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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the first thing the Time Traveler drinks at the second dinner?

2. Which of the characters actually operates the model of the time machine?

3. What does the Time Traveler remove from the time machine when he prepares to follow the Eloi?

4. At what time of day does the time machine begin its day, according to the Time Traveler?

5. Which, of the following metals, is mentioned as part of the Time Machine?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the Time Traveler take the lever out of the time machine when he lands in the far future?

2. Describe the historical (and technological) setting of this novel.

3. What kind of food does the Time Traveler particularly crave when he returns?

4. What is the narrator's outlook on the future at the end of the novel?

5. What kind of humans, according to the Time Traveler, must have been the source of the Morlocks? Why did they evolve the way they did?

6. What do the people the Time Traveler meets in the far future in Chapter 3 look like?

7. Why does the Time Traveler think the Morlocks started eating Eloi?

8. Describe the state of the time machine when the Time Traveler finally finds it in the base of the White Sphinx?

9. What is the Editor's reactions when the Time Traveler tells him and the other guests of his journey?

10. Describe the Time Traveler's reaction to the fact that his machine has been moved into the White Sphinx; what action does he undertake, if any, to recover the machine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Two kinds of science fiction worlds are utopias and dystopias. Define these terms. Using examples from this novel, identify which speculative elements are utopian and which are dystopic. How does Wells play with these two kinds of science fiction worlds? Finally, offer your opinion: do you consider this novel utopian, dystopian, or something else? Be specific.

Essay Topic 2

This novel relies on systems of symbols, one of which is the use of light and dark. What ideas, feelings, and conflicts are symbolized by light, and which by dark? On the language level, what are the major strategies Wells uses to convey these symbols? Be sure to consider setting, characterization, figurative language, dialogue, point of view, etc.

Essay Topic 3

The question of humanity, of what makes a person human, is at the forefront of this novel's play of ideas. Wells posits, perhaps, that there are certain characteristics that define the essence of humanity, which the Morlock and the Eloi have lost. Name and describe these characteristics, using specific examples. You may want to consider specifically his time in the museum, as well as the end of the novel and the epilogue, as well as his first few days with the Eloi.

(see the answer keys)

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