The Time Machine By H. G. Wells (1866 – 1946) Essay, Research Paper

The Time Machine, H.G. Wells’ first novel

is often referred to as “pseudo-scientific.” Along with Jules Vernes, Wells

was a pioneer in science-fiction writing, though he never liked having

his novels compared to Vernes’. Wells claimed his novels always meant to

depict political beliefs, and were never intended to be realistic.

Brought up in a lower-class section of

Bromley, Kent, England, the author witnessed the conspicuous class distinctions

of the late nineteenth century. In The Time Machine Wells portrays what

he felt could happen to mankind as the divisive gulf between the indolent

rich and hard-working poor became wider and wider. Though written in the

late 1800s, Wells’ descriptions of the weak Eloi and the predatory subterranean

Morlocks are rooted in scientific hypotheses that are at once interesting,

feasible and frightening possibilities for humanity’s future.