Ray Lankester’s Degeneration: A Chapter in Darwinism (1880) puts forward the theory of evolutionary degeneration, a theory which H.G. Wells expanded on in his own novel, The Time Machine (1895). Wells’ presentation of mankind’s degeneration, the Eloi, reveals the cultural anxiety of how mankind, having prospered beyond the drive of necessity, could adapt into a more vulnerable state. Many critics have focused on Wells’ overt allegorical warning to humanity not to degenerate into the Eloi, however, I argue there is a much more immediate anxiety that runs throughout the text in the presentation of the Time Traveller himself. The Traveller is an experiment of Lankester’s theory, in that he finds himself ousted from a condition of security. The …show more content…
Lankester’s theory, whilst in support of Darwin, argued against the notion of evolution as a steadily improving progression. Lankester observed that certain species are degenerate forms of other species, for example, he concluded that the barnacle is in fact “a degenerate Crustacean” (Lankester 37). The reasoning given for this is that progressive evolution only occurs in a condition of struggle, with a necessity to adapt in order to survive. Meaning, without this struggle, a species may naturally regress. Lankester does suggest that as humans are “subject to the general laws of evolution” (Lankester 60), implying our species may also fall into this evolutionary regression. However, Wells takes this theory further in his fictionalization of the degeneration of mankind. In The Time Machine, the Traveller journeys to the year 802,701 and is met by the Eloi, the descendants of mankind. Expecting mankind to have evolved progressively, he is disappointed by the Eloi’s “physical slightness […] their lack of intelligence” (Wells 32). This issue of Victorian progressivism has been explored by Peter Kemp who argues that The Time Machine “is designed to discredit what he [Wells] called ‘Bio-Optimism’ […] the hopeful belief that life must steadily
Aubrey Snyder Mr. T Williams Honors English ll 01 March 2023 Paper Intro- Within this time period, authors demonstrated Naturalism and Realism in their writings by harnessing economic conflicts, exhibiting constraints holding someone from achieving their dreams.
Carr believes technology is slowly taking over human minds. He postulates that we “inevitably begin to take on the qualities of those technologies” the more we rely on them. Carr echoes Lewis Mumford, author of “Technics and Civilization,” about how the invention of the clock “disassociated time from human events and helped create the belief in an independent world of mathematically measurable sequences” (Carr 320). However, he believes the invention of the clock helped to create men with scientific mind but also took away our sense of reason and judgment in “deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise,” and ultimately “we [stop] listening to our sense and [start] obeying the clock” (Carr 320). On the other hand, Thompson disagrees with Carr.
However one might say society is often caught up in the past. The well known catch phrase, “we learn from our mistakes,” has also been a basis for many individuals in achieving prosperity. In the novel the question about the impact of one’s past on their destiny
The image of progress is often depicted by the migration from an agrarian lifestyle to the makings of industry. In the eyes’ of Will Allen, this departure from nature has created an unsustainable environment where people no longer
Huxley states thats “technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards”(200). What the author is trying to say is that with all technological
Our past watches us, creeping behind to seize opportunities away from
An Analysis of Comparative Histories Everyone, whether one realizes it or not, goes through different stages throughout his or her life. In other words, life does not stay the same; it is ever changing and typically cannot be reversed to a previous stage. Often a problem arises when one cannot let go of the past, and therefore is unable to move on. In “The Ghosts We Love” by Brock Clarke, the narrator is very much aware of the past and present stages of his life, however he has trouble overcoming the past and embracing the future. The narrator’s obsession with history, both well-known historical events and his own personal history, cause him to dwell on the past and possess an unhealthy attitude about the present and future.
we live short-lived to sustain the world meaning that makes us who we are. This implies that we cannot be without history; hence, the real question is there any meaning in history without heroes and their stories. Thompson posits that if we confront such questions we can end up believing our history is over like the millennialism (114). Nonetheless, the emergence of a self-fulfilling revelation is one of the key issues in the Watchmen. For instance, Ozymandias reiterates that “I believe there are some people who do want, if only subconsciously [sic.], an end to the world.
Tralfamadorians have a different, unique view of the universe. They believe that, “all moments, past, present, and future have existed, and always will exist “(27). This Billy writes in his letter to the the Ilium news leader to make them realize that there are such aliens called the Tralfamadorians who hold a new and interesting philosophy about time. Thus conveying to the reader that there is more to time and memories than is looked upon. Humans perceive this concept as being a moment for which “One moment follows another like beads on a string, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever.
Children and adults rarely see eye to eye when it comes to differences in the past and present. This is because the idea of innovation is perceived differently by individual generations. In the essay “Once More to the Lake” the author E.B. White struggles with the concept of change, while his son accepts the concept of progress when returning to a family lake house. Through the use of imagery and symbolism the essay conveys how the men see the same place differently. White’s son observes the adjustments at the lake house as improvements.
These comparisons to a child show the disbelief in the ideas posed in the quotations. The narrator believes that he can “transmute” metals, due to the fact he is more than just a natural scientist. 2. “I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and discrimination, which modern inquirers have written on these subjects” (77). — Very much like the thinkers in the Enlightenment, the narrator values the search
While the author does use parallels so that the reader can relate to the text, the author also estranges the reader from the idea of humans being the superior species. Through this estrangement the reader can see that the medical ethics in play, when referring to eugenics and genetic engineering, are in jeopardy as many people believe. The notion of humans not being the top species forces the reader to take a mental step back and rethink the reluctance to explore the possibilities of the human
People believe that they are secure if they can control their environment, but in reality they need to be open to change to experience all life has to offer. In the Flying Machine, the Emperor kills an inventor fearing new inventions would have negative consequences for society. By killing the inventor, the Emperor believes he can hold on to his perfect world. The Emperor says, “But there are times when one most lose a little beauty if one is to keep what little beauty one already has.” (Bradbury).
Sci-fi writers and scientists are both starting to believe that science fiction may be the key to advancing our technological futures. Two different theories have been made to explain this reasoning: Inspiration theory, the idea that sci-fi will inspire people to create new technologies, and Hieroglyph theory, the idea that fully fleshed out and logical sci-fi technologies could be usable by scientists and engineers. I agree with both theories, however because both theories are inherently optimistic, I’ve begun to wonder if science fiction could also be distorting our perception of what technological progress looks and feels like. One sci-fi writer and novelist, Neal Stephenson’s, essay “Innovation Starvation” somewhat illustrates this problem where in it, he laments there being a lack of innovation since the last century.
In the book The Time Machine, the time traveller has a lot of theories from his travel into the future. He meets two types of people, the Eloi and the Morlocks. Some of his ideas don’t make a lot of sense to me, but they follow the ideas of Charles Darwin, from his book Origin of Species. The time traveler thinks that the Eloi used to be the upper class people and that they became weak and unintelligent over the years.