(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.