This post is a summary of the essay with the title above published at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/51a5/4461ffb9d527b7f8c65f3e521d76a1957148.pdf
The year is 1895; H.G.Wells is a 29 year-old author who has just published his first novel The Time Machine. It depict a man of the new century, a man of science and rationality, as he travels through time and discovers the future. The novel explores the futuristic ideas of a man raised in a society that is subject to great social change. H.G.Wells was at this time a biologist, a firm believer in Darwinian Theory. Throughout his career he would describe himself as a "journalist" portraying the world around him. He is today a giant of literature, the father of science fiction. This essay explores the dystopian and utopian writings of H.G.Wells, focusing on The Time Machine (1895) and Men Like Gods (1923). Both novels reflects the social discourse of the time in which the author wrote them. Further, I will argue that there is a change in the mindset of the author from the pre-war novel of 1895 to the novel written after the great war. Both novels contain dystopian and utopian elements, but that in the pre-war novel Wells does not provide a solution to the problem described. That changes in Men like Gods when Wells describes a society and culture that he wants the world to strive for, a system that would cause mankind ro evolve into a single unified society devoid of class, injustice, disease and wars through technological and educational progress. The Time Machine follows an enlightened man as he travels through time. The novel is a combined adventure-story and critique of society, a way for Wells to comment on the problems he sees in Victorian England and a call for those around him to accept a new future based on practically, pragmatism and scientific truth instead of the medieval dogmas and norms. In Men Like Gods Wells attempts to offer the solution to the problems he has experienced during his lifetime, a reporter is transported to a future where there is no centralized government, where education and demoratic freedoms form the ideal society called utopia. The purpose of this essay is that you as a reader will receive a greater understanding of the beginnings of our modern world by exploring the life-changing events and the discourse of that time through the writings of a very prolific writer. I have chosen to perceive these changes through the literature of a man who was very ahead of his time, a man who expresses a critical view on social injustice, war and class. These are also the views who believed that a total new system was needed for mankind to take the next step in our common evolution. Dystopian literature paints a bleak picture of a contemporary or future society; it describes a situation where the majority suffer greatly and a few have all essential control. Dystopian novels are concerned with the flaws of human society and how our division within leads to injustice and as unfair treatment towards those who can not defend or protect themselves. The Time Machine focuses on injustice and the ongoing fight between science and religion, to understand his writing one must look at the world that Wells lived in, and also understand the issues during the late 19th century and the years before World War I. Victorian England is described as a starting point of Western society. however, it was a turbulent time with conservative elements trying to hold back the progress that took place in every aspect of people's lives and affected everyone's reality. Religion is only one part o The Time Machine a much heavier emphasis is placed on social inequality, which Wells proclaims will lead to an escalating division between rich and poor. In The Time Machine Wells display a place that on the surface is beautiful but contains deep scars of history. The protagonist theorises that the reason for the lack of intelligence in the Eloi is because of their static lifestyle and total inability to remain curious for a longer period of time. The dystopian elements can easily be found throughout the novel. H.G.Wells wanted in The Time Machine to give the reader an insight into the problems of Victorian England. He highlight the dangers that society would encounter if it continues to hold onto the past and not accept change is inevitable, In 1917 he traveled to Italy and the front, and in both places he saw the true reality of war. After these experiences he no longer focuses on the scientific novels, his greatest success as a writer. Instead, political commitment takes the front seat. It is during this time that Wells conceptualizes a world that does not contain the waste, fruitlessness and horror he encountered during the years of war. He envisions a system based on universal ideas and the core of this new society would be the education of all people to avoid the mistakes made by previous generations. Wells is very critical to the way hereditary and privileged positions gave some people an advantage over others. This is a theme that would be the focus of his 1924 novel Men Like Gods. It spawned a massive amount of discussion during his lifetime, even to such a degree that the world-view depicted in the novel would be forever labelled as "Wellsian-Utopia." This novel follows the protagonist Mr Barnstaple to a parallel universe called Utopia. The similarities with The Time Machine are quite obvious. Mr Barnstaple is disappointed with the narrow minded people in his own time and searches for an ideal to follow. Throughout the novel Mr Barnstaple becomes educsated in the way of live of Utopia, he learns that Utopia is a democracy with no government, religion or monetary system and is based on the five principles of liberty: privacy, free movement, unlimited knowledge, truthfulness and free speech and criticism.
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