One of the methods Wells used to get across his ideas is characterisation. The main character, Mr Fotheringay, is and ordinary man like anyone else. He does not appear to have an excellent job either. We get the impression he is not in control of his power from the word ‘giddy’ mentioned, it suggests he’s a bit childish about it; this idea of no control is backed up by the repetition of the word ‘smash’, this could suggest things aren’t going right as things are being damaged or even it could be saying there is something worse about to happen. He uses his power to perform little miracles such as ‘he created a snail, which he miraculously annihilated’. This, to us, would seem pointless, but to him, no. the word ‘annihilated’ suggests he destroys it with power just as he had the power to create life (the snail), this makes him sound like a god. He used the powers to his advantage and as a result he seems rather selfish.
Mr. Maydig, a second character, is a man of the church, but in my opinion im not too sure, after seeing the miracles being performed he begins to forget his faith in the church and he begins to somewhat become interested in the miracles as if it were his own power. He becomes increasingly excited about the miracles Fotheringay is able to perform. I get the impression he tries to hide this by becoming inconclusive in his speeches. As Fotheringay talks about Winch (who was accidently sent to hell by Fotheringay), Maydig said ‘I see you are in a tangle, yes it’s a difficult position, how you’re to end it……’ He never finishes. If Maydig followed the church, he shouldn’t be agreeing or even interested, he should say God is the only one to perform miracles and that Fotheringay is mad or possessed.
Another of Wells methods is structure, it’s the way Fotheringay starts with small, pathetic miracles when he has the power to do anything. As the story goes on the miracles become more dramatic and bigger until the final miracle that was not described as anything in particular but appeared to sound like the atomic bomb, so basically a catastrophic occurrence. To follow this Fotheringay appears at the beginning of the story again and is engaged in the conversation he first had about miracles, but this time he could define what one was. The way Wells turns it into a circular story is powerful in the understanding in what Wells is trying to say to the reader.
The settings in which the story takes place are rather strange when you think of the ideas Wells is explaining in this story. The opening of the story is in the local pub, the Long Dragon. It’s the location where Fotheringay discovered his power. Its almost like Wells is saying and backing his idea that anyone, any human can posses this power, just any ordinary person as its set in a public place open to anyone. Of the witnesses of the first miracle (of the lamp burning upside down) Fotheringay performed, they all reacted more shocked and scared than what actually you would imagine them to be. It gives the impression, aswell as the language he uses, that something is going to happen, a warning of what is to come. The language he uses supports this, ‘one anticipating a catastrophic smash’. Like a preview of the catastrophe at the end maybe? The use of anticipating suggests the waiting until the end of the story for the ‘catastrophic smash’. The repeating of the smash in the paragraph helps to convey the idea of Fotheringay having no control or to suggest the damage of the final miracle.
From the final miracle, Wells wanted an impact on the reader, using some of the language he uses, it does just that. In many ways Wells would predict science of the future, and from the final miracle it almost matches the atom bomb. ‘Instantaneous as light’, suggesting the light that was admitted from the bomb or maybe the exposing happened so quickly, as it could mean the speed of light. ‘Like a bursting bomb’, that can only suggest what it says, it’s like a bomb. ‘Where’s the village? Where’s - where’s anything?’ Fotheringay is confused, everything has gone, the miracle had immense damage, this matches the atom bomb, which destroyed everything in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and nothing left. Wells was clever enough to suggest something 50 years before its happening.
This story can have alternative interpretations depending on how it affects different people. One interpretation being that it could be a parody of Jesus, so could offend the Christians. Im not a Christian but I support this view as Maydig being a man of the God “eggs on” Fotheringay when really he shouldn’t have but should have mentioned only God and Jesus can perform miracles. The story also comes across as being slightly blasphemous, it takes the lords name in vain, which is a sin, going against one of the 10 commandments.
The alternative view on this is just as important as it supports Christian views, because according to the Bible, only God or Jesus were able to perform miracles but on the other hand if Fotheringay were to perform miracles like he did then surely its saying that Jesus was alive doing what the Bible says he did, healing, sharing the bread and fish and so on… or maybe the power Fotheringay had was a gift from God, and if God were to give a gift then its worth while, I would say it’s a good thing, right? Perhaps the story shows God and Jesus being divine as a human with that power (Fotheringay) messes things up, suggesting that humans have no control. The views are almost endless.
In conclusion, I agree that this story is relevant in today’s world. The story has many meanings to think about. Wells is making predictions about the future science, the atom bomb, created 50 years later and almost recreated what Wells wrote when the bomb was dropped in August of 1945, followed by a second 3 days later. The story, in my opinion, has a religious meaning to it. Going back to the Christians, it sort of suggests how easy it is to offend a religion due to science. To me, the two are strongly linked which this story seems to show. Wells seems to have written this to have a meaning to be later relevant to a future century for understanding
