Explain why Wells avoids calling his characters by their names - Essay Example

Figuratively speaking, the author talks about social struggles. It has to be mentioned that these two types of races, Morlocks and Eloi, represent the social classes that would later dominate the Earth. Of course, the whole notion of social struggle is hidden behind the Darwinian feel og the two races. These races give the science fiction feel of the book. One should understand that this book was published at the dawn of the Industrial Age. This was a time of great change, where people moved in from the country to the city, to provide manpower for new industries that have sprouted.

Now, capitalism has risen, and with that, the notion that the rich will become richer permeated. It should also be noted that in 1859, Charles Darwin published the Origin of the Species which argued that species evolved to be better adapted for survival. Survival of the fittest ensued. Now the upper-class reacted to this idea by thinking that they are the better species, thus they are rich. This is Social Darwinism. How is Social Darwinism significant to The Time Machine? The book tackles the idea that the Eloi are the lithe, lazy but beautiful people.

They are obviously an allegory to the rich. The Morlocks are the ones who work for the Eloi, they look horrible and they are mean. They live underground. It is also known that they eat the Eloi. They represent the working class. Now, this is a picture of two social classes exploiting each other, and it is set in the future. By that, Wells is actually warning the people the dangers of technology and wealth; how it would deepen the gap between the rich and the poor, and how it would affect the future and the lifestyles of the future inhabitants of the Earth.

The book shows the rich have evolved into helpless humans and the poor have evolved into cannibals. It is a warning and a concrete example of Darwin’s theory of evolution. It should be noted that the Time Traveler is not called by his name at all. He is just that: Time Traveler. Why is the Time Traveler only being referred to as the Time Traveler? This is because the Time Traveler acts as a witness; a representative of the modern man to the future world. As the Eloi and the Morlocks find themselves separated by their classes in that world, the Time Traveler does not belong to any of those social classes.

He can be anyone. He is an observer, and a scientist at that. Scientists should always be objective when making their posits, and by not assigning a proper identity, the Time Traveler maintains this position. The Time Traveler is also a passive person as he is only a visitor in the future. He knew there was a problem but he does not make any effort to fix it. His lack of name signifies the lack of identity and power to do things. He is on the sidelines, watching. Giving an identity to him by giving him a name will change the neutrality of the character, as well as his ambiguousness.

Other characters do not have a name in the story as well. When the Time Traveler was explaining the Fourth Dimension, Wells introduced other characters as dinner guests. They are, among others, the provincial mayor, the medical man, the very young man, the psychologist etc. Only Filby has a name, and he is being described as the argumentative young man with red hair. Why the generic names? Well, firstly, it’s a style that H.G. Wells chose to employ throughout the book. The common names indicate