History Literature / TheTimeMachine

* StupidFuturePeople: Evolution again, combined with over-reliance on technology. The lower class have evolved into brutal savages, while the upper class have evolved into [[UpperClassTwit flimsy dimwits]] with the physical and mental capabilities of small children. It is clear that neither are of human intelligence.

* AfterTheEnd: By the year 802,701, civilization as modern humans know it is long gone, though subhuman descendants of humanity -- Eloi and Morlocks -- remain in the ruins. The Time Traveller eventually journeys to even more distant futures, where there remain no trace that civilization ''ever existed'', and even the Eloi and the Morlocks are apparently extinct.

* NiceDayDeadlyNight: The Time Traveller journeys several thousand years into the future, where he meets the Eloi, small dwarfish people that amble about the remains of civilization by day. At night, however, the Morlocks ascend from the depths of the Earth to harvest some of the Eloi. Though the Traveller is significantly larger than any Morlock, he's aware that he'd fare poorly against a ZergRush.

* NoNameGiven: The main character. Both theatrical films decided to change this. Also every Eloi other than Weena. Many other stories have given the Time Traveller different names: the author himself (unless he was the narrator), Bruce Clark Wildman ([[Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer Wold Newton universe]]), Adam Dane (''The Rook'' comic), Theophilus Tolliver (''[[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Doctor Who]]'' comic strip), and Robert James Pensley (''The Hertford Manuscript'' by Richard Cowper). The characters in the framing story are only referred to as "the Medical Man", "the Psychologist" etc, just as "the Traveller" is (and the narrator is never named either). The one exception is a poet referred to as Filby, but even that's stated to be the narrator disguising his real name. ''Literature/TheTimeShips'' follows this by having the Traveller refer to the framing-story narrator as "the Writer", although it's clearly meant to be [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis Wells himself]].

%%* ScavengerWorld

* StupidFuturePeople: Evolution again, combined with over-reliance on technology. The lower class have evolved into brutal savages, while the upper class have evolved into [[UpperClassTwit flimsy dimwits]] with the physical and mental capabilities of small children.

* TheyCalledMeMad Several of the main character's colleagues scoff at his theories about time travel, which, of course, turn out to be true. In the end, though, only the Editor thinks the story is false-the other friends are implied to have believed him (the Doctor, for example, very reluctantly tells the Time Traveller is suffering from overwork, and accepts the flower the Traveller brings back as decent proof), but the Writer is very certain that the Traveller is telling the truth.

* TimeTravelersDinosaur: The Time Traveler became an example of this trope when he when travels to a time where modern humans are extinct, though when this trope is in full effect is debatable. Does it start in 802,701 with the Eloi and the Morlocks [[note]]One could argue that they're both still human in much the same way neanderthals or the denisovans are.[[/note]] or does it happen even further in the future where humans in general are completely gone [[note]]Though humanity still has some descendants, they are no longer in anyway shape or form human.[[/note]].

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The protagonist is referred as the Time Traveller, and in the framing story, he tells his tale to a group of men identified by their description: The Editor, The Provincial Mayor, The Medical Man, etc. In fact, only two personal names appear in the entire book: Filby in the framing story and Weena in the future narrative. This is even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] early when one character asks "Where's ----?", referring to the Time Traveller by name.

* AnAesop: Don't exploit the working class, [[SpaceWhaleAesop or their descendants will eat your descendants]] (which reflects Wells' socialist views). Notably, both theatrical film versions (1960 and 2002) change the Aesop by way of changing the BackStory of the Eloi and the Morlocks. Specifically, the Aesop becomes anti-war in the 1960 film and environmentalist in the 2002 film.

''The Time Machine: An Invention'' is a classic tale of TimeTravel, published in 1895, and one of the first to use a scientific mechanism to achieve it.[[note]]''Not'' the first as commonly believed. It was predated by Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau's ''El anacronópete'', published in 1887, as well as by Wells's own ''The Chronic Argonauts'', published in 1888.[[/note]] Where most predecessors had used [[AllJustADream visions]] to achieve the time travel, and only sent their protagonists TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, Creator/HGWells had his protagonist invent an actual time machine and travel into the far future.

The story's vision of the future reflects Wells's [[WriterOnBoard strong]] [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies socialist]] [[AuthorTract beliefs]]. There also has been an authorized sequel by Stephen Baxter released, called ''Literature/TheTimeShips''. It has been filmed four times (1949 [now {{missing|Episode}}], [[Film/TheTimeMachine1960 1960]], [[Film/TheTimeMachine1978 1978]] and [[Film/TheTimeMachine2002 2002]]), and there are many references to it in subsequent TimeTravel stories.

* FutureSocietyPresentValues: Back when the book was written, English society could be mostly divided into two classes, the aristocracy and working class. H. G. Wells assumed this model would remain for over 800 thousand years, eventually separating mankind into two different species. Against his predictions, the twentieth century brought radical changes in society and today even the middle class has three sub-classes. However, the final society that the Tiem Traveler visits has undergone a major change of values: [[spoiler: the former working class are now the cruel rulers, and the literal "upper" class is degenerating into livestock.]]

* TimeAndRelativeDimensionsInSpace: Unlike some other time machines, this one doesn't "teleport". It rests on the ground while it travels through time, and the continental/rotational/[[UpToEleven orbital/systemic/galactic]] drift carries it.

''The Time Machine: An Invention]]'' is a classic tale of TimeTravel, published in 1895, and one of the first to use a scientific mechanism to achieve it.[[note]]''Not'' the first as commonly believed. It was predated by Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau's ''El anacronópete'', published in 1887, as well as by Wells's own ''The Chronic Argonauts'', published in 1888.[[/note]] Where most predecessors had used [[AllJustADream visions]] to achieve the time travel, and only sent their protagonists TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, Creator/HGWells had his protagonist invent an actual time machine and travel into the far future.

''[[http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/35 The Time Machine: An Invention]]'' is a classic tale of TimeTravel, published in 1895, and one of the first to use a scientific mechanism to achieve it.[[note]]''Not'' the first as commonly believed. It was predated by Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau's ''El anacronópete'', published in 1887, as well as by Wells's own ''The Chronic Argonauts'', published in 1888.[[/note]] Where most predecessors had used [[AllJustADream visions]] to achieve the time travel, and only sent their protagonists TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, Creator/HGWells had his protagonist invent an actual time machine and travel into the far future.