Degeneration In H. G. Wells The Time Machine

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Throughout English history, the rule of Queen Victoria was discerned as the most prolific era. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was identified with affluence and development of the industrial era. This innately led to the rapid transformation of both the country and class society (No Author, 2011). However the 19th century wasn’t just characterized by its expanding knowledge and an increase in heathcare, it was filled with a variety of Victorian analysts who began to fear the threat of degeneration. The word itself represented the deterioration of the morals of civilized men (Burdett, 2016). H. G. Wells’ novel The Time Machine is a noteworthy work of science fiction that explored the themes of human degradation and inequality, subjects that were prominent during the Victorian Era in relation to Darwin’s theory of evolution. The novel focuses on the undiscovered multifariousness of man, specifically where the similarities between man and animal come to an end (Burdett, 2016).
The novel explorers these themes through the use of …show more content…

As suggested in the novel, the distinction lies between the effeminized Eloi and powerful Morlocks. The Eloi are examples that suggest a degenerated community cannot be processed beyond infancy. While the Morlock community suggests that humanity is devolving. H. G. Wells suggests to the reader that recognizing the wickedness of the Morlocks is to understand that some morals will transcend time and that wickedness thrives when the image of that person or creature remains idle. This is shown when the Eloi rebuffed the idea to fight back against the obvious dangers that plagued them. This suggests that human compassion will still exist, and be capable of loving and caring even when society has degenerated throughout time. H. G. Wells also suggests that man can either evolve as time goes by or he can stand idle and devolve. (Plascenia,

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