Prophecy For Humanity In The Time Machine By H. G. Wells

A Whimper, Not a Bang: An Analysis of the Prophecy for Humanity in The Time Machine

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine is a story of a time travelling storyteller who witnesses the devolution of humanity through time. As he travels many, many years into the future, he bears witness to the descendents of the human race; the Eloi, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the Morlocks. Wells uses the evolution of the human race as a means to criticize the current class system in society. I think, in particular, he uses the story to criticize the ruling classes, as well to serve as a warning to people in both the ruling class and the working class. The Time Machine acts as a warning to those who simply participate in society without actively considering …show more content…
They are a joyous species to the point of foolishness. In addition to that, if we are following the same theory, then that means the Morlocks are the descendants of the working class. This would imply that over time, after being forced underground by the ruling class, they simply adapted to their circumstance, and in doing so became the opposite of what the Eloi represented. Where the Eloi were soft and tender, the Morlocks were hard and brutish. Where the Eloi were beautiful, the Morlocks were, by most accounts, ugly. Even as the time traveller began to express distaste with the actions of the Eloi’s ancestors, the ruling class, as they forced their fellow man underground to begin working for them, he admitted that he could not maintain this attitude towards the Eloi for very long; the very traits that resulted from this behavior are the same ones that prevented him from feeling any disdain towards them. It can be assumed that Wells means to criticize the typical lifestyle of the ruling class, by portraying the result of such needless pampering to be beauty, yes, but also stupidity …show more content…
It is shocking to see the two different ways that humanity can go. However, I think that in his studies and observations of the two species, he finds that the only way that this problem can be “solved” is to continue letting the two interact the way that they do. Although the time traveller describes the Eloi being treated like fattened cattle with horror, I think he understands that the Eloi will not do anything to save themselves. As their ancestors had been smart enough to make the world a comfortable place, and to make themselves a comforted people, the Eloi were stupid enough that the world they lived in was the best possible world for them. They were taken care of, and in some kind of strange, poetic justice, they became food to the descendants of the people their ancestors had oppressed. Necessity comes in to “correct” the situation; the Morlocks ran out of food, and turned to the people that they had evolved to take care of for sustenance as