The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

Book Review of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer and is remembered for his works in science fiction. He wrote dozens of novels and short stories which encompasses themes such as time travel, alien invasion, invisibility, utopian future etc. The Time Machine was published in 1895 by Wells. 

The Time Machine revolves around the story of the time traveller who is an English scientist and inventor living in Richmond, Surrey in Victorian England. He designs, invents and travels in his time machine to the year 802,701 AD to test his time machine. He observes that the world has changed drastically and cities no longer exist. He encounters with future humans who call themselves Eloi. The Eloi are small, child-like adult with no sense of discipline. They live on the surface in the ruins of futuristic buildings and have a fruit-based diet.

The time traveller returns back to where he left his time machine but on arriving there finds it missing and assumes that it has been stolen. He is relieved that the person will not be able to use the time machine as he removed the levers of the machine before leaving. At night, the time traveller is attacked by creatures that the Eloi refers as Morlocks. Morlocks are ape like creatures who live underground and stroll at night and feed on Eloi.

The time traveller realizes that humanity has evolved into two different species Eloi and Morlocks. The Eloi are descended from leisure class of humans whereas the Morlocks are descended from working class. He begins to search for his time machine by looking into Morlock structures. On his way back to the Eloi he rescues an Eloi woman from drowning named Weena and who develops a fond relation with him. He vows to find the time machine so they both can return back to his time.

The time traveller and Weena set out to find the time machine but they are attacked by Morlocks on their way and Weena faints. In order to distract the Morlocks the time traveller starts a fire however the Morlocks and Weena are lost. The Morlocks know that the time traveller is searching for his time machine and set a trap for the time traveller by placing the machine out in the open, not realising that the time traveller can use the machine to escape them. The time traveller reattaches the levers and travels 30 million years into the future and witnesses the earth dying. As he continues to move ahead in time and sees that the sun grows larger and dimmer and the last things on earth die as the planet get colder. This revelation causes him to return back to his time but three hours after he left. He narrates his story to guest at a dinner party and shows them strange wilted flowers that Weena placed in his pocket.

Reviewed By: Felicita Rodrigues. Roll No, 38. S. Y. B. Ed

Reference: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/inflibnet-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5445987

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