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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. In which point of view is Chapter 2 told?

2. Whom did the narrator meet on Friday at the Linnaeum?

3. What does the first Eloi appear to be wearing on his feet?

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

5. Of what metal is the pedestal of the Sphinx made?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does the Time Traveler feel instinctual hatred for and fear of the Morlocks?

4. What does the Time Traveler feel when he sees the decayed books in the Palace?

5. What does the Time Traveler discover when, at sunset, he goes to find a place to live on his first day in the future?

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

7. Why does the Time Traveler eventually stop the machine?

8. What leads the Time Traveler to believe that his time machine has been taken into the White Sphinx?

9. What are the physical attributes of the Eloi the Time Traveler describes? What are their features like?

10. Where (in terms of to which time period/what kind of time period) does the narrator assume that the Time Traveler has traveled to at the end of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

One of the most prominent symbolic systems Wells employs in this novel is the relationship between the Eloi and the Morlock. Define and describe this relationship, using examples from the text. Be sure to include the way it works on a literal level as well as on a symbolic one.

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