The Time Machine is deservedly considered a science fiction classic. In it, Wells creates the intriguing world of the Morlocks and the Eloi, based on his concepts of human and social evolution. In this future world, the long-term dangers of an exaggerated class structure, in which the “have nots” are oppressed by the “haves,” become apparent. In Wells’s view, as often expressed by the time traveler, exploitation of the working classes produces a race of subhuman Morlocks, while years of self-indulgence and dependence lead to the moral degradation of the Eloi.
Apart from its social, philosophical, and economic Themes, the book also appeals to readers because of its vivid description and rapidly unfolding plot. Few Characters among the traveler’s London circle of friends have names, but their actions give them personalities. On the other hand, except for Weena, no one in the world of the future needs individualizing. Only their racial uniformity seems to matter, a fact that shows clearly in their actions. Wells coaxes the reader into acceptance of the novel’s basic scientific premise-the concept of time as the fourth dimension-both by the logic with which the time traveler explains his machine and by the vividness of his trips through time.
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