abstract illustration of concentric circles punctuated by lines emanating from a clock in the middle of the drawing

The Time Machine

by H. G. Wells

Start Free Trial

Student Question

In The Time Machine, which dialogue best reflects the traveler's feelings about his experiences?

Quick answer:

The time traveler's feelings about his experiences are best reflected in his stark warning about the future's potential dangers and his disappointment with the Eloi and Morlocks. His journey reveals a "disappointing and devastating vision" of humanity's future, leading him to question the "feeble prettiness" of the Eloi and the "abominable desolation." Ultimately, it is "the silence" and absence of human sounds that profoundly affect him, prompting a realization of mankind's impact on its own destiny.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, the time traveler, who is never named, wants to tell his friends about his extraordinary journey through time. As a scientist, he has always believed that time and space exist within a realm that is often speculated on and written about but never fully explored or proven. He intends to do just that because "time is only a kind of Space." From his scale model, his friends are fascinated, if not skeptical, about his plans. One comments "... are you perfectly serious? Or is this a trick – like that ghost you showed us last Christmas?" However, the following week when they gather for their usual dinner, the time traveler, their host, arrives late and begins to recount his story with a stark warning that the future holds potential but also great danger.

The apparent paradise which he has witnessed turns out to be...

Unlock
This Answer Now

Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.

Get 48 Hours Free Access

a disappointing and devastating vision of what mankind could become without compassion, drive or purpose. The Eloi are weak, and although they are at peace, they are victims of the Morlocks and are nothing more than a sub species which is preserved by the Morlocks as a source of food. However, the story is so far-fetched that the time traveler's guests do not recognize the story as a warning that it is within their power to make a difference, and no amount of drama and potential for disaster can motivate them to change. Even the time traveler momentarily wonders whether he has really had this experience and the question of the "feeble prettiness" of the Eloi and "absolute permanency" or change becomes relative and applicable only in the time and space within which it exists, whether that is in the past, present or future.

It is because the time traveler recognizes the impact of mankind on his own future that he keeps searching for that destructive element and becomes increasingly immersed in solving the mystery of something that he cannot quite understand, that "abominable desolation." He muses as to what it is that is causing "the life of the old earth (to) ebb away." He ponders the Milky Way, the changed landscape and the cooler sun but ultimately, it is "the silence" that affects him. "All the sounds of man... that make(s) the background of our lives – all that was over" (chapter 14 in eNotes version). He manages to recover from this overwhelming realization just sufficiently to return to his own time. 

References

Approved by eNotes Editorial