Alex Rogers
1/14/09
Science of Science Fiction
The Time Machine
The Time Machine is a classic science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. This book is about a group of people listening to a narrator tell a story about a man known as the “Time Traveler”, the fourth dimension, and traveling in time. (Introduction) When the Time Traveler’s machine is complete, he starts a series of adventures across the timeline. (Rising Action) The first place he ends up is in year 802,701 AD. He meets creatures known as Eloi and befriends them. When he is done traveling around with the Eloi, he tries to return to his time machine only to find it gone. The Time Traveler realizes that it was a grup of pale ape-like creatures that have taken his time machine, known as the Morlocks. The Time Traveler befriends one of the Morlocks who’s name is Weena. The Time Traveler realizes that the Morlocks are scared by matches. One night when running from the Morlocks, he accidentally starts a fire, killing many Morlocks. (Climax) He finds his time machine just in the knick of time and whizzes into the future. (Falling Action)The Time Traveler makes a few more visits into the future, including a weird trip to the future where he is attacked by enormous crabs and another where the only sign are black jello-like blobs. The story ends with him traveling into the future one more time, but never returning. (Conclusion)
I don’t think The Time Traveler is ever named. The story is told through a narrator that seems as if he wants to protect the Time Traveler’s identity. There aren’t any other major main characters besides maybe Weena, one of the Eloi that The Time Traveler saves from drowning and later befriends. The Time Traveler is an inventor and one who is obviously curious about what the future holds. Weena acts as if a pet dog or a small child.
The conflict of the novel is Man vs. Man. The Time Traveler causes his own problems because he was the one who risked traveling to the...