Time Machine

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Traveling Back in Time: I decided to take a little trip back in time and re-read The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. I don’t remember how old I was when I first read the book, but having read the as an adult, I’m surprised that as a child, I enjoyed a book with a lot of philosophy and philosophic discussions. The nice thing about returning to a book I read decades ago is that it was fresh and often surprising. Brief Summary: Our Victorian time traveler, invents a time machine, and travels forward to the year 802701 C.E. By anyone’s standards, it’s an ambitious leap into the future. In this far distant future, the wealthy and upper class in England have evolved into the Eloi, carefree, simple-minded beings. They spend their days eating, playing, having sex and generally waltzing through life. Although the buildings are in disrepair and the Eloi are frighten of the dark, the land is beautiful and the time traveler seems to have landed in a utopian society. As soon as the time traveler lands, he has a sense that he’s being watched and that all isn’t exactly right. But his feelings are put aside as he spends the day with the Eloi. When he returns to his machine, it’s missing, and the suspense he felt when he landed returns. His top priority is to find his machine so he can return home. He makes friends with Weena, a female Eloi, and discovers that the Eloi are not the only inhabitants. The Morlocks, a race of subterranean beings who evolved from the working class, maintain the underground machines that support the Eloi. The Time Traveler quickly realizes the Morlocks are dangerous. The story question at this point is will the time traveler find his machine and return to Victorian England? And will he stay put if he does get back? General Observations: I think I appreciated this book far more reading it as an adult than I did when I read it as a child. I can see the historical issues and philosophies being played out in the story. However, the first time I read The Time Machine the story was intriguing and fun. So, I guess I can say it still works for the young and the old. In Well’s time, culture and society were changing. Rights and the treatment of the working classes were issues, which this book brings those issues to the foreground. The upper and middle-classes with too much leisure and little work have deteriorated into weak, simple minded beings who play all day. While the working classes are underground, out of sight and out of mind, but they come out at night and are excessively dangerous��"a warning of ignoring the plight and needs of the working-class. Often the narrative is flavored with discourses on the class structure and problems of Wells' time. This works because the Time Traveler is telling a group of friends what happened to him. His side commentary seems a natural part of the story. For people with a good grasp of high school sciences, much of the story’s science wouldn’t hold up today, but I don’t think this is a problem. I don’t insist that my science fiction is based on hard science, so it was easy enough to suspend my disbelief. The book was written over a hundred years ago, 1895, so it’s easy to make allowances. What I Liked: 1. The story holds up surprisingly well. It’s a simple story, much less sophisticated and complex than contemporary stories, but enjoyable. 2. The descriptions have a wow factor. Well’s is exploring the ideas of evolution and how the earth and people might evolve. The vivid descriptions were a pleasure to read and not overwhelming as some Victorian literature. 3. The philosophical discussions were engaging. Yeah, this one surprised me, but the observations did fit into the tone of the novel and seemed natural. Negatives: Okay, I like to balance the “What I Liked” section with something equal to “What I Didn’t Like”; however, I’m having some trouble coming up with list of negatives. As I said earlier, some of the science could be griped about, but I’m not inclined to do that. I have one gripe, but really, it’s more of a personal opinion than a critique of the story. I don’t agree with the way the Eloi and the Morlocks evolved. I don’t think all violence and intelligence would disappear from the Eloi race; nor do I think the Morlocks would have the intelligence to run the machines for the Eloi and have evolved to be aggressive and violent without somewhere along the line rebelling, pushing to live above ground, and creating weapons. I understand that during the industrial revolution that many wealthy people couldn’t adjust to the changes and thus were not progressive and didn’t understand the need to change or lose everything; however, I think Wells underestimated human intelligence and human aggression in both the Eloi and Morlocks. Even in Wells’ time, many adjusted and flowed along with and changed with the times, and the time period was rife with working-class demands and rebellions, which we know resulted in change. However, I won’t fault Well’s for not having a prophetic knowledge of the future. So the basic instinct for survival, human aggression, and human intelligence would survive evolution. All that aside, it’s a fun story. If you haven’t read it in a while or if you’re never read it, do. Take a stroll back in time.