The theme of degeneration was apparent in this novel especially with the Elois. Not only were they weak and childlike, but they also did not work or study. All they did was to play, sleep, eat, bath, and laugh all day long. The Elois were stupid and lazy. They also could not concentrate for a long period of time and they did not have much interest as seen when the Time Traveler was trying to tell them where he was from or to teach them his language. “You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five-year-old children,” (Wells, 26). Not only did the Elois degenerate physically and mentally but they become worse morally as well. This was proven when Weena, the only Eloi with a name, was drowning as she was bathing with her fellow Elois. None of them tried to rescue her even though she was right in front of them.
Weena was the main character of the Eloi. Not only was she the only one with a name, but she was the only one that the Time Traveler got to know. Weena desperately followed the Time Traveler around the places after he rescued her when she was drowning. After the incident, she seemed to be dependent on him and they developed a very special kind of relationship. “For, by merely seeming fond of me, and showing in her weak, futile way that she cared for me, the little doll of a creature presently gave my return to the neighborhood of the White Sphinx almost the feeling of coming home,” (Wells, 45). Weena also showed that she was grateful for his generosity by giving him lot of flowers. Like other Eloi, Weena was frail, small, childlike, emotional, and innocent. It also could be said that she was not aware of danger as she was playing with fire on her trip to the Palace of Green Porcelain with the Time Traveler.
In fact, it was because of Weena that the Time Traveler learnt more about the Elois and their fear of the dark in particular. “Darkness to her was the one thing dreadful. It was singularly passionate emotion, and it set me thinking and observing,” (Wells, 46). Since all of the Elois were scared of the dark, Weena did not want the Time Traveler to sleep alone at night and she insisted him to sleep with her and other Elois. He later learnt about the fact that Elois were afraid of the dark because the Morlocks, the underground specie, stalked the Elois and caught them at night for food.
“Gradually, the truth dawned on me; that Man had not remained on species, but had differentiated into two distinct animals; that my graceful children of the Upper-world were not the sole descendants of our generation, but that this bleached, obscene, nocturnal Thing, had flashed before me, was also heir to all the ages,” (Wells, 49). Aside from the Elois, the Morlocks, the antagonist of the novel, were another creature living during the time and they were the descendants of the lower class people whom were pushed underground. They were also the ones that hid the Time Machine under the White Sphinx. Unlike the Elois, the Morlocks were nocturnal species who were afraid of the sunrise and fire. They did not eat fruits but they ate the Elois in which they raised as cattle. They were the true master at the time and they spoke differently from the Elois.
The idea of degeneration was also apparent with the evolved Morlocks. “The old instinctive dread of wild beasts came upon me. I clenched my hands and steadfastly looked into the glaring eyeballs. I was afraid to run,” (Wells, 48). The Morlocks were cruel, savage, and uncivilized. Moreover, they were strong, rough, and scary. Physically, the Morlocks were portrayed as having white skin, gigantic red-grayish eyes, and hairy back. They were also described as being ape-like which was opposed to the studies of Charles Darwin which stated that human was evolved from monkeys. This gave them the ability to run and climb so fast to the extent that the Time Traveler thought that they looked like human spiders.
The differences between the Morlocks and the Elois could be seen as an attack on capitalism and imperialism as these created major problems according to Wells who was a socialist. Wells believed in the opportunity for anyone to be wealthy. “At first, proceeding from the problems of our own age, it seemed clear as daylight to me that the gradual widening of the present merely temporary and social difference between the Capitalist and the Laborer, was the key to the whole position,” (Wells, 50). The relationship between the Morlocks and the Elois could be compared to the widen gap between the upper class and the lower class English during the time of H.G. Wells. During that time, many of the workers had to work underground and some had to work in polluted factories. The working classes were extremely poor, they had low wages, and they were living in bad conditions. On the other hand, England was very wealthy and very powerful at the time. Along with great wealth and colonies, London was the center of the world where economy progressed. The novel could be seen as a wake up call for the imperialist upper class who believed that they were better than anyone else and were looking down on others.
In my opinion, the prediction of Wells in The Time Machine on the two distinctively evolved species is very convincing. This is due to the fact that even though the novel was written with reference to the year 802,701 A.D. which is a tremendously long way from now, we can see some of the prophecies starting to come true and this is only 109 years after the novel was written. Even if the working classes are not living underground or being scare of the dark, they are quite separated from the upper classes. A very good example of this can be seen in The Simple Life, a reality show starring Paris Hilton, an heir to the Hilton hotels. In this show, Paris gave up her luxurious life to live a simple life in a farm. Not only did she fail to work like the other working people but she also could not understand their thoughts and she struggled with their way of living. The gap between the rich and the poor is obvious not only in England or the United States, but almost every country over the world. While the rich are making easy money, eating caviars, going to spas, and listening to operas, the poor are working around the clock just to get more money for their food. Not only do they live in different societies which will most likely not mingle with one another but they also have different lifestyles as well.
Like Elois, the rich are on their way to degeneration as they are trying to make their lives easier. “The too-perfect security of the Upper-worlders had led them to a slow movement of degeneration, to a general dwindling in size, strength, and intelligence,” (Wells, 52). This is mostly due to the technological advancement and the hectic ways of living. As they are relying more and more on the new technological devices, they are starting to lose some of their abilities. For example, since people are depending more on the calculators, they are starting to lose their ability to calculate even simple mathematic equations. In addition, since most of the upper class and the middle class have mobile phones, they do not tend to remember even simple phone numbers.
Unlike the Morlocks or the working class who are physically strong since most of their jobs require physical strength, the upper classes are becoming weaker and weaker. Not only do the upper classes stay in their controlled environment without much chance to experience the outside world, but their jobs also do not require any physical strength and so they do not get as much chance to exercise. Due to this, they have more chance to be allergic to outside particles unlike the working classes who are immune to these things. The upper classes are more likely to suffer from obesity and heart disease due to the unhealthy food and the lack of exercise. There is no doubt that by living in this kind of routine, the upper class will be weaker than the working class in the near future just like the Eloi and the Morlock.
On the other hand, it is questionable whether the upper class will be the food for the working class like the relationship between Eloi and Morlock. This is due to the fact that even though the upper classes might be physically weaker but the powers lie in their hands and they also have more chance to be educated. Living in the country where the Shinawatra clan is controlling everything, it is hard to believe that anyone will be eating off from people like them. Nevertheless, it is still uncertain because something like that happened during the French Revolution.
Personally, I felt sorry for both species especially the Eloi who live in fear of being eaten. Although I am not a vegetarian, it is still hard to imagine the killing and slaughtering of pigs, chickens, or cows. I felt sick every time I read articles about people eating wildlife such as monkeys or bears. The image of human species eating off each other is too much to bear and it is likely that nothing could be worse than this. Even though the Eloi appeared to be shallow and stupid, it was scary to think about what life would be like for them, knowing their own fate but not being able to stand up against it. It must be totally depressing as they had to sleep in fear every night. On the other hand, I felt less sympathize with the Morlocks because the Time Traveler described that they were used to their own ways of living and they were the master after all. “Such of them as were so constituted as to be miserable and rebellious would die; and, in the end, the balance being permanent, the survivors would become as well adapted to the conditions of underground life, and as happy in their way, as the Upper-people were to theirs,” (Wells, 52). Nonetheless, a part of me still felt that they must have suffered quite a lot along the way.
The Time Machine definitely gives an eye-opening experience for the people who were unaware of the result from the separations of the classes in the society especially the problems which were caused by capitalism and imperialism. Through the Time Traveler, H.G. Wells described his “grieved to think how brief the dream of human intellect had been. (Wells, 81). He believed that it committed suicide along the process of degeneration in which he powerfully described in this novel. He successfully criticized the Victorian Era in a way that was entertaining, exciting, and educating. Even if Wells meant for the novel to criticize the certain era, it can still be classically and universally use since this problems still last to these days.
Bibliography
Wells, H.G. “The Time Machine.” London: J.M. Dent, 2002.
