The Time Traveller first notices the Morlocks, in the night. There were several of them carrying something up the hill. He thinks they are ghosts, which is a common rationalisation for phenomenon, which is frightening or alien to us. This is true in the Eloi’s case. They are scared of the dark, as they do not know what is out there. The Eloi sleep together because they are scared of the dark because as this is when the Morlocks come out to prey. The Time Traveller then develops a second theory that the Morlocks were the working class of his age and the Eloi the upper class. This is a complete contrast to his communist theory, it is infact, a form of capitalism. He imagines that the Morlocks came to live underground because the upper class, the Eloi did not want to be socially involved with the lower class. Slowly over time, the lower classes places of work began to develop underground, until there was no need for the workers to go above ground. Like animals, they adapted to their surroundings and developed into the Morlocks. The Time Traveller believes that the Morlocks are the working classes who struggle beneath the more affluent Eloi. This belief seems to be confirmed by the Eloi’s appearance. They are above ground and are dressed in rich clothes and never do any work. The Morlocks are a dull white, and have “strange large greyish red eyes; also there was flaxen hair on its head and down it’s back”. The Time Traveller describes it as a “little ape-like figure,” this description conveys man’s descent back to our most primitive form. He also describes the Morlocks as “a human spider!” he does this to distance himself from the Morlocks, even though they were the same species in the past.
Eventually the time traveller ventures underground to find out more about these Morlocks. He discovers huge machines, which proves their intellectual ability is far more advanced than the Eloi. They have moved into an automated society, which runs on order and efficiency. As he ventures deeper, the Morlocks “clutched at me boldly.” This shows their violent nature, he also finds a reasonably large joint of meat. His fourth and only accurate theory is that the large joint of meat was an Eloi. The Morlocks eat the Eloi. As the Eloi were living in a work free environment, their brains decreased in size, which explains their lack of interest and short attention spans. The Morlocks who use machines, remain intellectually astute so when their regular diet was hunted to extinction they adapted to survive and began to feed on the Eloi, who lacked the physical strength and intelligence to fight back, but the human instinct of fear remained. “These Eloi were mere fatted cattle.” The Morlocks continue to feed on them and clothe them, so they can maintain their food source. This explains the lack of old Eloi as they do not survive into old age.
The Time Traveller, in his hurry for a quick get away, accidentally goes forward in time. The sea has expanded right up to where he was, this shows that as life came from the sea it has to return to the sea. “Can you return imagine a crab as large as yonder table!” There is still life but absolutely no intelligence, this is the descent back to the sea: there appears to be no life away from the water on the land. The further forward in time he travels, the more obvious life forms decrease, until there is absolutely nothing he can see, this is the final stage of mans descent back to the sea.
The Time Traveller has many theories throughout his journey, he wants to believe that the future will be socialist and more technologically advanced but he finds the human race to be in a severe decline. He also realises that the class distinction present in his society has exacerbated and humans have evolved into two separate sub-species. “The Time Traveller” is Well’s warning for the future; if society is to continue in its present vein it will eventually self-destruct.