In Wells' classic dystopian novella, a Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveler journeys into the future, arriving at the year 802,701 A.D. He finds that what had once been London is much transformed—the landscape is now lush, reclaimed by nature with exotic trees and rushing rivers, and populated by a society of child-like humanoids known as the Eloi. The Eloi are approximately 4 feet tall, slender with no muscle, fruitarian, and possess a "Dresden china type of prettiness." While the delicate Eloi appear joyful and carefree, they're petrified of the darkness. After forming a friendship with a beautiful Eloi girl named Weena, the Time Traveler learns first-hand the basis for this fear: the predatory and cannibalistic Morlocks live in shadowy caverns deep underground.
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Similar to The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Time Machine has strong Darwinistic themes. Over the course of millennia, the human race has essentially evolved (or devolved) into two drastically distinguished species. The Eloi, descendants of England's ruling elite, have grown so accustomed to comfort and security that their survival instincts are utterly diminished. On the flip side, the proletariat-Morlocks, like coal miners exiled out of the sunlight, have been forced to adapt to the darkness, growing increasingly savage. During some period in this twisted trajectory of evolution, the Morlocks began raising their Eloi counterparts as cattle to serve as their food supply.
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Interestingly, Wells was briefly a member of the Fabian society, a small group of accomplished men and women whose aim was to advance the cause of socialism by means of intellectual debate. In The Time Machine, the degeneration of the Morlocks hints at the mistreatment and neglect of Victorian England's working class, and the feebleness of the Eloi validates the claim "comfort breeds complacency." While a slim read, Wells' science fiction is not only thought-provoking, but a fascinating reflection of the "vertigo years," when England (and the world) was fundamentally transformed by rapid Industrial change and paradigm-shattering scientific discoveries.
In Wells' classic dystopian novella, a Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveler journeys into the future, arriving at the year 802,701 A.D. He finds that what had once been London is much transformed—the landscape is now lush, reclaimed by nature with exotic trees and rushing rivers, and populated by a society of child-like humanoids known as the Eloi. The Eloi are approximately 4 feet tall, slender with no muscle, fruitarian, and possess a "Dresden china type of prettiness." While the delicate Eloi appear joyful and carefree, they're petrified of the darkness. After forming a friendship with a beautiful Eloi girl named Weena, the Time Traveler learns first-hand the basis for this fear: the predatory and cannibalistic Morlocks live in shadowy caverns deep underground.
‍
Similar to The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Time Machine has strong Darwinistic themes. Over the course of millennia, the human race has essentially evolved (or devolved) into two drastically distinguished species. The Eloi, descendants of England's ruling elite, have grown so accustomed to comfort and security that their survival instincts are utterly diminished. On the flip side, the proletariat-Morlocks, like coal miners exiled out of the sunlight, have been forced to adapt to the darkness, growing increasingly savage. During some period in this twisted trajectory of evolution, the Morlocks began raising their Eloi counterparts as cattle to serve as their food supply.
‍
Interestingly, Wells was briefly a member of the Fabian society, a small group of accomplished men and women whose aim was to advance the cause of socialism by means of intellectual debate. In The Time Machine, the degeneration of the Morlocks hints at the mistreatment and neglect of Victorian England's working class, and the feebleness of the Eloi validates the claim "comfort breeds complacency." While a slim read, Wells' science fiction is not only thought-provoking, but a fascinating reflection of the "vertigo years," when England (and the world) was fundamentally transformed by rapid Industrial change and paradigm-shattering scientific discoveries.
In Wells' classic dystopian novella, a Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveler journeys into the future, arriving at the year 802,701 A.D. He finds that what had once been London is much transformed—the landscape is now lush, reclaimed by nature with exotic trees and rushing rivers, and populated by a society of child-like humanoids known as the Eloi. The Eloi are approximately 4 feet tall, slender with no muscle, fruitarian, and possess a "Dresden china type of prettiness." While the delicate Eloi appear joyful and carefree, they're petrified of the darkness. After forming a friendship with a beautiful Eloi girl named Weena, the Time Traveler learns first-hand the basis for this fear: the predatory and cannibalistic Morlocks live in shadowy caverns deep underground.
‍
Similar to The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Time Machine has strong Darwinistic themes. Over the course of millennia, the human race has essentially evolved (or devolved) into two drastically distinguished species. The Eloi, descendants of England's ruling elite, have grown so accustomed to comfort and security that their survival instincts are utterly diminished. On the flip side, the proletariat-Morlocks, like coal miners exiled out of the sunlight, have been forced to adapt to the darkness, growing increasingly savage. During some period in this twisted trajectory of evolution, the Morlocks began raising their Eloi counterparts as cattle to serve as their food supply.
‍
Interestingly, Wells was briefly a member of the Fabian society, a small group of accomplished men and women whose aim was to advance the cause of socialism by means of intellectual debate. In The Time Machine, the degeneration of the Morlocks hints at the mistreatment and neglect of Victorian England's working class, and the feebleness of the Eloi validates the claim "comfort breeds complacency." While a slim read, Wells' science fiction is not only thought-provoking, but a fascinating reflection of the "vertigo years," when England (and the world) was fundamentally transformed by rapid Industrial change and paradigm-shattering scientific discoveries.
In Wells' classic dystopian novella, a Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveler journeys into the future, arriving at the year 802,701 A.D. He finds that what had once been London is much transformed—the landscape is now lush, reclaimed by nature with exotic trees and rushing rivers, and populated by a society of child-like humanoids known as the Eloi. The Eloi are approximately 4 feet tall, slender with no muscle, fruitarian, and possess a "Dresden china type of prettiness." While the delicate Eloi appear joyful and carefree, they're petrified of the darkness. After forming a friendship with a beautiful Eloi girl named Weena, the Time Traveler learns first-hand the basis for this fear: the predatory and cannibalistic Morlocks live in shadowy caverns deep underground.
‍
Similar to The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Time Machine has strong Darwinistic themes. Over the course of millennia, the human race has essentially evolved (or devolved) into two drastically distinguished species. The Eloi, descendants of England's ruling elite, have grown so accustomed to comfort and security that their survival instincts are utterly diminished. On the flip side, the proletariat-Morlocks, like coal miners exiled out of the sunlight, have been forced to adapt to the darkness, growing increasingly savage. During some period in this twisted trajectory of evolution, the Morlocks began raising their Eloi counterparts as cattle to serve as their food supply.
‍
Interestingly, Wells was briefly a member of the Fabian society, a small group of accomplished men and women whose aim was to advance the cause of socialism by means of intellectual debate. In The Time Machine, the degeneration of the Morlocks hints at the mistreatment and neglect of Victorian England's working class, and the feebleness of the Eloi validates the claim "comfort breeds complacency." While a slim read, Wells' science fiction is not only thought-provoking, but a fascinating reflection of the "vertigo years," when England (and the world) was fundamentally transformed by rapid Industrial change and paradigm-shattering scientific discoveries.
In Wells' classic dystopian novella, a Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveler journeys into the future, arriving at the year 802,701 A.D. He finds that what had once been London is much transformed—the landscape is now lush, reclaimed by nature with exotic trees and rushing rivers, and populated by a society of child-like humanoids known as the Eloi. The Eloi are approximately 4 feet tall, slender with no muscle, fruitarian, and possess a "Dresden china type of prettiness." While the delicate Eloi appear joyful and carefree, they're petrified of the darkness. After forming a friendship with a beautiful Eloi girl named Weena, the Time Traveler learns first-hand the basis for this fear: the predatory and cannibalistic Morlocks live in shadowy caverns deep underground.
‍
Similar to The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Time Machine has strong Darwinistic themes. Over the course of millennia, the human race has essentially evolved (or devolved) into two drastically distinguished species. The Eloi, descendants of England's ruling elite, have grown so accustomed to comfort and security that their survival instincts are utterly diminished. On the flip side, the proletariat-Morlocks, like coal miners exiled out of the sunlight, have been forced to adapt to the darkness, growing increasingly savage. During some period in this twisted trajectory of evolution, the Morlocks began raising their Eloi counterparts as cattle to serve as their food supply.
‍
Interestingly, Wells was briefly a member of the Fabian society, a small group of accomplished men and women whose aim was to advance the cause of socialism by means of intellectual debate. In The Time Machine, the degeneration of the Morlocks hints at the mistreatment and neglect of Victorian England's working class, and the feebleness of the Eloi validates the claim "comfort breeds complacency." While a slim read, Wells' science fiction is not only thought-provoking, but a fascinating reflection of the "vertigo years," when England (and the world) was fundamentally transformed by rapid Industrial change and paradigm-shattering scientific discoveries.
