The Time Machine - Argumentative Essay

Tomorrow The Time Machine written by H.G. Wells is metaphorically describing humanity as being peaceful on the surface, but under hidden depths there is a desire to be destructive. In the early chapters of the book, the time traveller expects the descendants of mankind to be super-intelligent, but is disappointed by the behaviour of the supposedly advanced species, the Eloi. His curiosity about the mysterious wells leads to his discovery of the Morlocks and their hidden technology, and what he believes is the confirmation of a dystopic future. Towards the conclusion of his journey the book shows how he had come to love the Eloi because of their childlike nature, but hated the Morlocks because of their destructive and carnivorous characteristics. However, both creatures are two halves of the same whole – the human race. When the time traveller arrives in the year 802,701AD he expects the descendants of man to be super-intelligent. However, to the time travellers’ dismay, the Eloi were not as smart as he had imagined prior to his arrival and he is disappointed to see childlike creatures standing before him with their lack of knowledge; “…were these creatures fools?” (H.G. Wells, 2002, p23). As man has evolved and constructed a peaceful future, there were no wars; as a consequence humankind slowly became weaker and progressively dumber. Curious as to the pacifistic outlook of the gentle Eloi and why they altered their behaviours to live in their surroundings, he discovers that it is to survive extinction from what lies below the vast numbers of waterless wells across the open plain: the Morlocks. The Eloi, out of fear, refuse to speak of the Morlocks and the subterranean in which they live. His curiosity aroused, the time traveller descends below the surface, armed only with a box of matches. There he discovers the Morlocks, with their carnivorous bodies built like premature cavemen and eyes that through evolution, have enlarged and become more sensitive to

Bibliography: Wells, Herbert George, 2002, The Time Machine, The Modern Library, printed in the United States of America