By Markis Harrison
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, England on September 21, 1866. Wells started his education at
the Commercial Academy for Young Gentleman. After he finished school there, he became an apprentice as a
draper. He did not like this work so in 1883 he became a pupil-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School. Wells
received a scholarship to the School of Science while he was at Midhurst Grammar School. At the School of
Science, Wells was taught by T. H. Huxley, who was the biology teacher at the time. Wells was inspired by
Huxley, and because of this he developed an interest in evolution. Although Wells was inspired by Huxley,
he was disappointed with the education he was receiving at the university so he decided to leave without a
degree in 1887. In 1891, the Rediscovery of the Unique, a major essay by him, was published in The
Fortnightly Review. In 1895, Wells became a novelist when he wrote and published The Time Machine, a
science fiction novel. Wells also produced two other great books soon after, The Island of Dr. Moreau in 1896
and The War of the Worlds in 1989. After writing three novels, Wells became popular in the United States.
After writing a few fiction novels, he began to write non-fiction, focusing on politics, technology, and the
future. Some of these non-fiction novels include Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific
Progress Upon Human Life and Thought in 1901, The Discovery of the Future in 1902, and Mankind in the
Making in 1903. Wells was noticed by the Fabian Society after writing these novels and was offered
membership to the group. Wells accepted membership to the group, but did not have the same mind set as
the other members. He wanted the group to be more active in socialism changes rather than just discussing
socialism. When he saw that the leaders of the organization did not like his ideas, he tried to take control. He
managed to get into the Fabian Society’s Executive Committee but still never gained support for change, so
he decided to resign in 1908. Even though he was no longer a part of the Fabian Society, Wells continued to
campaign for socialism. Soon after leaving the Fabian Society he wrote a book called A Modern Utopia,
which outlined a society in which he believed, would be a perfect society. Later on in his life Wells lectured
Lenin and Trotsky in Russia on how they should run their country. After seeing what Russia had looked like,
Wells wrote The Outline of History in 1920, telling how society has evolved over time. By the mid 1920’s,
Wells was considered one of the world’s most important political thinkers. After the start of World War II,
Wells began to write about establishing a new world order to prevent such wars from continuing. While
working on a project that outlined the dangers of a nuclear war, Wells died on August 13, 1946.
The Time Machine starts off with the time traveler talking to a group of men about the fourth dimension. He believes
that it is possible to travel through the fourth dimension, time, just like you can do so in the other three dimensions.
The time traveler creates a small time machine similar to a clock with levers on it. One lever will move you into the
future and the other will send you to the past. A week later the group meets at the time travelers house again but this
time they are joined by three new guests, Blank, Dash, and Chose. The guests are waiting for the host to arrive and he
shows up late to dinner at his own house. When he finally arrives he is dirty, thin, pale, and tired. He freshens up as
quickly as possible then begins to explain what had happened.
He starts his story off by telling the group that he created a new time machine that people were able to sit in. He
decided to test the machine out by going forward in time. After going very far into the future he stopped the machine
fearing he might land on a solid object at his position or that the machine might explode. When he stops the machine
he notices a very large statue of a sphinx and creatures staring at him from tall buildings. He begins to communicate
with these creatures and learns that they are not very educated. He learns that they are known as Eloi and that it was
the year 802,701 A.D. After staying for a while he decides to go back to his time machine and return home, but he
finds out that the machine is missing. He becomes angered and confronts the Eloi but they do not know what
happened to it. A few days go by and the time traveler sees an Eloi drowning so he saves her. The Eloi is known as
Weena, and after being rescued she gives him flowers and follows him everywhere.
One morning the traveler awakes to see a white ape-like creature with red eyes looking at him. The creature flees and
goes underground. The traveler later decides to go down into the underground to find these creatures known as
Morlocks, suspecting they took his time machine. Once down there he finds out that the Morlocks are afraid of light,
so he lights a match. He sees them eating some type of meat when all of a sudden his match goes out and the
Morlocks try to grab him, but he escapes. After all of this takes place, the traveler decides he wants to take shelter in
the Palace of Green Porcelain. It reaches night fall by the time him and Weena get there. They discover that it is a
ruined museum, so after exploring a little they decide to head back to the statue.
They head for a large forest while night begins to fall again, and they can hear Morlocks in the distance. The traveler
sets a large fire in the woods and, after feeling safe, tries to get some sleep. He wakes to Morlocks grabbing him, but
they begin to flee because the fire is burning the forest down. He cannot find Weena anywhere. He heads back to the
sphinx statue and sees that it is open. He knows it is a trap but goes in anyway. He is attacked by the Morlocks but
manages to escape going further into time. He keeps going farther and farther until finally he manages to go back to
when he had his dinner planned. A day after returning, the narrator speaks to the time traveler, who tells him that he
is going on another journey and that he will be back in a half hour. The time traveler left and never returned again.
The Time Machine was a very interesting and exciting novel. The plot line will
always keep you wondering what will happen next. The story keeps the reader
interested by creating suspense in the readers mind. The way the story is laid
out is excellent. My one complaint would be how the time traveler got the time
machine back, and how he escaped from the time period he was stuck in. I
would give this novel a 4/5.
The War of the Worlds starts off explaining that since Mars is older than Earth, they are further ahead in the
evolutionary process than we are. The inhabitants of Mars realize that they need to find a new place to live
because the temperatures will soon be too cold for them to stay on Mars. The Martians developed space travel in
1894, and each launch created a small flash in the sky. The narrator and an astronomer named Ogilvy became
interested in this and began to observe it. The Martians eventually land on Earth, but everyone thinks it is a
meteor or falling star. After realizing what it actually is, people, including the narrator and Ogilvy, begin to
excavate and dig the cylinder out. After a long time excavating, the cylinder opens and Martians come out.
The Martians begin to attack the humans as the cylinder became somewhat of a vehicle, burning buildings and
trees using a heat ray. The narrator flees and makes his way to an untouched community. He regains himself and
starts to plan against the Martians. The military begins to shoot at the cylinder, along with a second one that has
fallen from the sky. The Martians have now created a tripod machine that stands taller than many houses. A third
cylinder has landed so the Martians now have three tripod machines destroying everything. The narrator makes
his way back to his house. The narrator begins to move further away from the original landing site when he
comes across five of the machines. One of the machines is shot and destroyed. Cylinders continue to fall every 24
hours. The Martians develop a new weapon, a black smoke that hides the machines from human weapons.
Two of the machines were later brought down by a ship called the “Thunder Child”, but the “Thunder Child”
was also destroyed. He narrator and the curate find shelter at a new house, but the fifth cylinder falls close to the
house causing it to collapse. The narrator observes the Martians and learns a lot about them. The narrator and
curate watch the Martians feed. The curate becomes insane and starts shouting; the Martians hear him and grab
him. The narrator waits a few days then decides to leave the building, because the Martians removed all the food
and drink. The narrator eventually runs into the soldier that he had met back at his house at the beginning of the
invasion. The narrator soon realized that he was also insane and decided to continue traveling. He makes his way
through London and notices dead Martians lying in a pit. He discovers that the Martians are dying from a disease
that humans are immune too.
The narrator is soon taken in by a family in London. He realizes that he is one of the last to find out about the
Martians downfall from the disease. He is told that everyone in Leatherhead, where his wife was staying, had
been killed. He decides to return home after hearing this and when he gets there he is greeted by his wife and
cousin. It is believed that the Martians will not return to Earth because evidence shows they have landed on
Venus.
The War of the Worlds was most definitely H.G. Wells greatest work. The
story is very intense and suspenseful throughout the entire plot line. It make
the reader think about what it would be like if the events in the story had
actually taken places. My only complaint would be how the Martians died off.
I would give this novel a 5/5.
Suspense is the feeling a reader gets while they wait for the outcome of
a certain event. Suspense is important because it makes the story more
interesting through the use of intensified conflicts. In The Time
Machine H.G. Wells used suspense every time the time traveler had
went underground and every time night fell. In The War of the
Worlds he used suspense when the Martians were building new
machines.
Setting is the time, place, and mood of the events in a story. Setting is
important because it gives an idea of how the scenery can set the mood of the
story at the time, and it was used to do exactly that. In The Time Machine
H.G. Wells used the settings of the future. In The War of the Worlds he used
the setting of the destruction after the Martians attacked.
Characterization is where a character is introduced and described to the
reader. Characterization is important because it makes it easier for the
reader to understand and visualize the story, and it is used to create a
different picture for the main characters of the story, that way the
reader does not confuse two characters. In The Time Machine H.G.
Wells used characterization to differentiate the Eloi and the Morlocks.
In The War of the Worlds he used characterization to show the
differences between the Martians and humans.
Fiction
Ann Veronica
In the Days of the Comet
Love and Mr. Lewisham
Mr. Britling Sees it Through
The First Men in the Moon
The Foods of the Gods
The History of Mr. Polly
The Invisible Man
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The New Machiavelli
The Reasearch Magnificent
The Sectret Places of the Heart
The Soul of a Bishop
The War in the Air
The Wheels of Chance
The World Set Free
Tono Bungay
When the Sleeper Wakes
Non-Fiction
A Modern Utopia
An Englishman Looks at the World
Certain Personal Matters
God the Invisible King
Adrift in a dinghy, Edward Prendick, the single survivor from the good ship Lady Vain,
is rescued by a vessel carrying a profoundly unusual cargo - a menagerie of savage
animals. Tended to recovery by their keeper Montgomery, who gives him dark
medicine that tastes of blood, Prendick soon finds himself stranded upon an uncharted
island in the Pacific with his rescuer and the beasts. Here, he meets Montgomery's
master, the sinister Dr. Moreau - a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments in
vivisection have caused him to abandon the civilised world. It soon becomes clear he
has been developing these experiments - with truly horrific results.
Taken from
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141441023,00.html
The story is set on a planet very like earth. The Utopian Planet differs from earth in that
the inhabitants have created a perfect society. Two men, the narrator and his colleague
(a botanist), visit this parallel planet and argue over its merits and defects.
Utopia is a world in which the problems of humanity have been solved. People live
healthy, happy lives in cities where all human needs are met. Science and technology
frees people from toil and enables them to enjoy security and innovation.
Wells' utopia is neither democratic nor equal. He draws on the utopias of Plato, More,
and Bacon. He advocates a scientific kind of socialism, rooted in the idea that the world
is orderly, knowable and controllable.
The state is ruled by the Samurai. Like Plato's Guardians, the Samurai are a moral and
spiritual ruling class. They lead an ascetic (disciplined and morally strict) life, governed
by the Rule. The Samurai carry out their government duties but their main business is
the development of science and philosophy. Anybody that proves themselves to be able
to follow the Rule is allowed to become one of the Samuari.
Taken from
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/utopia/reasonreligion1/modernutopia1
/modernutopia.html
When penniless businessman Mr Bedford retreats to the Kent coast to write a play, he
meets by chance the brilliant Dr Cavor, an absent-minded scientist on the brink of
developing a material that blocks gravity. Cavor soon succeeds in his experiments, only
to tell a stunned Bedford the invention makes possible one of the oldest dreams of
humanity: a journey to the moon. With Bedford motivated by money, and Cavor by the
desire for knowledge, the two embark on the expedition. But neither are prepared for
what they find - a world of freezing nights, boiling days and sinister alien life, on which
they may be trapped forever.
Taken from
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141441085,00.html
With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, and his hands
covered even indoors, Griffin—the new guest at the Coach and Horses—is at first
assumed to be a shy accident victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more
chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible and is locked in a
struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village and driven to murder, he seeks
the aid of an old friend, Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however,
and when Kemp refuses to help, he resolves to wreak his revenge.
Taken from
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141439983,00.html
Board, permission of the British Library. "A Modern Utopia - science and sprituality." THE
BRITISH LIBRARY - The world's knowledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/utopia/reasonreligion1/modernutopia1/modernu
topia.htm>.
"H. G. Wells : Biography." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jwells.htm>.
"The First Men in the Moon - H.G. Wells - Penguin Books." Penguin Books UK - Find the perfect book,
ebook or audio book and get reading today. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141441085,00.html>.
"The Invisible Man - Books by H.G. Wells - Penguin Group (USA)." US Book Shop and Online
Bookstore - Penguin Group (USA). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141439983,00.html>.
"The Island of Dr Moreau - H.G. Wells - Penguin Books." Penguin Books UK - Find the perfect book,
ebook or audio book and get reading today. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141441023,00.html>.
Wells, H. G.. The time machine; an invention.. Cambridge, Mass.: R. Bentley, 1971. Print.
Wells, H. G.. The war of the worlds. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue, 199. Print.