Reading “The Time Machine” has been a very interesting experience thus far. It has been vey different than the other texts that we have read thus far, and there is one question that has been lingering in my mind up until this point: what is the deeper meaning to this plot? Within Twain’s tale, it was obvious that the point was to make comparisons between 6th century and 19th century situations, and to show that the same sorts of problems arise in both societies, showing how far the world has to go in order to “evolve” into a fair place. Bellamy’s text created a futuristic socialist utopia where the world was a better place not because people had changed, but because the structure of society had been perfected. However, I am failing to see such an underlying premise within H.G. Well’s text so far. The narrator has been presented with a bad situation: he has lost his time machine and is forced to attempt communication with those who do not understand him. In terms of a plot, I think this fine. It is a struggle that needs a resolution. Nevertheless, there does not seem to be a deeper undertone.
Besides the fact that people in the future are not as advanced as our narrator would like, we do not know much about these people. In fact, we do not have much insight into the narrator either. In the other texts, we got to see a personal side of the characters, and it created a certain emotional connection to them. I am failing to see this within Wells’ novel. I feel rather distanced from the doctor, and to be honest, I do not feel bad for him or connected in any way to his situation. Because of this, I cannot discover any sort of meaningfulness to this story. It does not appear to be a critique of society (unless I am totally missing something, which is entirely within the realm of possibility), and thus pulls itself away from what we have established time travel novels to accomplish: either to show problems in a current society, or to form a utopia that can be realized under certain circumstances. “The Time Machine” does neither of these!
Perhaps there is an aspect of time travel novels that we need to look at that may change my perception of this book. But as for right now, this does not seem to fall into the category of books that we have talked about earlier in the class. Our previous tales have had distinct purposes: to compare societies, past, present, and future, and to send a message through the comparisons. Wells’ famous novel, in my opinion, fails to do this in any way, shape, or form. Maybe I will change my mind by the time I end the book, but if I don’t, I can make a pretty bold statement: this book, which is considered the quintessential time travel book, is really not a time travel book at all. It does not fit the mold that other books have outlined for us. I would like to know what other people think about this point, that this is not a time travel book in the sense that has been established in class.
If anyone has suggestions, or points to bring up that would make this a book that is in the mold I have spoken about, please comment. Or, if you agree with me, let me know, because I am always in need of an ego booster. Anyway, I hope I enlightened you in one or another through this blog. Let me know what you all think, and maybe we can bring this up in class!
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