor accidents can be scientifically grounded and