English IV: The Time Machine

What time period does The Time Traveller end up in?

802,701 AD

What did The Time Traveller show his guests?

A miniature time machine made of ivory and crystal

When did H.G. Wells die?

August 13, 1946

Why is The Time Traveller so exhausted?

Because he had not slept in two days.

Where is H.G. Wells from?

Bromley High Street, London, United Kingdom

What condition is the machine in when The Time Traveller takes his guests to see it?

Everyone goes to the laboratory and sees the time machine. It certainly looks a little worn, and is covered in dirt and grass.

Where does The Time Traveller end up now?

Finally, thirty million years into the future, he comes to a stop. The air is thinner and bitter cold, the sea moves slowly, and the only sign of life he sees is green lichen on the beach.

" The Time Machine "

H.G. Wells

What are Weena and The Time Traveller surrounded by in the woods?

He and Weena proceed at a rapid pace, but eventually find themselves surrounded by Morlocks.

What is The Time Traveller awoken to?

He awakes to feel the Morlocks grasping him.

What are The Time Traveller's theories of the underground wells he discovers?

He begins to understand the wells as being a huge ventilation system for an underground race. He imagines that the underground creatures are the labourers of the future society, and that they are only allowed to come out at night. He imagines that the overworld creatures have forced the underground creatures to work for them and have denied them access to the sunshine of the surface.

What does The Time Traveller fear will happen when he lands the time machine?

He begins to worry that when he stops the machine it will land where there is already some solid object and he will be obilerated.

What are The Time Traveller's theories on the division of labor?

He believes that at one point the ancestors of the Morlocks must have been driven underground to work for the ancestors of the Eloi. But, the Eloi have grown weak, while the Morlocks have grown strong, so now the balance of power has shifted

What does The Time Traveller compare the Eloi to?

He compares the Eloi to cattle

Where does The Time Traveller think the time machine is hidden?

He concludes that the time machine must be hidden in the immense pedestal of the sphinx statue.

What does The Time Traveller decide he is going to do with Weena?

He decides to take Weena back home with him to the present.

Where do The Time Traveller and Weena journey to find safety?

He decides to try to find safety in the Palace of Green Porcelain, 18 miles away. With Weena on his shoulders, he begins to journey toward it. The journey takes longer than he thought, and as night falls they find themselves on the border of a great forest.

How did The Time Traveller escape from the Morlocks?

He desperately struggles onto the saddle of the machine, barely screwing in the forward lever. He pushes it forward, and escapes into the future.

What happens when The Time Traveller then lands the machine?

He ends up flying headlong through the air and finds himself in a hailstorm.

What other creature does The Time Traveller find?

He enters an old ruin and finds two big eyes staring back at him. It is a white ape-like creature.

What does The Time Traveller find in the Palace of Green Porcelain?

He finds some camphor in a chemistry exhibit, matches, and completely decayed remains of books in one of the halls.

How does The Time Traveller escape from the giant crabs surrounding him?

He hurriedly skips a month into the future to escape, but finds the beach covered with more crabs. He goes on, stopping every hundred years or so, watching the "old earth ebb away".

What did the Time Traveller learn from Weena about the creatures?

He learns from her that the little people are afraid of the dark.

What does The Time Traveller make the guests promise before he tells the story of what happened to him?

He makes them promise that they won't interrupt him.

What creature does The Time Traveller see that he finds to be the only evidence of life?

He notices a black blob with tentacles flop over in the distance. It is the only evidence of animal life.

What are The Time Traveller's theories on the meat the Morlocks are eating?

He realizes that the meat the Morlocks were eating was probably Eloi, hunted at night.

What does The Time Traveller realize once he sees the white creature?

He realizes that there are two different species of humans in the future. There are the graceful but dumb child-like people who live aboveground, and there are the horrible monster-like people who live underground.

What does The Time Traveller insist on doing before he tells the story of what happened to him?

He refuses to tell his story until he cleans himself and eats some meat

How did The Time Traveller meet Weena?

He rescued her from drowning in the river.

What does The Time Traveller see and feel when traveling through time?

He sees the world in fast forward, like a time lapse video. He feels dizzy and sick. He sees several things happen quickly, like his housekeeper Mrs. Watchett zooming back and forth across his labratory. He sees the landcape change.

What is The Time Traveller's plan as he walks to the Palace of Green Porcelain?

He thinks about what he needs to protect himself: a safe place, a weapon, and some way to get into the Sphinx to get the Time Machine back.

How did The Time Traveller try to get the sphinx statue open?

He tries to open the pedestal's panels with a rock, but does not succeed. When he asks the creatures how to open it, they react with shock and disgust.

How did The Time Traveller look when he returned in the middle of dinner?

His clothes were dirty, he had a half-healed cut on his chin, and he was limping.

Do the guests believe The Time Traveller's theories?

No, so The Time Traveller shows the guests his full sized time machine in his labrotory but the dinner guests are still skeptical because he has played tricks on them before.

Who were H.G. Wells parents?

Sarah Neal & Joseph Wells

When was H.G. Wells born?

September 21, 1866

How does Weena feel about The Time Traveller entering the underground?

She is very worried

What creature does The Time Traveller encounter that he thought was a rock?

Slowly, a red rock begins to move toward him. It turns out to be a giant crab. While he is staring at it, he feels something brush his neck. It is the antenna of a second giant crab, right next to him.

Do the guests believe The Time Traveller's story?

The Editor clearly doesn't believe him, and the Journalist asks where they can get a cab at this late hour. But, the Medical Man notes that the flowers are mysterious and that he has never seen anything with their biology before.

What does the Medical Man think of The Time Traveller's time machine?

The Medical Man thinks the Time Machine thing was a trick, but he can't figure out how the Time Traveller did it.

What did The Time Traveller think of humankind?

The Time Traveller did not believe that humankind advances over time, and may actually eventually destroy itself.

What happened when The Time Traveller shows his guests his time machine?

The Time Traveller explains that one lever sends the machine into the future and the other one sends it into the past. He asks one of the guests to push the forward lever, and the machine disappears in a small gust.

How have The Time Traveller's theories on the Morlocks and the Eloi changed?

The Time Traveller first thought that the Eloi were kept in idiotic comfort by machines. Then he thought the Eloi were the masters of the Morlocks. Now he thinks the Morlocks are in charge in some way.

What does The Time Traveller do diferrently than before when time traveling?

The Time Traveller flies into the future with a greater velocity than before. Although, he is traveling thousands of years per second

What makes The Time Traveller feel safe sleeping in the woods?

The Time Traveller hurriedly starts a small fire, pulling down dry timber to feed the flames. Incredibly tired, he nods off to sleep, feeling safe by the fire.

When and with what does The Time Traveller promise his guests he will back with?

The Time Traveller is about to leave on another journey, and promises to be back in half an hour, with hard evidence.

What did the note that The Time Traveller left for his dinner guests say?

The Time Traveller left a note telling the guests to start dinner without him.

What happens in half an hour like The Time Traveller promised?

The Time Traveller never returns.

How does The Time Traveller compare the people of the future to now?

The Time Traveller theorizes that the Eloi are the descendents of aristocrats and the Morlocks are the descendants of the working class. (rich & poor)

What does The Time Traveller think of the creatures?

The Time Traveller thinks he might be dealing with fools. He compares the little people to five year old children for thinking that he fell from the sky.

What did the creatures that The Time Traveller encountered look like?

The creatures had large eyes, curly hair, and thin red lips.

Who does The Time Traveller accuse of taking his time machine?

The creatures, he goes into the hall and wakes the sleeping creatures demanding his time machine in a gruff manner, which scares the creatures.

Who are the new guests that joined the dinner?

The editor of a well known daily paper, a journalist, and a silent man

What happened to The Time Traveller and the Morlocks during the forest fire?

The fire encirlces The Time Traveller, who ends up in a clearing with the Morlocks, penned in by a burning ring of fire.

How did The Time Traveller lose Weena?

The fire had become a giant forest fire and he can't find Weena anywhere.

What is the setting of the first chapter?

The first chapter is set at a dinner party at the Time Traveller's house. A well-appointed suburban English house of the late nineteenth century in the London suburb of Richmond.

What do the flowers remind the narrator?

The flowers remind him that "Even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man"

Where does the narrator meet the Medical Man?

The narrator meets the Medical Man at the Linnaean Society in the city.

What does the narrator say about The Time Traveller?

The narrator remarks that the Time Traveller is too clever for people to entirely trust him.

Why does the narrator keep the flowers that Weena gave The Time Traveller?

The narrator wonders where he could be, and knows only that he has two very brittle, alien flowers to show that time travel ever happened, proof that the human spirit of tenderness lives on even after strength and mind have decayed.

Who are the dinner guests?

The narrator, The Time Traveller (host), Filby, the Psychologist, a very young man, the Medical Man, and the Provincial Mayor

What do the creatures eat?

The only thing they eat is fruit. There are no horses, cows, sheep, dogs, etc.

What does The Time Traveller notice as he heads back to the time machine?

The time machine is gone.

What does The Time Traveller learn the creatures are called?

The underground creatures are called "Morlocks" and the surface creatures themselves are called "Eloi".

What does The Time Traveller discover in the world of 802,701 AD?

There are ruins. He notices that all of the creatures live together in huge buildings. He also notices that there are no outward signs of gender and that there are no old people. He thinks he has arrived in a communist paradise and that these creatures are the result of a world without hardship and fear.

What does The Time Traveller carve his name into in the Palace of Green Porcelain?

There is a room full of statues and idols and he carves his name into a idol.

How do the creatures treat The Time Traveller when he arrives?

They begin to run about and shower him with strange flowers and they give him a meal of strange fruit.

What do Weena and The Time Traveller see when they arrive at the Palace of Green Porcelain?

They find that just as it appears, it is made out of green porcelain and that it is a ruined museum.

Where do the creatures think The Time Traveller came from?

They think he came from the sun during the hailstorm.

What does The Time Traveller use to start a fire in the woods?

Using the camphor and some dry brush he had collected, he starts a large fire to guard their retreat into the woods. It spreads quickly.

What is Weena's reaction to the fire?

Weena is totally amazed by the fire and wants to play with it. The Time Traveller has to carry her away from it.

What did Weena stuff The Time Traveller's pockets with that he then showed his dinner guests?

Weena stuffs his pockets with flowers on their walk.

What are The Time Traveller's theories of the future?

What do the creatures eat? The only thing they eat is fruit. There are no horses, cows, sheep, dogs, etc. What are The Time Traveller's theories of the future? His theory is that the safer life is, the less strength you need. He believes that the people of the future have made things so safe with technology that they've become weak and stupid.

What happens when The Time Traveller finally arrives at the Sphinx statue?

When he arrives, to his surprise, the pedestal is open, and he sees the time machine inside. He walks into the pedestal, and the panels slide shut behind him and the Morlocks pounce.

Where does The Time Traveller find himself now?

When he brings the machine to a stop, he finds himself on a sloping beach. Vegetation covers every surface facing the unmoving sun; the air is very thin.

How does The Time Traveller feel when he finally arrives back home?

When he stops, he thinks it might all have been a dream. For a moment, The Time Traveller's memory seems to falter, overwhelmed.

What did The Time Traveller tell his guests at the dinner table?

Who are the dinner guests? The narrator, The Time Traveller (host), Filby, the Psychologist, a very young man, the Medical Man, and the Provincial Mayor What did The Time Traveller tell his guests at the dinner table? The time traveller explains that people can actually move around in time. He explains that time is a dimension, he argues that since time is a dimension, we should be able to move along it, into the past or the future.

Was H.G. Wells married?

Yes, to Isabel Mary Wells from 1891 to 1894 and to Amy Catherine Robbins from 1895 to 1927.