Prose study -The Time Machine by HG Wells Essay Example

Prose study Prose study -The Time Machine by HG Wells Paper Prose study -The Time Machine by HG Wells Paper Essay Topic: Literature The Time Machine As part of my English literature coursework, I am going to analyse H. G wells novel The Time Machine. I shall be focusing on chapter 12 of the play and explaining how this chapter is the climax of the narrative. I will also be considering how Wells creates suspense. Herbert George Wells was born on 21st November 1866 in Bromley, Kent. His father, a shopkeeper and cricketer and his mother a housekeeper. However Wells developed a love for literature at a very young age and used to study books in the library secretly. Wells obtained a scholarship and studied biology at the normal school of science. He left however without a degree and in 1891 married his cousin Isabel. From 1893, Wells became a full time writer. Wells was a novelist, journalist, sociologist and historian but is best known for works such as The invisible man, war of the worlds and in 1895, the time machine. The time machine is basically about the English class division of his time as well as a warning that human progress is not inevitable. The novel is set in the time it was written, as H. G Wells wrote this story to demonstrate the social issues of his time. The story is narrated by Hillyer who is present at the time travellers home along with several of the time travellers friends. These people are frequently identified by their professions rather than their names. The room consists of a provincial mayor, a medical man, a sociologist and a journalist. All of these people have professional careers; they have recognition in society due to their professions. This instantly shows us the class division of the time, as no non-professional person is present in the gathering. Meaning that the public is given little or no importance in informing them of such a scientific breakthrough. The time travellers theories are that any real body has four dimensions rather than three. These are, breadth, length, thickness and also duration. The first three are known as planes and the fourth as time. He also believed that like we can draw 3D on 2D, we should also be able to do 3D on 4D. Working on this theory, the time traveller has found a way of moving through time using a time machine. As well as this the time traveller also has theories on evolution that in the future the capitalist has evolved into the Eloi (peaceful but weak humans) and the labourers have evolved into the morlocks (aggressive ape-like people). However as the story progresses, he begins to rethink this theory and decides that the Eloi are the capitalists but have adapted to the life of the labourers. As they seem to have no control over their surroundings. He also thinks that the morlocks are in fact the labourers but have begun living the lives of capitalists, as they seem to be having total control. The balance of power has shifted entirely, causing confusion in. Again, Wells has clearly expressed his views on the social issues of his time. He is saying that the capitalists (morlocks) feed on the labourers (Eloi). This at present seems confusing but is later understood as the story continues. Naturally, some of the guests of the time traveller seem a little sceptical of the idea that man can travel through time, (yet they still admitted that there was such thing as the fourth dimension) and that rich, noble people would in the future become vicious human flesh eating people. Therefore the time travellers account of the future seems to be a bit of a joke, a kind of fantasy. So, to answer this puzzle that is in both the guests and readers minds, he backs his theory using scientific evidence. In fact Darwins and the Fabians theories were the basis of the time travellers very own. Darwin believed that everything was evolved from one thing or the other, for example, that humans ancestors were apes and monkeys. Similarly the time traveller has a theory on the labourers and the capitalist evolving into the morlocks and the Eloi. At first, Darwins theory was abandoned and people stuck to what was said in the bible. However, in Wells time the theory of evolution was gradually being accepted. The time traveller believes that through time, the social class division has gone to such an extreme that two different species have evolved, the morlocks and the Eloi. He also declares that this division is ongoing but is a lot more visible in the future, however the Eloi are unaware of it. This point is supported by the Fabians society. This society recognised the mistreatment of labourers and the inequalities of capitalism. Wells too joined this society and so is giving his opinions on the class struggle of the 1900s via the time traveller. Despite all this, Hillyer (the narrator) was most hesitant to reject the time travellers claims. Seen as though the book is demonstrating the class struggle, the book is based upon two forms of human: Eloi -the Eloi have several interesting characteristics that the time traveller talks about, including their appearance and way of living: Fragile and very sweet -this shows that the Eloi are peaceful yet weak. So sleep together to avoid being eaten by the morlocks. Due to such statements, the time traveller thought that the Eloi descended from the Labourers rather than the morlocks. These people of the remote future were strict vegetarians. -This again shows the simplicity of the Eloi; they only eat what is available, unlike the morlocks who go hunting for food (the Elois). I felt like a school teacher amidst children -the time traveller is comparing the behaviour of the Eloi to children. He is stating that the Elois attention span is that of a child, and that they dont seem to be interested in him for too long. The Eloi therefore have evolved from the Capitalists of the 19th century, rather than the Labourers. The time traveller realises this as he notices the Elois simple mindedness and the fact that they are pleasant but weak humans, so have not the mind s to form some sort of self-defence. The second types of species are the morlocks -these are predatory humans who have developed to live in the dark. Consequently they seem to be afraid of the light as the time traveller says, I lit a match, and, looking down I saw a small, white moving creature with large bright eyes which regarded me steadfastly as it retreated. The time traveller first thought these were nocturnal animals but later finds out the truth. With his first encounter with a morlocks, the time traveller describes it as a queer little ape-like figure, its head held down in a peculiar manner. He further describes the morlocks, dull white, and had strange large greyish eyes. The morlocks also had flaxen hair on their head and their backs which is why the time traveller later says it was so like a human spider! they also appeared to hold their forearms very low which made them look as if they were walking on all fours. With this brief encounter with the morlocks, the time traveller instantly begins to think up of a theory as to what these species were. At first, he thought they were some kind of nocturnal animals, as they possessed all the characteristics of one (used to the dark, large eyes). Except later he accepts that the morlocks like the Eloi, are human. After this does the truth dawn onto him that future human had divided into two species and that the morlocks were the people of the year 802,701 that lived underground. The upper class of Wells time had if any, very limited respect for the labourers class. And due to this class division, the time traveller presumes that the morlocks are the direct descendants of the labourers of the 19th century. As he says, even now, does not an east-end worker live in such artificial conditions as practically to be cut off from the natural surface of the earth? here the time traveller is discussing the similarities between the labourers of the 19th century and the morlocks of the 26th. As the story progresses, the time traveller discovers that at night, the morlocks eat the Eloi and so dont always stay underground. Here we are shown a real contrast between the species. The Eloi, calm and rather child like who live simply and are rather unaware of their surroundings. On the other hand are the morlocks, vicious, carnivorous species who arent exactly what they seem. With this in mind, the time traveller begins to rethink his theory and now decides that that the Eloi are in fact the capitalists, unaware of what lies ahead hether theyll still survive or not. Furthermore the morlocks are actually the labourers, knowing what lies ahead of them. They appear to be innocent in front of the Eloi, but in actual fact they secretly conquer the underworld and roam the top of the world by night. Once again, Wells has clearly projected his ideas via the time traveller but also, has hinted the moral of the story. Wells is stating how unfair capitalism is in his time and what it woul d lead into if it were not stopped. Focusing on chapter twelve Chapter twelve, in the darkness, is clearly the climax of the narrative. This is partly due to what happened prior to this chapter. Particularly in chapter eleven, when the time traveller takes Weena (one of the Elois) to the palace of green porcelain. Here the time traveller amazingly discovers items of use, a box of matches, some camphor and an iron crow bar. And at last in one of the really airtight cases, I found a box of matches, the were perfectly good. They were not even damp and then by the merest accident I discovered, in an airtight case, two dynamite cartridges! I think this is too much of a coincident that a box of matches has been preserved for six centuries and are in fully working order. Therefore I think wells has places these things on purpose in the palace, so that the audience are given a clear indication of what dangers lye ahead of Weena and the time traveller. Wells has created suspense before the beginning of chapter twelve; this also assists in chapter 12 bein g the climax of the story. Chapter twelve has three stages of suspense, the beginning, the middle when the woods is set on fire and the end when Weena disappears. This structure not only helps make the chapter more understandable, but also gradually builds up suspense as we read on. Therefore this technique adds to the readers pleasure. In the beginning, everything seems to be calm and normal, nothing is going wrong. Having learned the morlocks weakness, the time traveller prepares himself by gathering wood and grass in order to start a fire and repel the morlocks. But when he recalls the incident that happened once going in the woods, the time traveller regrets going in, I was to discover the atrocious folly of this proceeding. Once entering the woods, the time traveller and Weena realise that they are being followed by the morlocks. While we hesitated, among the black bushes behind us, and dim against their blackness, I saw three crouching figures. So the time traveller lit a match to scare away the morlocks. Later, he and Weena fell asleep whilst the fire was lit, but somehow the fire had gone out and the morlocks had taken the matchbox and Weena. He finds his iron crowbar, and fights off the Morlocks currently attacking him, and then finds that the forest is burning. He makes it to the summit of a hill and watches the Morlocks total confusion as a result of the fire And now I was to see the most weird and horrible thing, I think, of all that I beheld in that future age. He then decides that Weena is lost forever, and so he continues on to the Sphinx. This incident creates tension on the outcome of the play, the audience is kept guessing as to whether the time traveller will make it or not, or will he also be captured by the morlocks? In the third stage, Wells uses emotive language to display the time travellers feelings at the loss of Weena. The Time Traveller reaches a new emotional low after losing Weena, and the error of his choices are again painfully clear to him by the end of the night. The value of his relationship with Weena also becomes more evident after she is gone. The Time Traveller mentions his loneliness and thoughts of the present company (who are listening to his story) and his longing to see them. The Time Traveller makes clear that although in most ways Weena is far from similar to humans from his day, her feelings for him were very human, in the most important similarity there could be. I felt the intensest wretchedness for the horrible death of little Weena. It seemed an overwhelming calamity. The time traveller is an extremely powerfully written novel. Wells ideas of the state of his own civilization are distinct. He is trying to say that the capitalists of his time are like the morlocks. The capitalists are perhaps like scavengers, hungry for the flesh of labourers. He is also presenting his opini on on the unequal division of the classes. Like the morlocks and the Eloi, the capitalists and the labourers are two different species. The Eloi can once be compared to the 19th century capitalists, that they too enjoy the riches of the upper world. But in fact the situation is quite the opposite. The morlocks only let the Eloi live so that they can later eat them. Similarly, in Wells opinion, the capitalists only let the labourers live so that they can get work out of them. Wells message is simple; this extreme class division should end. An audience of the 21st century would react differently to the audience of the 19th century regarding the story. This is because now, the industrial revolution has almost entirely disappeared, resulting in hardly any labourers. Even so, these few labourers are treated with dignity and with respect, unlike in the time of H. G Wells. Another reason would be that the class divisions of the modern day are not so extreme as they were before. This novel is once again extremely well written and the moral is easily understood. However, in my opinion, this novel is aimed at an older audience rather than a teenage one. This is due to the language and grammar used in the book.

How impetuously Essays

How impetuously Essays How impetuously Paper How impetuously Paper Rationality, oppose to impetuosity, means that before one makes a decision, one would deliberate over the decision and forethought about the outcome to make sure he decision is reasonable and wise. Shakespearean play of Romeo Juliet, conveys the message of how that tiny spark of impetuosity during ones teenage years can lead to negative and devastating consequences, of which changed ones life forever in a not favorable way. Romeo, the protagonist of the play, is a perfect example of a teenager whose decisions and actions are based on impetuosity. Take Romeos love affair between Rosalie and Juliet for Instance. In the beginning of the play, Romeo was lamenting to Benevolent how he loved Rosalie, how Roseanne Is the only live of his life, and how he could not live without her. One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun Newer saw her match since first world begun ( Act 1, Scene 2, 94-95) However, he abandoned the love for Rosalie instantly upon seeing Juliet for the first time. Now, Rosalie was a sworn maiden, so Romeos surrender of his love to her does not affect her. But Juliet is not, imagine how would Juliet react to the same situation had Romeo done the same thing to her? Would not she be devastated and scarred? This shows that during ones teenage years, one can be very fickle about love, which may result in someone getting hurt physically and mentally. Another good demonstration of Romeos impetuousness is the marriage to Juliet. Romeo had only known Juliet for an extremely short amount of time. But Romeo still decides to marry Juliet within hours of seeing her for the first time. This Decision was completely unnecessary and Impetuous for first, he knows minimal Information about Juliet, and second, Juliet Is a Caplet. He sworn enemy of his family. This decision would Likely cause outrage and a feeling of shame and dishonor among the two families, therefore originating inevitable feud and fights between the two families which can cause furthermore trouble as the Prince of Verona is not very kind towards feud and fights. Also because Romeo know minimal information about Juliet, he is likely to find himself stranded in a unhappy marriage as bad marriage often happens if one does not know his or her partner well. In addition to Romeos impetuousness, upon seeing Gullets fake-death, he decides to kill himself, despite the fact he noticed obvious signs of life in the face of Juliet. O my love, my wife! Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath. Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty. Thou art not conquered. Beauty Is ensign yet Is crimson In thy lips and In thy cheeks. And deaths pale flag Is not advanced there. (Act 5, scene 3, 91-96)The tragic death of Romeo In the end was also expected Tort teens AT Nils age are Kelly to De Impetuous, also Decease en Knows nothing about Juliet. The impetuousness is in the end what killed him. Likewise to Romeo, another character who exemplifies how impetuous decision can cause negative consequences would be Juliet. Which likewise to Romeo, also ended with a tragic death. Juliet had made many impetuous decisions throughout the play, some of which were very similar to Romeos decisions. Such as proposing the idea of marriage to Romeo, in spite of the fact the she knew Rome was a Montague, the sworn enemy of her family. My only love sprung from my only hate. (Act 1, Scene 5, 136) This can lead to greater feud between the two families and bring trouble upon her family as explained in Paragraph one. Furthermore, Juliet let Romeo into her room the night before Romeos banishment, it is extremely impetuous, for anyone could have walked in on the couple any moment and they would find themselves in a very tangled situation where Romeo could find himself killed because back then it loud be considered a dishonor upon the female side fam ilys reputation. Finally, upon finding Romeo dead, Juliet also decides to end herself by stabbing herself in the chest. She did not even contemplate any other choices or ideas. Mime, Noise? Then I will be brief. O happy dagger, this is thy sheath, there rust and let me die. (Act 5, Scene 3, 169-171) Does this scene not seem familiar? As Romeo reacted the same way when he saw her? This further approves that teenagers are impetuous by nature therefore can cause negative consequences such as death. Shown from previous example, Romeo and Juliet are very impetuous. However, the most impetuous character in the play can only be no other but Table. Known for his tyrannous temper and impetuous attitude, Tables impetuousness is beyond any characters in the play. Which also likewise to other impetuous characters, ended with a tragic death. For instance, at Lord Caplets party, he has to be restrained from attempting to duel with Romeo and killing him even though Lord Caplet, his uncle, told him not to. This, by his voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my Rapier, boy. What, dares the slave come hither, covered with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now by the stock and honor of my kin, to strike him dead I hold it not a sin! (Act 1, Scene 5, 51-57) Moreover to his impetuosity at the party he also decides that he would accept the duel with Meretricious, despite acknowledging the fact that he would be severely punished by the Prince of Verna. Whats even more impetuous is that, after killing Meretricious; he also accepted the duel with Romeo, instead of running away, now he have 2 guild on him which would cost him his life even if he did sly Romeo. Thou wretched boy, you hung out with him here, and youre going to go to heaven with him. Act 3, scene 1, 126-127) This final act of impetuosity in the end cost him his life, for Romeo slays him. From the paradigms of bloodshed and death caused by the characters impetuous decision. Shakespeare was clear about how teenagers can end up in negative consequences if he or she were to act impetuously. Had Romeo, Juliet, or Table even Just contemplated those decisions for a second, they would have not end up dead. Just as the saying goes Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought. Discusses, Greek Historian, and Athenian General