TOMAS BATA UNIVERSITY IN ZLIN Faculty of Management and Economics
THE TIME MACHINE H. G. Wells
Author:
Tomáš Míča
Group:
II/21
The Time Machine
Presentation
INTRODUCTION When this book was first published as a book in England in 1895, it was hailed by the Daily Chronicle as “something new under the sun.” What the paper had in mind was its originality and its exciting new topic – “Time-travelling”. But (and this is very important), it also meant the first appearance of a writer who was to achieve worldwide fame and prominence during the next fifty years – Herbert George Wells. Brought up in a lower class, the author witnessed the conspicuous class distinctions of the late 19th Century. He portrays what he felt could happen to mankind as the divisive gulf between the indolent rich and hard-working poor became wider and wider. Though written in the late 1800s, Wells' descriptions of the weak Eloi and the predatory subterranean Morlocks are rooted in scientific hypotheses that are at once interesting, feasible and frightening possibilities for humanity's future.
HERBERT GEORGE WELLS Herbert George Wells was born on the 21st of September 1866, in Bromley, Kent, in England. The son of working-class parents, Wells first took up serious reading when he was eight years old, while recuperating from a broken leg. Wells was withdrawn from school in 1879 as his family's finances worsened, and began an apprenticeship to a draper. When dismissed in 1883, he was able to go back to school, where he did quite well for the next four years, fostering a keen interest in politics, especially socialism. In 1891, he married his cousin Isabel Mary Wells, though the marriage didn't last very long. He married again in 1895, to one of his students, Amy Catherine Robbins. At this time, Wells began writing and over the next few years, he wrote the classics The Time Machine (1896), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898). His first real success came with the prophetic novel Anticipations, in 1901. H.G. Wells is also well known for his massive survey of world history, entitled The Outline of History, published in 1920. Toward the end of his life, Wells became increasingly disillusioned with society, including that of the Soviet Union - which at first he had admired. His later books reflect this bitterness. H. G. Wells died in London on the 13th of August 1946, and is remembered today as one of the pioneers of the science fiction genre.
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The Time Machine
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MAIN CHARACTERS THE TIME TRAVELLER His name is never given. He is an inventor, living in Richmond, London, who creates a machine allowing him to travel in time. He likes to speculate on the future and the underlying structures of what he observes. THE NARRATOR His name is Mr. Hillyer and he is one of the Time Traveller’s dinner guests. THE ELOI The Eloi are one of the two post-human races from this novel. They are the rich, attractive upper class, which lives in luxury on the surface of the Earth. In this nation, Wells satirizes Victorian decadence. WEENA She is one of the Eloi. The Time Traveller saves her from drowning and they become friends. MORLOCKS Morlocks are the second race from this novel - which lives underground. They tend machinery, and occasionally surface to eat the Eloi.
STORY A group of men, including the narrator, is listening to the Time Traveller and discussing his theory that time is the fourth dimension. The Time Traveller produces a miniature time machine and makes it disappear into thin air. The following week, the guests return, to find their host stumbling, looking dishevelled and tired. They sit down after dinner and the Time Traveller begins his story. The Time Traveller had finally finished work on his time machine and it brought him into the future. When the machine stops - in the year 802,701 AD, he finds himself in a paradisiacal world of small humanoid creatures called the Eloi. They are frail and peaceful and give him fruit to eat. He explores the area but when he returns he finds that his time machine is gone. He decides that it has been put inside the pedestal of a nearby statue. He tries to pry it open but cannot. In the night, he begins to catch glimpses of strange ape-like creatures called Morlocks who live below ground.
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Meanwhile, he saves one of the Eloi, Weena from drowning and they become friends. The Time Traveller finally works up enough courage to go down into the world of Morlocks to try to retrieve his time machine. He finds that matches are a good defence against the Morlocks, but ultimately they chase him out of their realm. He goes to what he calls the Palace of Green Porcelain, which turns out to be a museum. There, he finds more matches, some camphor, and a lever he can use as a weapon. That night, retreating from the Morlocks through a giant wood, he accidentally starts a fire. Many Morlocks die and Weena is also killed. The exhausted Time Traveller returns to the pedestal to find that it has already been opened. He goes in and - just when the Morlocks think that they have him trapped, he springs onto the machine, and whizzes into the future. He travels thirty million years into the future where he sees the last few living things on a dying Earth before returning to his own time to tell his story to his friends. Then he attempts to time travel again and disappears forever into time.
MY OPINION In my opinion, it must be said that The Time Machine was written in the 19th Century, and therefore it may not be so attractive for some readers today. I think that if somebody doesn’t like the science fiction genre, then he probably won’t like this book. On the other hand, I think that reading this book is an obligation for science fiction lovers because it is a classical story - and it laid the foundations of this genre. Since I belong to the second group, I must say that this book was interesting for me and I liked it.
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WORDLIST 1.
abominable
odporný, ohavný
2.
absent-minded
roztržitý, duchem nepřítomný
3.
abundant
hojný, oplývající, bohatý
4.
acutely
akutně
5.
adjustment
úprava, přizpůsobení, nastavení
6.
adroitly
obratně, šikovně
7.
air-tight
vzduchotěsný, neprodyšný
8.
ameliorating
zlepšování, zušlechťování
9.
ancestor
předek, praotec, předchůdce
10.
apace
rychle, spěšně, valem
11.
appalling
děsivý, strašný
12.
appropriate
vhodný, příslušný
13.
assertion
tvrzení
14.
astonishment
úžas, údiv
15.
atrocious
ukrutný, brutální, surový
16.
beneath
pod, vespod, dole
17.
bewilderment
zmatek, rozčarování
18.
blockhead
ťulpas, hlupák, pitomec
19.
camphor
kafr
20.
cautiously
opatrně
21.
cheerfulness
veselost, veselá mysl, veselá nálada
22.
childish
dětinský
23.
chuckle
pochichtávat se
24.
cicerone
průvodce cizinců
25.
clumsy
nemotorný, neohrabaný, neobratný
26.
come off
utrhnout se, upadnout
27.
consent
dát souhlas, souhlasit
28.
creak
vrzat, skřípat
29.
crystalline
krystalický
30.
cupola
kopule
31.
dash
uhánět
32.
deficiency
nedostatek
33.
desertion
zběhnutí, opuštění
34.
despair
zoufalství, beznaděj
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35.
diminish
zmenšit se, ubývat
36.
diminution
úbytek, snížení, pokles
37.
discord
nesouhlasit, neladit
38.
disengage
uvolnit se, vyprostit se, osvobodit se
39.
disinclination
neochota, odpor, nechuť
40.
disorder
uvést do nepořádku, přeházet
41.
distant
vzdálený, odlehlý
42.
distinction
rozdíl, rozlišení, odlišnost
43.
dwarf
převyšovat, čnět nad
44.
dwindling
slábnoucí
45.
eager
horlivý, chtivý, nedočkavý
46.
endure
vytrvat, vydržet, přetrvat
47.
expostulation
výtka, napomenutí
48.
extinction
vyhasnutí, vyhynutí, zaniknutí
49.
exultation
jásání, jásot, plesání
50.
fecundity
úrodnost, plodnost
51.
flagstone
dlaždice
52.
framework
rámec, konstrukce, kostra
53.
garment
oděv, roucho, šat
54.
glittering
třpytivý, jiskřivý, zářící
55.
grasp
uchopit, sevřít
56.
grindstone
brousek
57.
harshly
krutě
58.
hearthrug
rohož před krbem
59.
hitherto
dosud, až do dneška
60.
inaccessible
nepřístupný, nedosažitelný, nedostupný
61.
incandescent
zářící
62.
incredulous
nevěřící, nedůvěřivý
63.
inequalities
nerovnosti
64.
inextinguishable
neuhasitelný, nepotlačitelný, nezničitelný
65.
infirmity
slabost, vetchost, ochablost
66.
inflict
zasadit ránu, způsobit bolest
67.
innumerable
nespočetný, nesčetný
68.
knuckle
kotník
69.
lawn
trávník
70.
malign
zlý, škodlivý, zlomyslný
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71.
meddle
vměšovat se, míchat se, plést se
72.
meek
mírný, poddajný
73.
murmuring
mumlavý, huhlavý
74.
nausea
mdlo, nevolnost, zvedání žaludku
75.
peculiar
zvláštní, podivný, nezvyklý
76.
perceive
povšimnout si, uvědomit si, postřehnout
77.
plaintively
naříkavě, smutně, žalostně
78.
plausible
hodnověrný, pravděpodobný
79.
prodigious
podivuhodný, zázračný
80.
ramification
rozvětvení, větvení
81.
recondite
skrytý, nejasný
82.
reluctantly
neochotně
83.
restlessness
nervozita, nesoustředěnost, neklid
84.
rudimentary
základní, počáteční
85.
rustle
šustit, šelestit, šumět
86.
scatter
rozptýlit, rozházet
87.
sea-urchin
mořský ježek
88.
seedless
bezsemenný
89.
shaft
šachta
60.
sharpen
zostřit, zbystřit
91.
sleight-of-hand
kejkle, kouzlo
92.
slumbrous
ospalý, uspávající
93.
smother
zadusit, udusit
94.
spasmodic
křečovitý, trhavý
95.
startle
poplašit, polekat, vyděsit
96.
steadily
neustále, pevně, soustavně
97.
stillness
ticho, klid
98.
subjugation
podrobení
99.
subterranean
podzemní, jeskynní
100. tint
odstín, zbarvení, nádech
101. trickery
podvod, darebnost, lest
102. unfathomable
bezmezný, nesmírný
103. vaguely
nejasně
104. verdigris
měděnka
105. verification
ověření, přezkoušení
106. vigour
síla, ráznost, vitalita
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