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Analysis of H.G. Wells' Time Machine

The document provides a summary of H.G. Wells' novel "The Time Machine". It describes how the Time Traveler creates a time machine and uses it to travel hundreds of thousands of years into the future. He arrives in the year 802,701 AD and finds that humanity has divided into two classes - the Eloi who are a delicate upper class, and the Morlocks who are a savage underground class. Over time, the classes have grown further apart with the Eloi becoming ignorant and weak, and the Morlocks seen as dangerous. The document suggests this division reflects modern social class issues and warns that society could continue down this path of division if changes are not made.

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Monique Chalmers
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
49 views2 pages

Analysis of H.G. Wells' Time Machine

The document provides a summary of H.G. Wells' novel "The Time Machine". It describes how the Time Traveler creates a time machine and uses it to travel hundreds of thousands of years into the future. He arrives in the year 802,701 AD and finds that humanity has divided into two classes - the Eloi who are a delicate upper class, and the Morlocks who are a savage underground class. Over time, the classes have grown further apart with the Eloi becoming ignorant and weak, and the Morlocks seen as dangerous. The document suggests this division reflects modern social class issues and warns that society could continue down this path of division if changes are not made.

Uploaded by

Monique Chalmers
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The time machine essay test #1

Monique Chalmers
8:34
2nd
03/22/23

The Time Machine, a book written by H. G. Wells, begins in the 1890’s, in


Richmond, London. The society in this century, the 19th, is divided by the
rich and the poor. The unnamed Time Traveler creates a time machine, that
nobody believes it functions. In chapter 3, he finishes his time machine,
and it works. He travels far but decides to go farther, and sees his
surroundings as if they were going fast forward. He decides to stop, and he
is in the future, sitting in a hailstorm, “A pitiless hail was hissing round
me, and I was sitting on soft turf in front of the overset machine .”
(Chapter three, Page 17). At first, he saw tall buildings and no humans. He
was panicked in fear. Then, he saw a person, described as “He was a slight
creature—perhaps four feet high—clad in a purple tunic, girdled at the
waist with a leather belt. Sandals or buskins—I could not clearly
distinguish which—were on his feet; his legs were bare to the knees, and
his head was bare.”(chapter 4) The Time Traveler claims he was beautiful
but fragile. He later finds out he is in the year 802,701 A.D, in a place where
people are divided into Eloi’s class or Morlock’s class.

The Eloi’s class, the first class the Time Traveler meets, is the “upper class”
who live in the surface. Otherwise, the Morlock’s are the “lower class”, that
live underground. The Eloi’s play all day and do not work. The Time
Traveler at firsts believes, this is a utopian society since he hadn’t met the
Morlocks yet. Later on, he realized that instead of progressing class
equality, it has gotten worse. He enters the Morlocks’ world to get his
machine back, where he meets the Morlocks. He describes them as
“creatures”, that never stopped working, and as soon as they saw the Time
Traveler, they seize him. He considers them as savages, who eat Eloi’s.
H. G. Wells writes this book, as a warning of what the future may seem.
This book was written in the 1890’s and now in 2023, social class has not
improved. People are become lazier and more divided. As H. G Wells says,
“We should strive to welcome change and challenges, because they are
what help us grow. With out them we grow weak like the Eloi in comfort
and security. We need to constantly be challenging ourselves in order to
strengthen our character and increase our intelligence. ” (H.G. Wells), If
society continues to be like this, the “upper class”, will end up weak,
ignorant and brainless. Technology is giving the world more reasons to why
stop learning and challenging themselves, since all the answers are there.
People are now more lazy and tired, due to the excess of technology. They
are 1 step closer to end up like the Eloi’s. On the other hand, the “lower
class” keeps being stereotyped as savages and dangerous, so the upper-class
rarely help them.

The places where these two classes live are very much a reference of today’s
environment. Rich people live in the city, clean and not as dangerous. They
do not have to worry about not eating or having no clean water. The lower-
class live in dirty, trashy places, where water is never filtered, and food is
hard to find. Most people eat 1 full meal a week and struggle with nutrition.
This book is written so people could see what humanity is leading t0, and to
stop it. The problem is, instead of stopping, it is advancing.

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Wells' portrayal of the future in 'The Time Machine' draws parallels with contemporary society by emphasizing persistent class divisions. The Eloi, representing the privileged, live in security and ease but suffer from intellectual stagnation, mirroring concerns about modern technological dependency leading to intellectual complacency. In contrast, the Morlocks, representing the lower class, continue to toil in harsh conditions akin to urban poverty today . Wells highlights the dangers of ignoring social inequities, warning that without conscious efforts to challenge and integrate, society risks drifting towards extreme class dichotomies depicted in his novel .

Wells' Eloi and Morlocks metaphorically represent exaggerated divisions seen in modern society, where the upper class resembles the Eloi, living in comfort without the need to labor, while the Morlocks are akin to the lower class, laboring tirelessly underground. The Eloi's detached existence and the Morlocks' harsh living conditions mirror today's socioeconomic divides where the affluent enjoy security and resources, while the impoverished grapple with subsistence . This juxtaposition warns against a future where technological advancement leads to intellectual and physical complacency among the privileged, widening the gap further .

'The Time Machine' offers a commentary on human evolution, suggesting that social and environmental conditions significantly shape human development. The division into Eloi and Morlocks serves as a metaphor for potential human degeneration if adverse conditions persist. The Eloi's physical and mental frailty represents the danger of over-dependence on comfort and lack of adversity, while the Morlocks' evolution illustrates the brutal effects of continuous labor and deprivation . Wells implies that human evolution is not solely a biological process but is deeply entwined with societal structures and environmental adaptations .

The Eloi and Morlocks symbolize the extreme ends of class division, reflecting Wells' critique of social stratification. The Eloi, living on the surface in apparent ease, represent the upper class, who have lost their intellectual and survival capabilities due to over-reliance on technology and absence of challenge . The Morlocks, toiling underground, symbolize the oppressed working class, maintaining the infrastructure upon which the Eloi's comfort depends. Wells' portrayal suggests a dystopian evolution where class distinctions have biologically and socially deformed humans, highlighting the necessity of addressing such inequalities in his contemporary society .

Wells suggests that if current social and technological trends persist, society may devolve into a bifurcated state akin to the Eloi and Morlocks. The Eloi's degeneration into passive beings due to technological dependency and the Morlocks' oppressed labor environment warn of the dangers of failing to bridge social class divides and overly relying on technology for well-being . Wells argues for the need to welcome change and challenges to build a robust society, implying that without intervention, social disparities may exacerbate and dehumanize us, reflecting contemporary societal issues .

Wells' narrative challenges the perception of technological advancements as inherently beneficial by illustrating how they can lead to social regression and moral decay rather than progress. The Eloi, benefiting from technological solutions, have become complacent and incapable of self-defense or critical thought, while the Morlocks, though oppressed, are industrial and resourceful . This dichotomy cautions against uncritical acceptance of technology as a panacea for social issues, emphasizing the need for balanced development that includes social equity and intellectual growth .

In 'The Time Machine', technology plays a pivotal role in shaping future society, contributing to the Eloi's superficial existence and the Morlocks' subterranean lifestyle. Technology has allowed the Eloi to live without labor, leading to their intellectual and physical decline, resembling a dystopian outcome of reliance on technology without the need for challenge or growth . Wells critiques the potential for technology to make the upper class lazy and complacent, highlighting a future where technological advances fail to address or bridge class inequalities, instead exacerbating them .

H. G. Wells explores the theme of complacency versus challenge by presenting the Eloi as an extreme result of a society that has ceased to strive for improvement. The lack of challenges has rendered them weak and unintelligent, demonstrating Wells' warning against the comfort of complacency. He contrasts this with the Morlocks, who, while described as savages, are industrious and maintain the infrastructure of society . Wells advocates for continual personal and societal challenges to prevent stagnation and decline, which he claims help grow intelligence and character .

H. G. Wells uses the Time Traveler as a lens to explore the evolution of social classes by taking him to a future where class separation has mutated into Eloi and Morlocks. Initially, the Time Traveler perceives the future society as utopian upon encountering the seemingly carefree Eloi. However, he soon realizes that class stratification has worsened rather than improved, as the Morlocks, who labor underground and are considered savages, prey upon the Eloi . This progression reflects Wells' critique of contemporary class disparities and serves as a caution that without striving for change, society may degenerate into this dystopian vision .

The Time Traveler's discovery of a deteriorated society despite technological progress underscores Wells' warning that advancements in technology do not equate to societal improvement. The Eloi and Morlocks embody the result of unchecked technological reliance that fosters social stagnation and ethical decay rather than addressing or resolving class divisions . This discovery serves as a caution about the limitations of technological solutions in addressing fundamental social issues, and it stresses the importance of continued effort towards societal development and equality .

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