In what ways can War of the Worlds be considered allegorical?

In what ways can War of the Worlds be considered allegorical?

In the novel War of the Worlds (1898) the themes of paranoia, fear of 'others' and fear of annihilation are shown throughout. People were paranoid due to the fear of cultural destruction, the possibility of the world ending and the fear of immigrants. They feared immigrants as they believed they were a threat to British culture and they didn't want them to come over and change our culture to theirs. The fear of annihilation grew due to the people fearing cultural destruction and immigration, as well as the possible collapse of the British Empire. 

The story is so well suited for adaptation as these themes are universal and will always exist. This is due to us still having paranoia, fear of 'others' and fear of annihilation. However, the reasons for these change over time just like in the radio show and first and second film adaptation of the novel. 

In the Radio drama of War of the Worlds (1938) the same themes occurred, paranoia, fear of 'others' and fear of annihilation. However, it had changed slightly as people were no longer afraid of immigrants and the destruction of culture. They now feared the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and Fascism in Europe, The Second World war and Fascism due to paranoia. Their fear of 'others' changed to fear of foreign nations such as Germany, Japan and Italy They feared Nazis and ideological challenges from fascism. The fear of annihilation was now because of a possible World War 2, the emergence of Nuclear technology and threats to the US National Security from Europe and Asia.

In the War of the Worlds film (1953) the themes of paranoia, fear of 'others' and fear of annihilation still existed, however the paranoia was now of Nuclear annihilation, communist infiltration and the USSR. Instead of fearing the Nazis, people feared conflict with Cuba, 'Alien' (the official word for immigrants in US) and the fear of a USSR backed Communist Global revolution. The fear of annihilation also changed to fear of Nuclear annihilation from a very real threat, fear of World War 3 and fear of communist infiltration and ideological shift. 

In the 2005 version of War of the Worlds, the paranoia and fear of 'others and annihilation still very much existed, however now the paranoia was of Terrorist attacks due to the 9/11 attack on New York. The paranoia was also due to fear of the government. Fear of 'others' changed from fear of Nazis and communism to fear of Islamic Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Which led to fear of annihilation by Islamic Terrorists and future events of Terrorism.