So, this one took me a REALLY long time to read after I finished Terabithia. Two months to be exact, based on the last posting date. Sorry about that.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells was published in 1895 and reads like it was written in a different language at times. Which is why I had such a hard time reading it in a proper time frame. Also means this post is going to be long as well as I try an get through all the points I wanted to bring up.
The first two chapters were very science-based, therefore tricky for me to follow (I'm not great at science). I had to read a few things more than once and even had to look up the 3-Dimensional vs 4-Dimensional space-time dilemmas they discuss. It got better after that.
There were times when I would finish a chapter and have to reflect on what I had just read to contemplate the context, time frame, ideas, and scope of what the author had written. Remember, this book was written in the late 1800s. What we know to be the near future is much different than what they might have ever imagined... but his ideas and theories of the distant future (802,701 A.D.) are unsupportable by anything we know today, so the possibilities are endless. So much to comprehend.
For example, the time traveler in the book (context: he is detailing his story and experiences to a group of gentlemen) speaks of the future "people" he meets and how unintelligent they are. He describes how he thought our distant descendants would be highly intelligent, but their language, daily life, habits and existence is so much more simple than he could have fathomed. Despite this, he still befriends one and she, Weena, becomes is companion for his duration in the future time.
The Time Traveller, for now on he will be TT, regales that meat, and by extension meat-eating, has gone extinct in the future. Everyone eats fruit and vegetation. This made me reflect on if that is an actual possibility for our future and not just something in a sci-fi novel. Hm.
He also has a long and winding theory of how the society of "people" he encounters in the future came to be. And by long-winding, I mean its like a whole chapter pretty much. His theory makes sense, but he soon finds that his theory was very wrong as he did not account for the predator species that is also present, but that of which he does not encounter right away. His theory, as written by the author, is a great commentary on what the society of 1895 may have thought about the future of humanity. It also lends itself to what we know to be our present reality (their near-"future"), our own views about the future and the fate of humanity and all of our futurist theories. It differs because we know things now that they did not, and it alters our practices and how we interact with our possible future or futures. This particular part of the book gave me the most to think about.
The TT's theories change as he remains in the future. He tries to understand the "people" - Eloi is what they call themselves - and he even learns their rudimentary language. He believes there is nothing wrong in the future, "no fear, no danger", as he describes it. That is until he discovers the predator species, Morlocks. At this point he theorizes again on how humanity splits and fractures into two very distinct species and what their possible roles might be. This, the author's idea, is very interesting and he traces it back to his own society, which can still be applied to even our society today. The upper-class equal to the upper-world Eloi and the lower-class equated to the underworld dwelling Morlocks. (Please read the book if you want the full theory behind this sentence.)
After encountering the Morlocks, the TT doesn't spend much more time in the future as they scare him. He tries to be fair and understand why the Morlocks are as they are, but he still ends up sympathizing more with the Eloi due to their more "human-like" nature and appearance. After a wild series of events that allow him to escape that space-time, he travels into the even more distant future. A time where the earth is dying, only plants and formidable crustaceans rule the land and there is almost no air to breathe. He is curious as to how the world ends... not just humanity, but the earth itself. Which is a very interesting, if morbid, thing to think about and want to learn. Eventually he travels back to his present time.
Of course in the end, does anyone believe his story? Perhaps the narrator from the beginning of the book does, but he doesn't let on. There is a line at the very end, in reference to one of the items he provided as proof of his travels: "-to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of Man." Is this the moral of the story? That man will always have the same basic feelings at heart, the core of our humanity?
The epilogue concludes that the Time Traveller left again, never to return. Which doesn't surprise me, but why he left is up for dispute. Did he leave to go back to the time he was? To find the one he lost? Prevent the things that happened while he was there? Or, did he leave to explore the time or times when humanity split or began to deviate into the species and societies that he witnessed in 802,701?
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EDIT: I forgot to mention that I didn't watch the movie based on this book. There was one made in the 1960s, and another horrible one made in 2002 that I am positive has nothing to do with the book because it is so wildly different in every way.
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