The Time Machine free essay sample

One of the most famous time travelling novels was H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine which was published in 1895. Thoughts and ideas of time travelling existed before Wells’ work, but it was him who formulated the idea of time travelling as using a â€Å"machine†. The dictionary defines the term â€Å"literature† as writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. Through the different genres and subgenres that H. G. Wells has created in The Time Machine, proving that this literary work belonging in â€Å"high culture† will support its relevance in the tradition of Western literature. According to Peter Firchow, H. G. Wells â€Å"does not only appeal to a recently created audience which, like himself expected its fictions to be a least as technologically sophisticated as the articles on technology and science in its newspapers. We will write a custom essay sample on The Time Machine or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He also appeals to an audience that, like himself, had been nourished on a rich fare of travel literature, especially travel to exotic places and often – as with Livingston and Stanley – under conditions of extreme hardship and danger† (124). The Time Machine can draw in a larger audience through its adventurous theme of travelling to foreign places. Even in its title, we can draw out even more ideas that can relate to mechanics or engineers from the word â€Å"Machine†. In the Science Fiction Studies, Veronica Hollinger deconstructed the idea of a time machine and states that, â€Å"To write about time travel, therefore, is necessarily to have performed a kind of reading, to have interpreted time in order to structure it as the â€Å"space† through which a traveler can undertake a journey† (201). Hollinger argues that time travel is a â€Å"sign without a referent† and that the time travel story provides literary metaphors of our ideas about the nature of time. This is also useful to show how evident the concepts are not normally grasped or produced from readers. The new idea of time travelling would have to come from educated thoughts and/or a â€Å"high culture† of educated society in Western literature. Part of the plot in The Time Machine also emphasizes a â€Å"prophetic warning of the decline of the human race and this â€Å"devolution† is the apparently direct result of the class divisiveness of Wells’ contemporary social situation† (Hollinger 202). The story involves travelling to the year 802,701 A. D. and encountering beings called the Eloi and Morlocks. The society and class structure are clearly divided in this culture. This vision of a disturbing future could have been a message from the English author to the society so it can change its ways. If not, his story about the Eloi can be a clue of advice to warn them about their troublesome ways in society, government, etc. through these metaphors from time travelling. The idea of what is yet to come, whether it is through social class or government, shows some of the criteria that may be required to fully understand the message Wells tries to get across to audiences. Being knowledgeable and educated in the modern society helps showcase the theories in the plot. From Michael P. Lee’s Reading Meat in H. G. Wells, he states that humans are a â€Å"vigorous animal† and yet we try to divide ourselves to become more civilized. He states that â€Å"In the work of H. G. Wells, meat becomes both something capable of shaping narrative structure and the visceral evidence of an imperial culture in which social interest is inseparable from appetite and illumination is bound to carnage† (Lee 250). He continues, â€Å"†¦the seeker of information—the explorer, the scientist, the attentive conversationalist, even the reader of these books—is figured as a sublimated hunter of human meat. So while it is a commonplace in interdisciplinary work on cannibalism that in Western culture the cannibal has long been â€Å"a figure associated with absolute alterity and used to enforce boundaries between a civilized ‘us’ and savage ‘them’†. This also has the underlying message of â€Å"devolution†, and emphasizes the idea of the Morlocks cannibalizing the Eloi, which can be meant to foreshadow and mirror our futuristic fate as a society. Again, the topics of society, Darwinism, and cultural cannibalism are more aimed at a â€Å"high cultured† audience. Among the various characters that are introduced before the time traveler tells his story, we are familiarized with dinner guests that give the impression of being educated individuals. Their professions are revealed and are from different fields of study such as medical, psychology, an editor and journalist. Wells’ chose these characters apparently to be realistic because of them being â€Å"professional skeptics† (Firchow 126). Readers also learn that the narrator is a scientist of some kind. As the character speaks of his extraordinary travels, we are only given comments from him, using just his observation, that show that he has no help in trying to understand this world and nothing to aid in explaining anything to him. Firchow states that, â€Å"The Time Traveler’s understanding of the future is solely based on his deductions, which – no matter how persuasive they may seem to us – remain mere hypotheses to the very end† (127). He continues to address that this is also the method that is used by another fictional contemporary, Sherlock Holmes, to solve his mysteries. These literary works depict men of moderately high education, and with this science fiction novel readers are introduced to time traveling with a more scientific perspective as well realistic questioning and doubt from the characters. There have been many instances in fiction where time travel is used as a plot device and it has branched even further through pop culture and the entertainment industry. Some examples include television shows and full motion pictures like Doctor Who, Back to the Future, Japanese animation, Futurama, Superman, and episodes of the Twilight Zone. The plot device is also used in the genres of romantic dramas such as The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Lake House. In The Time Machine, H. G. Wells also uses a connection to draw another side of the audience through the main character’s found relationship with an Eloi, Weena. To help connect using a more emotional and powerful story, Wells provides a sense of â€Å"the Time Traveller’s personal safety – and, eventually, also that of his friend Weena – deepends on his ability to grasp what is really going on in the world of the Eloi and the Morlocks† (Firchow 128). This also accommodates readers with a sensitive side using this nurturing yet blurred romantic relationship. This bond is a link to the classic theme of the â€Å"damsel in distress†. An attractive being that is deemed to be female, forms an alliance with the main character that creates this affair motif after he saves her from drowning. The time traveler is accredited to becoming the â€Å"hero† when Wells displays Weena as a somewhat foolish, naive, and helpless individual that requires the needs protection. After his attachment with Weena, he learns of the situation of two species at hand and continues to try to keep Weena safe due to her helplessness. The time traveler also wants to bring Weena back with him to his current time which helps emphasize the attraction. The Sci-fi genre is not only exclusive to certain fanatics, but can become appealing through these other elements that H. G. Wells uses in The Time Machine. At the same time, Wells stands by his education and makes it apparent in the story. Firchow states that, â€Å"Wells is a radical innovator. He is the first writer of Utopian fiction to argue that the achievement of Utopia will inevitably lead to stagnation and degeneration. He is the first major novelist to make this claim because he is also the first to be fully informed of and convinced by Darwin’s theory of evolution† (131). This thought of â€Å"survival of the fittest† brings a struggle to the audience as well when thinking of the future of human kind. Deep thoughts can be pondered about evolution, time travel, and human nature. Peter Firchow states that The Time Machine is not only an innovative but also very much representative work of the late 19th century, a period often designated as the Age of Symbolism† (129). Through these different opportunities of appealing genres, H. G. Wells gives a great tale of adventure, scientific deductions, social degeneration, and life itself. Many of these themes and subjects involve a â€Å"higher cultured† education and may be required to have understood and/or interpreted these topics prior to reading this iconic story of a degenerating earth. The Time Machine has become involved in our Western literature as a classic and also an original inspiration to many modern day science fiction works. Even educators and scientific studies gain inspiration through the scientific observations that is used by the time traveler. The observations of astronomy through his journey combined with his deductions in figuring out the species of the future appeals to many. The Time Machine appeals to the imagination and minds of adventurers, educators, scientists, and storytellers that continue to question and strive for answers about our abilities and continue to investigate the ideas humanity itself.