The Concept of Time Travel in the Novel, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Time travel. An idea that has fascinated mankind for all eternity. The shear idea of voyaging through the fabric of time is both an intriguing and exhilarating thought.
Throughout time, many authors have closely predicted the future through their novels, and who’s to say H.G. Wells won’t follow the proverbial footsteps of these authors with The Time Machine? Is the idea to farfetched? The time traveler in the story didn’t think so, all though others didn’t agree. But who can predict the future? Maybe we have already been visited by people from the future and don’t even know it. This book is a wonderful look at the questions time travel raises, and I will elaborate on this great novel in the coming paragraphs. The time machine takes place in the nineteenth to twentieth century, or the present time somewhere on Earth. That is, at first.
The time traveler, as he is referred to in this book, quickly decided to leave for another time frame. This time frame unfortunately being in the extremely far future year of 802,700. Nothing in this time frame is the same as his, he might as well be a caveman. This time period seemed very intriguing, with a culture that has reached a state of utopia, or so it would seem. He would find that everything isn’t perfect, seeing as his only link back to his own time period had quickly been severed.
There are only a few characters in this novel. The first one we meet is of course the main character, the time traveler himself. We also meet the people he associated himself and shares his discoveries with. Two that we hear about the longest are Filby, who is a red haired man who is very argumentative and has a return comment for everyone made, and the psychologist, who is a mellow, not very objective person… these two characters almost contrast each other personality wise. The main character in the story is a very interesting one to say the least. He has qualities that make for a truly diverse individual.
At first, it would seem to you that this man is a little crazy. Some portrayed him this way, which is very expected. The idea of time travel in this time frame and at in the time frame in novel is something tied in directly with fiction. It didn’t and still doesn’t have any scientific basis in our society, but it is something that may be very realistic someday. The time traveler saw this was the time for that fiction to be transformed into reality, and hence he created his time machine. He got the criticism that came with the territory, but he also got some praise.
The main character was not only a true genius for his invention, but he was also a very resourceful person. He needed to be both smart and resourceful to survive in the future, a world so different from his. He was also convicted; he never gave up on what he applied himself to. The time travelers purpose in the novel was being the main link to everything going on, and to be the center of all the events within the novel. He produced, tested, and used the time machine and it’s philosophy.
He is a static character, as he stays the same throughout most of the novel. The only thing that changes is his perception of certain things, and his knowledge of the future. The character doesn’t relate to anyone in real life in my opinion. He does have the characteristics of some great people though, he has those of a leader, a scientist, and a soldier. The theme of the story in my opinion is do not worry about the future, make it through the present. This is applied very easily to real life. People have to live their lives not worrying about the future, and instead thinking about the present and making the most out of the day. Time travel may be something interesting, but for now I think after reading the story, we should worry about the present.
