Critical Analysis of "The Time Machine" by HG Well
Uploaded by makaveli2345 on Jun 26, 2006 |
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Critical Analysis of "The Time Machine" by HG Wells
Let me start the essay by saying I believe H.G. Wells is one of the most intelligent writers of his time: a true futurist. I think the theme of this book would be more on the like lines of thinking about something before u do it. The time traveler should have thought things threw and taken precautions for everything that could possibly go wrong, or right for that matter. If he had done this, I am sure he would have had a camera, matches (to fight of the Morlocks), cigars (he constantly wants them through out the story) and of course, his machine wouldn't have been captured by the Morlocks.
The main characters in the time machine where the Time Traveler himself, Weena (an Eloi who The Time Traveler rescued) the Eloi was a race and the Morlocks was a race. Weena was by far the most interesting of the characters. She was an Eloi who was drowning while trying to bathe in a river. The Time Traveler quickly jumped into the river and rescued her. She then started following The Time Traveler everywhere on his expeditions. He to gained knowledge from Weena about the Morlocks and the Eloi's. The Time Traveler obviously was an intelligent man, I mean he figured out a way to travel through time! He was also a very rich, charming and friendly man, a little too anxious and curious though. His anxiety made him go to another time unprepared, nothing with him but a package of matches. The Morlocks are a race of our current day primates except ten times more ugly and they live underground. They are very aggressive but have a weakness, light. The Eloi's on the other hand are very nice and gentle, and are scared of the dark (because that's when the Morlocks come out). Did I forget to mention that the Morlocks are carnivorous so they occasionally much on Eloi's! The Morlocks end up stealing the time machine, but only to lure the Time Traveler in so they could make a meal out of him.
The Time machine alone is about a man, whose name is not revealed, referred to as The Time Traveler. He builds a time machine and travels forward in time. When he arrives at his destination, 8 million years later, he discovers that the world is not futuristic at all, but rather primitive. While he is discovering this newfound life his time machine is stolen. He begins to go crazy believing that he is doomed to spend the rest of his days there. So many things at once he began to think the time machine was wrecked are gone. He begins to journey and finds himself in the underworld - stupid move. He soon realized that the Morlocks are not as nice as the Eloi and lit a match. To his amazement the all ran and The Time Traveler escaped to the surface. So he begins to wonder around again and finds a somewhat museum. He sees knives, guns you know things from our time. He soon makes his descent to sleep and builds a fire him and Weena fall asleep, but when he wakes up Weena is gone and he is surrounded by Morlocks. He stole mace from the "museum" and used it starting what little fire still lit into a blaze throughout his surroundings. He then fled the scene to where he first arrived and to his astonishment saw the time machine. He darted for the machine because Morlocks were on his trail and shut the doors, activated it and left as quickly as he arrived. He then found himself in even more of a futuristic place except this time is was cold and lifeless. The sun just huge and red but no heat, the air so thin began to gag him. He once again fled the scene back to where he belongs, home. He told everyone but no one believed him, and the next day traveled again yet this time with a camera and other supplies. After that, no one ever saw The Time Traveler again.
The Time Machine was an absolutely amazing journey from cover to cover. I loved it and would definitely read another book by H.G. Wells. There were so many great things about it, whether it be the plot, or style, or creativity. The primary appeal of this work, however, would have to be the clarity of the writing. It was easy to understand and not excessively lengthy. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who is a SCI - Fi enthusiast. |
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