DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

PB:

We are continuing our preparations for our "Text in Context" essay, by reading all the scholarly criticism excerpts from the Norton Critical Edition of The Time Machine. In one way or another, these are examples of essays that interpret the significance of the content and structure of The Time Machine by connecting patterns in the novel to central elements of its cultural and historical context. For this Dialogue Response, think about what you would like to write about in your essay on The Time Machine. Pick a theme and pattern of textual elements that you would like to interpret in your essay. Then explain how several of the pieces of scholarly criticism help you to develop your own interpretation. When you mention an idea from a piece of scholarly criticism, be sure to give credit where credit is due. In other words, be sure to cite your sources. This helps other scholars find the sources of your ideas (and avoids appearances of plagiarism!).

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

RP:

I would like to examine the idea of class as portrayed in The Time Machine. My reasoning behind it is both because it has been on my mind and I think it would be a great way to sum up the ideas I have learned in the past few days and also because I think it is pertinent to our current world. As far as the scholarly criticism goes, there were a couple of very well-stated essays which would contribute nicely to writing this essay. I think I’m going to structure this as an outline out of my personal need for comprehending… John Huntington’s “The Time Machine and Wells’s Social Trajectory” • In this essay, the idea that Wells was a product of the “lowest stratum of the middle class” (222) and this is his social trajectory is explored. The Time Machine, therefore, poses Wells’s longings and angers in regards to both his social standing as well as the period’s social divisions. • I like the idea that Wells’s class awareness at the time had a great influence on the Time Traveler’s character. This was expressed through many of the personality traits such as not wanting servants around during dinner (222). • The Time Traveler also has a fear of the morlocks, which could be a result of Wells’s fear of the working-class, or fear of falling back into where he came from (223). • Hiding the way class actually works by turning class difference into species difference (224). This is something I hadn’t thought about when reading The Time Machine, but I think it’s a really meaningful argument. It plays back into the idea mentioned above about Wells’s fear of being pushed back down a step on the class ladder. • Also, the morlocks representing a lower class symbolically rather than realistically (225). Instead of depicting people who live and work in the slums of London, Wells utilizes the idea of creatures and creates both a feeling of resentment and a feeling of hesitance. Paradoxically, Wells describes the eloi in a way that avoids resentment towards the upper-class of which he strives to achieve the status of. There are a few more ideas from this essay that would be useful, but we read it so I won’t go on. The remaining evidence would be taken from the cultural context essays that we spoke about in class. The dripping Marxism throughout The Time Machine creates a great dynamic for talking about Wells’s views on social structure; both from a personal perspective and a sociological one.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

MS:

I am interested in the gender politics of the Victorian quest romance, as discussed in "The Apocalyptic Fables of H.G. Wells"(213) and in "The Empire of the Future."(229) I found "The Apocalyptic Fables of H.G. Wells" particularly insightful because of how the ideas still apply to contemporary science fiction. Showalter suggests that "...these men's novels are about 'the flight from marriage,'" (216) and that the Time Machine in particular is about both that avoidance of marriage in general and about Wells' own marital difficulties. She further quotes another author as saying, "In the wilderness they no longer needed to practice compulsory heterosexuality." (217) Showalter also mentions that "among the recurrent themes of these narratives are fantasies of replacing heterosexual reproduction with male self-creation."(217) which, given the commonness of cloning and all sorts of non-typical reproduction in science fiction, is a fascinating new idea to me. In "The Empire of the Future," the "Pocahontas motif" (233) links the well-known Pocahontas story to the more subtle version of it in the Time Machine and explains the Time Machine somewhat subverts the motif. I don't quite have my own opinions on this stuff yet, I'm still sort of digesting it. But it's definitely really interesting.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

LB:

I'm interested in the idea of looking at the themes and patterns of femininity and masculinity in relation to Well's symbolism of the sun/moon, light/darkness, Eloi/Morlocks, and selective imagery. Kathryn Hume's scholarly criticism spoke to me quite loudly in reference to my own ideas about this topic. First I would like to start out by symbolically categorizing the masculine and feminine traits; Hume categorizes “Semes of the masculine include such constellated values as culture, light, the Sun, law, reason, consciousness, the right hand and ruler ship. The feminine merges with chaos, darkness, the Moon, intuition, feeling, the left hand, water, and the unconscious,"(208). Although Day and Night are a regular occurrence, Wells seems to make the presence of night and day a rather clear statement, along with the emotions and actions that tie in with it. The Time Traveler talks of the Eloi who “…adorn themselves with flowers, to dance, to sing in the sunlight,” (28) and yet the Eloi were never found “…out of doors, or sleeping alone within doors, after dark,” (36). What this symbolizes is that the Time Traveler associates the Eloi in closer relation to man, considering that they are being of the light and the sun (masculine), than that of the dark (feminine), despite their overall androgynous appearance and petite size. The Eloi’s fear of the dark (feminism) is a clear representation of the Victorian age male view of the “thematic exclusion of women,” (217) according to Elaine Showalther. Another point that Showalther brings up is the idea of male writers of the Victorian era “…replacing heterosexual reproduction with male self-creation,” (217). This idea can be supported by the Time Traveler’s assessment of how “…child-bearing becomes and evil rather than a blessing…” (25) to the Eloi.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

SC:

On page 212, Kathryn Hume writes, "The doubled identities of both Eloi and Morlocks turn them into the literary equivalent of an optical illusion. Coherence can no more emerge from them than from Escher's drawing of water flowing downhill in a circle." To me, this comes off as a challenge to anyone attempting to break down the relationship between the Eloi and the Morlocks. A justified warning too, evidenced in Elaine Showalter's ham-fisted attempts to peg the Morlocks as masculinity incarnate: "When he penetrates into the underground labyrinths of the Morlocks, the Time Traveler seems to be leaving the feminity of the surface and entering the male body itself. He is surrounded by the 'throb and hum' of machinery, by the 'heavy smell' of blood, and by the sense of disgusting physical contact." p. 220 Instead of effectively breaking down the subtest, Showalter exposes herself as more than a little sexist. So perhaps comparing and contrasting the Eloi to the Morlocks is a fools errand. Unfortunately, I feel like the relationship between the two is really what lies at the heart of The Time Machine. There were interesting takes on the meaning of the relationship between the two. Unfortunately, these interpretations are sandwiched between endless references to the Morlocks as "cannibals," even though it is clearly established that they are a separate species from the Eloi. It isn't until page 232 than Cantor and Hufnagel in "The Empire of the Future: Imperialism and Modernism in H.G. Wells" give some basic rationalization: "And of course the Time Traveler's shocking discovery about the Morlocks is that they feed upon the Eloi, which, in view of their common descent from human beings, makes the Morlocks cannibals (Wells's hero compares them to "our cannibal ancestors." p. 50)" Maybe Cantor and Hufnagel are right, and the Eloi/Morlocks simply represent another Imperialist archetype of the good tribe/bad tribe. It does seem peculiar that the Time Traveler bears such hatred towards the Morlocks. Even if that is so, there are so many more interesting layers to the two to examine. The social constructs versus the evolutionary trends that would have to happen for them to arrive there are fascinating. And storytelling wise, Bergonzi is correct in pointing out how the narrative utilizes the two species as a riddle, revealing itself in satisfying layers.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

SK:

I am deciding right now between two topic ideas. The more developed idea deals with Wells' ideas on eugenics, and how the time machine reflects the ideas of race and how that relates to the then newly conceived ideas of evolution of the time. In his essays, Wells writes about de-evolution from a very scientific point of view. However, in the Victorian culture at that time, de-evolution of humans was associated with other races as well as with fear. This topic seems like a good thing to write on, I just need to research about A. Wells' opinions on race. B. Other works on eugenics/the idea of genetic superiority of the time. B. Analyzing the actual text of The Time Machine to support this topic. The other idea would be based around the idea of beauty and design harmoniously linked with science. Using the description of the time machine itself as almost the driving symbol of the essay, I would focus on the ideas that the people of the age had about science, where they dreamt it would go, and how it would fit into their lives and the lives of the future. However, there is no real support in Wells' writing other than the details themselves, and I'm not sure how I would use other sources. Possibly the designs of other real life creations of that day? I'm not sure...

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

WM:

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is the story of a 19th century scientist who builds a machine in which he can travel through the fourth dimension--time. On his maiden voyage he travels to the year 802,701 AD. There he discovers what he believes is the fate of humanity. He befriends the Eloi who are the evolutionary outcome of humans after being subsided to a life of comfort and safety. The Morlocks, however, are the brach of humanity which took a different path in the evolutionary chain as their race moved under ground. Wells through the time traveller explores probabilities of their evolutionary process which could explain their physical appearance and intellectual capabilities. In Wells’ Scientific Journal he exclaims “Man, we are assured, is descended from ape-lie ancestors, moulded by circumstances into men”. He goes on to say “Evolution...is simply the continual adaptation of plastic life, for good or evil, to the circumstances that surrounds it.” (139) What Wells means is that the evolution of man is driven by circumstances, by needs. He mentions the physical decay of animal characteristics in men up to the 19th century stating “Man now does by wit and machinery and verbal agreement what he once did by bodily toil.” (139) He explains that through the process of developing intelligence and comforts, humanity has become very social-oriented and able to manipulate resources in ways to better suit their need for comforts such as shelter, agriculture, transportation, communication. With needs so easily met through the adaptation of society, survival of the fittest no longer meant that one had to be physically strong and fierce in order to survive, and so humans evolved and decayed from their ape-like ancestors. The loss of hair and teeth became apparent. The dwindling of hands and feet, smaller ears, jaws and mouth were all results of circumstantial evolution. Wells’ hypothesis in his scientific journal that biological evolution is driven by social evolution is eluded throughout the novella. With further examination upon his arrival in the future he exclaims “The too-perfect security of the Overworlders had led them to a slow movement of degeneration, to a general dwindling in size, strength, and intelligence” (41). Wells’ theory of evolution is closely based off the studies of Charles Darwin yet have more of a social foundation. While both believe that evolution is based on circumstances, Wells promotes more of a social aspect through his writing. (more to come)

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.