What is the townspeople's first reaction to the appearance of the cylinder from mars in war of the worlds?

They were curious but generally unafraid of the strange thing.

Explanation:

Herbert George Wells wrote the science fictional novel "War of the Worlds" detailing a conflict between humans and the extraterrestrial beings. Wells uses an unidentified narrator and his brother as his protagonists, showing the alien invasion in England.

In "Chapter IV: The Cylinder Opens", the narrator tells how the strange cylinder that houses the Martian aliens began to open. The people who had been engrossed in the strange new thing that had suddenly appeared from the sky were suddenly alarmed with the motion. Some were eager to get away from the scene while most were beginning to flock themselves to see the new scene, everyone wanting to get a glimpse of what is to be revealed. Overall, they were too taken by the strange new thing than feeling any fear of it.