HG Wells’ The Time Machine, has many different narrative threads going on with regards to messages he wants to convey through time travel. Probably the least referenced of which is the one which is the subject of this class. The Environmental angle may be the least touched upon overarching message of the book in general, but they are still important with regards to the other messages the book is meant to convey, particularly our desire to automate every aspect of our lives, and how this will evolve to be weaker. Wells illustrates this through the Eloi and Morlocks in the year 802,701 AD. However, it is not through automation as the Time Traveler assumes that creates the frailty in society, it’s through subjugation. In this way Wells is able to illustrate the inherent problems of race relations as well. The Time Machine posits that if we do not live peacefully in a mutually beneficial society, things will fall apart. It was a very interesting read that asked much more interesting question than I expected, especially considering it was written in 1895. It takes us to the end of the world and back and shows that in the end, by nature of the time machine itself, suggests that human endeavor will endure even though the world will not.
