During the late Victorian Britain, H.G. Wells became a literary spokesperson for liberal optimism and social reform. His scientific knowledge and literary capabilities led him to be one of the fore fathers of modern science fiction. In his novel The Time Machine, Wells, knowledgeable on the teachings of Charles Darwin and those of the Fabian Society, attempts to warn society that the brutality of capitalism and the plight of the laborer are not dealt with through social reforms then humanity will drive itself to extinction.
H.G. Wells was born on September 21, 1866 as Herbert George Wells in Bromley, Kent, England. He was the youngest child of Joseph and Sarah Wells. Although Herbert’s father owned a shop, the Wells family struggled with poverty while he was growing up. In 1874 at the age of seven, Wells, bedridden for several months with a broken leg, utilized this time and his passion for reading, pouring through many novels his father rented from their local library, which included novels from Charles Dickens and Washington Irving. At the age of 14 after losing their family’s shop and main source of income, Wells and his brother were set off to work, Wells found an apprenticeship with a draper at the Southsea Drapery Emporium, Hyde’s, while his mother began working at an estate as a housekeeper. After several unhappy months, Wells left his job as a draper’s apprentice and returned home much to his mother’s dismay. The experiences he gained as an apprentice, thirteen-hour long workdays and living in a crowded dormitory, would inspire some of his later novels, The Wheels of Chance and Kipp. After visiting the estate that employed his mother, he discovered the owner’s extensive library where he read various works from cla...
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...t only applies to the Elois and Morlocks but to the era Wells lived in and present day as well.
The brutal system of capitalism and widening gap between classes experienced by Wells during the late Victorian Britain leads him to join the Fabian Society and adopt socialist and liberal views. His personal schooling and scientific education allow him to think outside of the confines of society and help usher in social reform. The Time Machine embodies the problems of not only society during Wells’ time but modern society as well.
Works Cited
Partington, John. "H. G. Wells." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Biography in Context. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Toye, Richard. "H.G.Wells and the New Liberalism." Twentieth Century British History 19.2 (2008): 156-185. Oxford Journals. Database. 21 Nov 2013.
The time machine represented the technology driven society in which concern was shown by the author. The slightest change in the initial conditions of a chaotic system can accumulate into a colossal effect. There was going to be chaos and destruction if an animal was killed. There was fear and undesirable conditions, there was fear that at the stamp of a foot or the death of any animal, important people and personality might never be born and the new world will be brought back to its foundation. There was fear of death and that time may never be changed. “This fool nearly killed us, but it isn’t that so much, no, it’s his shoes! Look at them! He ran off the path, that ruins us”. (Bradbury, 142). When Eckels stepped from the path and crushes a butterfly, As little as the death of a butterfly, things changed. There was a difference between what he saw before he left and what he saw when he got back. The room decoration changed and the air had a different smell. The presidential position of the United States was occupied by Deutscher instead of Keith. The sign on the entrance changed too, because of his tiny
H.G. Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, Kent a suburb of London. His father, Joseph Wells, and his mother, Sarah, were married in 1853 and they
This book was written in 1897 and was published in 1898 by H.G. Wells. H.G. Wells was a Science Biology teacher and that made him writing these superb science fiction Novels because before he wrote these science fiction novels he had a background of Science. The Time Machine, the visible man and ‘The War of the Worlds’ were all written by H.G. Wells and are still effecting the science fiction world, literature, television series and stories of other authors.
H. G. Wells had rather extreme views in every respect. He was a prominent Fabian for some time and upheld many socialistic ideas that many still have a problem with. His views on human nature were pessimistic, the future was an eventual disappointment, but his writing is the kind that can capture the attention of many people from all ages and walks of life and draw attention to his ideas—which he did to great effect. What makes these books so fascinating? To answer questions such as these, it is imperative to know about the life of the man behind the books. Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866 into a lower middle class family. He worked hard as both a student and assistant to multiple jobs before moving to London with a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Science. It was here that he was introduced to “Darwin’s Bulldog”, the eminent biologist T. H. Huxley, a man whose opinions helped shape Wells’ own for the rest of his life. Instead of becoming a biologist as recommended by Huxley, he became instead a teacher, and overworked himself until he fell into very bad health. On the doctor’s orders, he went to the south coast of England to rest until he ran out of money and returned to London. It was around this time that he met Frank Harris, editor of the “Saturday Review” newspaper, and began his careers as both a novelist and a journalist. Throughout the rest of his life he wrote steadily, averaging a little more than a book per year. In following his writing, one can see four distinct styles emerging throughout it all. At the beginning he went through a science-fiction phase containing books such as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and the Invisible Man. The second phase contained his “humorous Dickensian novel...
Wells believed that science and technology would solve problems of the human race. Wells believed that humans used technology for evil reasons rather than good and that humans are too cruel and selfish. A famous scientist named Thomas Huxley tutored him in college about Darwin’s theory of evolution. Wells was a prophet but before that were a literature, journalist, and a biologist. In 1903 Wells wrote seven pamphlets when he joined the Fabian society. Wells spent most of his time on the Rivera. Wells lived in London, in apartments located in Regenth’s Park, wher...
“The Time Machine” can be seen as Wells’s socialist warning of what will befall humanity if capitalism continues to exploit worker for the benefits of the rich.
The men have the same physic as the women as there is no need to carry
In The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, the Time Traveller first visits the year 802,701, where Wells begins to establish that humanity has split into two opposite and startling sub-species, the Eloi and the Morlocks, similar to “modern” humans. After his associations with the Eloi and finally outsmarting the Morlocks, the Time Traveller escapes millions of years into the future to a period devoid of human life, and once more after that to see the final devolution of man. With these experiences centuries into the future, it is clear Wells does not possess an optimistic outlook on his interpretations of the future, but rather one of regression. Wells’ idea that humanity is doomed to devolution and eventual extinction is shown through the
Ed. Carl Mitcham. Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Vol 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. P182-283.
Influence Thomas Huxley, famous biologist and H.G. Wells' teacher, once said. that "We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the The plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it" (Zaadz). In other words, we all have the duty to leave the world a better place by leaving our influence on others. The. At some point in our lives, we've all had someone or something.
This brings me to one of Wells' most important ideas that he wanted to tell his readers. That was the idea of vivisection or cloning of humans and animals. In todays world we are trying to control evolution by furthering our studies into cloning. He was right about his expectations of future societies and his ideas about how scientific advancements would affect our world. It was different because when this book was published it got horrific reviews for being too outlandish with its views on society. I think that if the book was published today it would be raved as a good warning for all the cloning scientists. Tod...
The future, at first, looks much better than the TT own time, but he soon deliberates that the ‘class conflict’ and ‘class structure’ from his own time have simply evolved rather than effaced. The concept of this future society, in which Wells portrays, can be perceived as a socialist warning of the possibilities that may befall mankind if capitalism continues to occur and workers are continually exploited for the benefits of the rich. As previously expressed the TT conjectures that the working class has been pushed underground for such a time that they have adapted and evolved into a primal, nocturnal species (pg. 79). Whilst, the upper class society has remained above ground, and their advanced civilization, filled with amenities, has changed them into feeble, indolent, and dependent species (pg. 126). The way the tables have somewhat turned and the Morlocks now ‘farm’ the Eloi can be seen as a Marxist revolution of sorts of the future society. A revolution where the oppressed working class has banded together and have overthrown the ruling class. At the time of the publishing of this novella, The Time Machine was an expression of Wells ' concerns for his 19th century audience, his unease of what may occur if the industrial revolution further divided the classes and how this rampancy of capitalism would solemnly effect
For many years, the well-known novelist, H.G. Wells has captivated the minds and imaginations of readers with his multiple best-selling books; The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The War of the Worlds. These selections however are not Wells’ most controversial novel. The Time Machine, written in 1895, is Wells’ most talked about work. Multiple different themes and various sides are seen to be taken within this novel, one of these main themes being the separation of classes. While the Morlock’s and the Eloi, in H.G. Wells’ novel; The Time Machine, play an extremely important role in distinguishing the future for this book, one has reason to believe that there is a broader underlying meaning for these two types of civilization. In fact, this underlying meaning is believed to relate back to Wells’ own personal life during the Victorian Period, in which the working and higher classes were at extreme differences towards each other, and where Wells, being a part of the middle class, felt and experienced firsthand; the clashing of these two divisions in Victorian society.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, a novel about a man’s journey through the future or criticism to the evolution of human race? The Time Traveler sets out on this journey not knowing what he would find or see in the year 802,701. When he arrives he comes across people known as the Eloi. The Eloi are uneducated, small beautiful creature who don’t work or have any political issues. What seems at first like a utopian society that he heard of in the 19th century, turns out to be quite different as he finds out about the creatures who live under ground, the Morlocks. The Morlocks are the “working class” and creatures that consume Elois. By providing these two different classes Wells is trying to prove the devolution of society through the knowledge of the “upper class” and “lower class” in the Victorian Era. Throughout the Time Machine H.G Wells tries to demonstrate how the