My Review of "The Time Machine"

Herbert George Wells' book "The Time Machine" portrays a different futuristic scenario than what most people of his time would have imagined. Though I do not at all agree with his portrayal, he did an excellent job describing what he believed and giving reasons to back up such a far fetched idea. In his book, H. G. Wells writes that eventually, in the far future, the world will just be total nothingness in complete darkness. Wells also says that through reverse evolution, humans will eventually once again become mutated animal-like creatures. We will split into lower and upper class and live in somewhat ignorance, not wanting to change or improve or find out how life could be made better. Through his great writing, Wells makes a very persuasive argument almost making such a thought believable. I believe Wells' way of writing is extremely specific with great word usage and allows a person to imagine exactly what Wells pictures. However, Wells at the same time allows the reader to use their own imagination.


The story begins with the Time Traveler showing a new concept of a Time Machine to his friends. Later, the friends find the Time Traveler missing, and when he returns, he looks very haggard and hurt. He tells them he has traveled through time. After the Time Traveler finishes his meal, he begins telling his friends of his great adventure.

The Time Traveler tells of when he first arrived eight hundred thousand years into the future. He saw small frail creatures who met him at his arrival. Spending time with these creatures, he learned many things about their way of life. He found their genders were very much alike, they only ate fruits, they were rather childish, and their world seemed to be perfect. Later he realized that his Time Machine had gone missing, but he suspected it was hidden under a large White Sphinx in its pedestal. Unfortunately no one would help him get it out. When he found one of the strange creatures drowning in a river, he immediately saved her even though no one else found it necessary to do such a thing. She was incredibly grateful. Through time spent with the creature named Weena as well as a frightening trip through a strange waterless well, the Time Traveler found these creatures were divided into upper and lower class, Eloi and Morlocks. The Eloi were deathly afraid of the dark, and the Morlocks were scared of light.

One day, Weena and the Time Traveler took a journey to the Palace of Green Porcelain. When they arrived they found it deserted and in ruins, but the Time Traveler picked up some important items such as matches for their trip back. During his trip back, many Morlocks crept upon them. While the Time Traveler was doing all he could to get rid of them, Weena fainted. All the matches he had lit set the forest as well as many Morlocks on fire. Sadly realizing Weena had died, the Time Traveler quickly ran to safety.

As the Time Traveler pondered back on what had happen to the world, he realized there must have been a time of perfection. He believed that intelligence came with problems and change. When there was no need for change, intelligence quickly left the human race as well. He later awoke to find the White Sphinx's pedestal's doors open. Though when he reached his Time Machine, the doors had shut and Morlocks crowded him. He quickly jumped into his Time Machine and flew out of that strange world. He accidentally pushed the lever in the wrong direction causing his machine to go further into the future. Eventually, the universe was lifeless and dark. The Time Traveler finally reversed the lever and headed back home.

None of his friends seemed to believe him, but he did not care. The next day, the Narrator visited him, but the Time Traveler told the Narrator to wait. When the Narrator peaked into the Time Traveler's laboratory, both he and the Time Machine were gone. Even after many years, the Time Traveler never returned.

The plot of this story seems somewhat strange but not incredibly original. The idea of a person traveling in time and meeting many problems and difficulties in his path seems rather normal in today's times. On the other hand, in the past, time travel may have been a whole new concept. Though time travel seems rather normal, what Wells imagines and writes to be on the other end is much different than what many writers would write about. Wells describes and pictures the far future and what it will be like as if it some how evolves back into the past. The humans once again become animal like; they are once again divided by class; and technology is so advanced to the point where there basically is none at all.

The characters seem relatively realistic because Wells has shown every possible opinion a person could have. Of course the Time Traveler believed everything he said. The Medical Man and the others concluded that everything the Time Traveler had said was just a lie and an entertaining made up story. The Narrator was not sure what to believe. With all of these opinions, it was easy to relate with the characters. Wells did an excellent job in allowing the Time Traveler mature immensely throughout the story. In the beginning of the book, the Time Traveler was selfish as he wanted only to get the information he needed and then leave the miserable place. By the end, he was storming up ideas of how to get rid of the wretched Morlocks and save the Eloi. He cared more about others than just himself to the point where he was willing to risk his own life for their benefit.


The outward appearances of the Eloi and Morlocks could be both believable as well as unrealistic depending on what you believe about Creation and Evolution. As a Christian, I do not agree with Wells idea that in the distant future humans will slowly evolve back into creatures that are more animals than human. Wells obviously believed in evolution and that such morphed ideas were possible. However the Bible clearly says that in the beginning, God made man. God did not make animals that eventually evolved into man. Neither will he, in the future, make men mutate and evolve into animals.

H. G. Wells also presumed that in the extremely far-off future around thirty million years later, human life as well as any living creatures at all would cease to exist. The Universe would be absolute darkness, and there would be completely nothing. As he believes the humans will turn back into animal like creatures, I would imagine he got this idea from the fact that the universe began as darkness. Wells than thinks that it will turn back into darkness. From a Christian perspective, the Rapture will occur before this time and all Christians will go to be with Christ. There will then be the Tribulation, and the New Heaven and New Earth will come.

I suspect that the strange depressing twists on Wells' books had to do with his own life and childhood. When he was a child, his parents lived apart, and they were rather poor. His father was a cricket player, but when he broke his leg, he was unable to continue his career. Because of this, at the age of fourteen, H. G. Wells had to quit going to school to acquire an apprenticeship to a draper. In two years he had failed at three apprenticeships, and though he was very smart, his lack of interest in subjects led him to many failed exams. Wells went through a multiple number of marriages. Because of all these troubles and hardships in his life, as time went on, H. G. Wells along with his books grew more and more pessimistic towards life and the world. Though H. G. Wells did not at all know what the future was really going to be like for he had never been there nor known anyone who had, he was able to use his imagination and what he did know about his society of his time to create a persuasive concept.


I would definitely recommend this book to any science-fiction lovers, or even those who are not a huge fan of science-fiction, who enjoy books which cause your mind to think. Wells' thoughts and ideas make you ponder and question what you believe and why. Wells' portrays his beliefs in an extremely creative way which makes his books insightful and believable while still being entertaining.