Another book that peculiarly shows the thinking of its time (Island of Doctor Moreau also did this with its obsession with vivisection) War of the Worlds seems to suggest that science expected people to eventually evolve their bodies to the point of over-reliance on technology. Time Machine also did this with the de-evolution, or really over-evolution, of the Eloi and the Morlocks. Here, Wells, suggests that the Martians who invade Earth are just gigantic brains and hands, since technology handles everything else that they could need. I found […]

The Time Machine defied my expectations. Primarily, I thought the Eloi in the story were meant to be brilliant geniuses, largely because of how I’ve seen the story reflect in popular culture. Instead, we have very Brave New World vibes where Wells is reflecting on what the future of society may look like if current trends (for the 19th century) continued. The Eloi are shown to be crippled by the plenty in which they live. They have never experienced fire, so one is ready to play […]