The Time Machine was written to make money as well as to make Wells's mark on literature. One technique he uses to hold the interest of readers is to have the Time Traveller relate his story as a marvelous adventure from which he has just returned. The atmosphere thus created gives the narrative the air of a fairy tale, as if he were Sinbad returned from sailing to enchanted lands, or Odysseus back home from his magical voyage through the lands of the cyclops, the sirens, and other mythical beings. Many critics refer to the tone thus created as "mythic," meaning it captures some of the basic beliefs of contemporary culture and gives them form and direction. The narrator serves the reader, asking the questions that sensible people would ask and focusing on the details that readers would want to know. Yet, the narrator is open-minded enough to...