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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 name of the housekeeper?

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

3. What frightens the Time Traveler badly enough to make him flee the underground lair of the Morlocks?

4. What does the Time Traveler describe the first Eloi he sees as?

5. Where does the Time Traveler store the object(s) he removes from the time machine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Time Traveler see when he stops the machine in the far future in Chapter 3?

2. What political system is discussed in Chapter 1 as a possible future for humanity and why has Wells included it?

3. According to the Time Traveler, what happened when he sat in the Time Machine and pressed the lever?

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

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

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

8. 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?

9. How does the forest fire start?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This novel features both a narrator, who tells the story to the reader, and an internal narrator--the Time Traveler--who relates his story to the narrator. Analyze the narrative strategies Wells uses to tell this story, including specific analysis of voice, distance, and access to and flow of information. Be sure to consider the issue of reliability on the part of both of the narrators: does the reader believe the narrator? Does the narrator believe the Time Traveler? What kinds of proof and evidence does each provide? Who has access to what kinds of information.

Essay Topic 2

While some critics argue that the Morlocks represent the future of the working class and the Eloi the future of the elite classes, there are also many other characters in the novel who actually are middle and upper class. Describe briefly the analysis of social power dynamics represented by the science fiction elements evidence in the Morlock and the Eloi. Then consider two or three of the characters who are middle class--the Time Traveler, the Medical Man, the Editor, or the Psychologist--and analyze to what extent these characters offer a critique of their own on the social class they represent. You may also consider, if you wish, why none of the onscreen characters are representative of the working class.

Essay Topic 3

This novel is one of the founding works of science fiction, or more specifically, one of the earliest examples of speculative fiction. Consider this novel in terms of its genre, identifying the fictional elements that are "science fictional" or speculative, and determining how Wells used speculative elements to craft a sharp critique of his own time. Be sure to include specific textual examples.

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