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“The past is but the past of a beginning.”
-H.G. Wells
A story on probably the most intriguing topics of all times, H.G. Wells’s ‘The Time Machine entails the tale of time travel. Considered to be one of the classics, the book is widely read from the time that it was published in 1895 to even today.
A first hand account of the events of a time-traveler's journey into the future, the book is a record of how a man invents a machine that enables him to travel back and forth into time just at the pull of a lever and also how he uses his invention.
Introduction
Book’s Name - The Time Machine
Author’s Name - H.G. Wells
Genre - Science Fiction
Language - English
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
Alexander Hartdegen, a scientist and an inventor is focused on the ways to prove that time travel is indeed possible. A personal tragedy drives this determination into desperation and he now wants to change the past.
Hartdegen’s friends don’t think that this is a good idea as travelling through time may disrupt the normal flow of things. Driven by a grave desperation to correct the past, Hartdegen disregards all concerns and invents a time machine that allows him to travel into the future, but does he like what he discovers? Read more to find out.
About the Author
Picture Credits- Domain
Born on 21st September, 1866, Herbert George Wells was an English Writer. Being fluent in them all, Wells wrote in multiple genres. He wrote a number of short stories, novels, works of social commentary, satire, biography and auto-biography.
He was mostly famous for his works in the genre of science fiction which envisioned time travel, alien invasion, invisibility and biological engineering. Some of his famous books include ‘The Time Machine’, ‘The Invisible Man’, ‘The War of the Worlds’, ‘A Modern Utopia’, etc. He died on the 13th of August, 1946.
About the Book
The book begins with a discussion among a group of men, that includes the narrator about a theory that they have that involves time being the fourth dimension. The time traveler presents a miniature prototype of a time machine and makes it disappear into thin air.
The next week, the guests come again only to find the time traveler in a disheveled state. They sit down after dinner and the time traveler begins to tell his story.
After having finished the work on his time machine, the time-traveler finally sets into the future and as he pulls the lever, the machine takes him eight hundred thousand years into the future in the year 802,701 AD.
He finds himself in this strange world of little humanoid creatures who call themselves Eloi. They are peaceful creatures except for the time they have to fight Morlocks, who are these white ape-like creatures who prey on the Elois.
The time-traveler moves around the area for a while and enjoys Elois' hospitality but as he decides to return, he discovers that his time machine is gone.
He soon finds out that it has been out inside the pedestal of a nearby statue. He tries to break in but cannot. He encounters the Morlocks and saves an Eloi called Weena, who soon befriends him.
The time traveler finally musters the courage to go to the Morlocks in order to get his time machine and discovers that matches are a good defense against the Morlocks. The fight with the Morlocks after they chase him out of the realm is intense and Weena is killed in battle.
The beaten time-traveller returns to the pedestal, only to find out that it has been broken into and just as the Morlocks have him, the time- traveller springs onto the machine and swishes into the future.
The time-traveller makes several stops into the future and encounters many peculiar creatures, including giant crabs on a beach. He travels and travels until one day when he reaches thirty million years into the future and finds a black blob that is the only sign of life.
He then returns to the present time, only to travel again the next day and never return. The book has also been made into two excellent movies. The first one came out in 1960, followed by the other one in 2002 with the same screenplay.
Themes Involved
Probably the most prominent theme in the book is that of love, intelligence and connection. The time-traveller is undoubtedly a brilliant man and makes an invention that is way ahead of its time, quite literally.
But what the man lacks, is the ability to form human connections, in the present as well as when he travels through time.
He is a man without community wherever he goes and one of the reasons behind this could be his inability to emotionally and intellectually connect with the people around him.
Famous Quotes
“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need for change.”
“It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.”
“Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life.”
“We are kept keen on the grindstone of pain and necessity.”
‘The Time Machine’ is a must read for all the people who believe in the ultimate power of science and those who find the idea of time travel as intriguing as I do. So, science nerds assemble!
The book is not a lengthy read and has alien creatures and large crabs! Those are definitely tempting enough. The movies are also good but the level of detailing that Wells provides us with, in the book is unmatchable.
My Ratings for the Book - 4 on 5
Read the book at Amazon - The Time Machine
Written By - Sakshi Singh
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