The Morlocks were the creatures that had evolved from the working class- the poor people, those who spent most of the time in the day working long hours on machines in factories and mills during the Industrial Revolution. As a result of not seeing much daylight the Morlocks stayed in the dark and then learned to fear the light. The Morlocks represent danger and evil, they eat the Eloi. The Eloi had become dependant towards them. The Morlocks provided them with everything; food, clothes, shoes etc that the Eloi became extremely lazy. During the Industrial Revolution mill owners had to keep their prices down, which is why they employed mainly children and women. Children at the age of six or seven worked up to fourteen hours a day in the mills. The Morlocks represent the evil of machines as in the Industrial Revolution children died because of the moving parts of the machines killed or injured them. Illnesses were caused due to the machines which is why people began to fear technology and saw it as evil. The 19th Century was a time of scientific inventions and technology. The worker’s conditions were terrible. Very large families lived in small houses, with everyone in the house working. Children were forced to work and were also abused in factories and mills and yet many families still starved for days. H.G Wells felt compelled to write about what was happening in the society and the working of children to make a difference as he felt sorry for them and wanted this to stop. Whilst other religious believers disagreed to it, H.G Wells was a believer of Darwin’s theory in which the main belief was that species evolve over millions of years and over many generations the species change their lifestyle as the environment changes. In The Time Machine H.G Wells shows that the working class evolved into the Morlocks, as they adapted to the lifestyles of working long hours in the dark surrounded by dangerous machines. Their bodies adapted to the conditions, whilst the rich people became dependant to them. H.G Wells also believed in Karl Marx’s theory that the societies develop and change according to the ownership of property and wealth. The theory basically meant that the working class would rise up and seize control. This is shown in the book as the Morlocks have control over the Eloi, whilst the Eloi have no idea that they are being ruled over due to there lack of intelligence. The Eloi lost any intelligence they had because they no longer needed to think, there was no need for intelligence or problem solving.
The Eloi were the extremely beautiful people that had evolved from the rich people, who lived luxurious lives doing nothing. The ‘Time Traveller’ describes them as being four feet high and that they struck him as being ‘very beautiful and graceful creatures but indescribably frail’ on page 23. The Eloi had rather fragile features. The ‘Time Traveller’ also says of an Eloi that his ‘flushed face’ reminded him of ‘the more beautiful kind of consumptive- that hectic beauty of which he used to hear about.’ On page 24 the ‘Time Traveller’ describes to them as speaking to one another in a very strange yet very sweet and liquid tongue. Their hair was uniformly curly which came to a sharp end at the neck and the cheek; there was not the faintest suggestion of it on the face, and their ears were singularly minute. The mouths were small, with bright red, rather thin lips and the little chins ran to a point. On page 25 the ‘Time Traveller’ also says that their eyes were large and mild. During the book the ‘Time Traveller’ realises that the Eloi were strict vegetarians and ate nothing but fruit. These fruit were not ordinary ones, but large and extraordinary fruits. There were no doctors as there were no diseases. Everyone lived in peace and happiness. The Eloi lived together in a big garden which is referred to as paradise by the ‘Time Traveller.’ The Eloi did nothing but play, bathe and make love. They were very uncreative and had no ideas to do anything. During the Industrial Revolution the rich people who were the mill and factory owners did nothing whilst the poor worked, the rich people got used to the fact that everything was done for them and became extremely lazy. The Morlocks provided them with everything, so the Eloi did not think at all as nothing occurred to them. Whilst the Eloi did not think much, they feared the dark the most, because during the night the Morlocks came out of their tunnels. The Eloi feared the Morlocks because of their monstrous features and also because the Morlocks ate them.
When the ‘Time Traveller’ first met the Eloi, they stared at him for a little while and touched him to see if he was real but then lost interest straight away. The ‘Time Traveller’ thought that the Eloi were fools. The ‘Time Traveller’ then came to an understanding that the Eloi were very hard to have a conversation with as they did not talk much, they did not even ask any questions and it was very hard for them to keep interest in something.
The Eloi are very different to the Morlocks as the Eloi are a race that is very beautiful but is very unintelligent. The Morlocks are beast like figures but are very intelligent. When the ‘Time Traveller’ arrives into the future the Eloi don’t question him and are also not curious of his appearance as he is very different to them, but the Morlocks are suspicious of him and are curious to know why he is there. They are also curious about his time machine which is why they steal it during the book.
The book begins by Philby, the ‘Time Traveller’s friend narrating it and then after the ‘Time Traveller’ takes over the narration. The ‘Time Traveller’ is the main character in the story. Throughout the book he is referred to as the ‘Time Traveller’ rather than his own name. He is middle class scientist, without a job. We can tell that the ‘Time Traveller’ is not poor as he has a maid. He is a man with a huge imagination and dreams, who is friends with lawyers and doctors who don’t always trust him. He is an extremely brave person to be trying out his new invention, the time machine, as he does not know what the time machine could do but he is curious about the future and the development of mankind. He is very hopeful and has a set imagination of future mankind and also believes that the future will hold a utopia. After travelling 800 000 years into the future he gets disappointed as he sees the future holds a dystopia and mankind has become too lazy. The ‘Time Traveller’ thinks it’s useless for the people in the past to be coming up with new creations and inventions as they are no use to mankind in the future. The ‘Time Traveller’ is very intelligent but he is also quite foolish as he does not bring anything back from when he’s travelled into the future. After coming back from the future into the time the ‘Time Traveller’ originally belonged to, the ‘Time Traveller’ warns his friends and colleagues about the future of mankind and that something should be done to stop it, but they refuse to believe him as he had no proof to prove this. At the end of the book the ‘Time Traveller’ decides to go back in to the future, but this time he takes a camera and a sack with him
H.G Wells builds up suspense in the book in many ways. During the story we get the ideas that some things aren’t right. Slowly the writer reveals the truth. First through the ‘Time Traveller’s’ point of view, we believe too that the future will hold a Utopia, and will be the perfect world. But as the ‘Time Traveller’ travels into the future and finds the complete opposite to what he imagined, we as the readers are also shocked. Whilst staying with the Eloi the ‘Time Traveller’ works out that there’s something missing and that he’s only seen half the truth. The ‘Time Traveller’ gives out hints starting at the bottom of page 30, leaving the readers puzzled but also aware that something’s going to happen soon. The writer gives out many clues that there is a threat to the ‘Time Traveller’ as tension is built. On page 34, the ‘Time Traveller’ finds his machine to be missing, tension is built as the reader fears that he will not be able to return home. The ‘Time Traveller’ thinks that something strange is going on and refuses to believe that the Eloi have hidden or taken his machine away with their lack of intelligence. On page 37 the ‘Time Traveller’ decides to look for his machine. Whilst looking for his machine the ‘Time Traveller’ finds many clues like narrow and big footprints. The ‘Time Traveller’ knows that these footprints do not belong to the Eloi and that the Eloi are too weak to carry the machine, but then he begins to question himself of whom else it could be. He also tries to work out why anyone would take his machine away and where they would take it. On page 43, whist sleeping with Weena the ‘Time Traveller’ works out that she is afraid of the dark which is the reason why all the Eloi slept together. On page 44 the ‘Time Traveller’ can not go to sleep, as he sees ape like creatures which are carrying bodies and taking them down the walls which are shaped like tunnels. The ‘Time Traveller’ is confused as he thought that’ the walls had something to do with sanitary, but obviously he was wrong. This builds up tension for the reader as they are not aware of what is going on. The ‘Time Traveller’ decides to go into the big building on page 45 and is surprised to see big white eyes on a human spider looking back at him in the dark. As the ‘Time Traveller’ wants to know more about this creature, it vanishes all of a sudden. The ‘Time Traveller’ works out that there are two different species living on earth. On page 49 the ‘Time Traveller’ works out that the two different species are called the Morlocks and the Eloi. The only question the ‘Time Traveller’ thinks about is why they would take his machine. When asking Weena about the Morlocks the ‘Time Traveller’ notices a great fear in her eyes, she begins to shiver and when the ‘Time Traveller’ insists her on telling him about them she begins to cry. The writer gives us many clues about this, but does not give it away to us straight away. On page 52 the ‘Time Traveller’ goes to look for his machine. The reader is worried and tension is built again as we don’t know what’s under the tunnels and the Morlocks could be extremely dangerous. As the ‘Time Traveller’ goes into the tunnels and comes across the Morlocks he notices that they are afraid of light and he manages to keep them away from him by lighting matches. On page 61, tension is built for both the reader and the ‘Time Traveller’ as the ‘Time Traveller’ finds out that the Morlocks eat the Eloi. The reader becomes aware of the fact that the Morlocks are very dangerous. On page 67 the ‘Time Traveller’ is at the palace of Green porcelane with Weena. The ‘Time Traveller’ is determined to kill the Morlocks as he has worked out their biggest fear was light. The ‘Time Traveller’ is also worried about his machine at the same time. This time the ‘Time Traveller’ takes a metal bar and box of matches with him into the forest. The reader is worried about the ‘Time Traveller’ as they know that the ‘Time Traveller’ did not have enough sleep the previous night and could feel tired or sleepy whilst in the forest. The reader is also worried as they know that the Morlocks are carnivorous and could kill the ‘Time Traveller’ too. Whilst in the forest the ‘Time Traveller’ builds a fire to keep the Morlocks away but he still seems to be aware of some pattering around him, due to suffocation Weena faints, and the reader gets increasingly worried about both the characters. Somehow out of a lot of trouble the ‘Time Traveller’ gets to his machine and manages to escape, but he has no idea of where Weena is, she could be lost or dead.
During the story, H.G Wells portrays the Morlocks as being a threat as, we are not aware of their existence untill half way through the book, but we know that something is wrong about the tunnels that they live in. He proves they are a threat because of their behaviour towards the Eloi. The Eloi were terribly afraid of them and the Morlocks ruled them. The Morlocks also fed themselves with the Eloi. The Morlocks were a big threat also because of their appearance being completely different to humans and the Eloi. As the Eloi were short, with little hands and small eyes, the Morlocks were huge ape like figures with bright white eyes.
Many things in the book reflect to the ideas of great 19th Century thinkers and the Industrial Revolution. In the 19th Century during the Industrial Revolution, there was a big difference between the rich and the poor. The rich lived luxurious lives doing nothing whilst the poor had no other choice but to work in factories and mills for several hours in terrible conditions. H.G Wells thought that the difference and segregation between the rich and poor was not right and would result into mankind splitting into two different species if this carried on. H.G Wells reflected some of Darwin’s ideas might prove true. The theory that humans and animals are fit to survive in the environment they live and are brought up in. Also that species don’t suddenly appear, they evolve for over millions of years and then species change adapting to its environment. This is shown is the book through both the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi being the rich people who are extremely lazy, as everything is already done for them which is why it’s hard for them to use their brain much. The Morlocks are the poor people; who lived and survived in terrible conditions, those who worked for long hours and lived in the dark. The Morlocks also looked like apes and Darwin’s theory was that humans have evolved from apes. This links to the ideas of Sigmund Freud, who believed that the way we act and our actions are controlled to what we think mentally. This is shown by the behaviour of the Eloi and Morlocks. The Eloi appear to be very lazy and are distracted very easily. They have no worries about anything and seem to have a terrible memory. The Morlocks are the poor who lived around machines, who had no other choice but to be very clever and aware of everything due to their living conditions. The ideas of Karl Marx and capitalism are also used in the book as he believed that the poor would rise up and take over. The Morlocks who are the evolved versions of the poor seize control over the Eloi, whilst the Eloi were terribly frightened of them.
I agree with H.G Wells in some ways as I believe in Darwin’s theory of mankind, which humans change over millions of years according to their environment and living conditions, which is why I think evolution could take place. I have no certain belief in the theory of capitalism.
I would like to know what the future holds for me. In some ways I don’t think it’s beneficial as it’s always good to just go with the flow and let it remain unknown as that way you will have a hope in life for something new to come along any day so it’s better if it’s left alone. In some ways it’s good to know what’s going to happen in the future because if its wrong or not the way you want it to be then you can change it and make it better.
In this book I agree with many of H.G Wells’s ideas, but I disagree with some as well. Overall I think the book was great and I believe that H.G Wells had a great impact in the 19th Century during the Industrial Revolution.
