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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 does the Time Traveler see after his meal with the Eloi, when he goes outside again to look at the White Sphinx?

2. What color eyes do the Morlocks have, according to the Time Traveler's first impressions?

3. Why is the Time Traveler worried about stopping?

4. The narrator mentions that if another character had shown them the time machine, they would not be as skeptical as they were of the Time Traveler. Which other character does he mention?

5. When the Time Traveler sees an animal in the night, what does he take it for?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the point of view that takes over the story in Chapter 3?

2. What makes The Time Traveler push the lever again and leave the time period with the two creatures and the large, red sun?

3. When the Earth is in perpetual twilight, the air thin and hard to breathe, and the sun is huge and red, what are the only two animals/creatures The Time Traveler sees? What do they look like?

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

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

6. Describe the guests at the Time Traveler's first dinner party and what they talked about.

7. What does the Time Traveler discover about the Morlocks that allows him to escape the three of them in the tunnel?

8. How did the Time Traveler feel when he first got out of the time machine in the far future in Chapter 3?

9. Describe the Time Traveler's appearance when he suddenly arrives during the second dinner.

10. When the Time Traveler sees the Morlocks for the first time, what does he notice about them and what conclusions about evolution does he draw?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

One feature of the science fiction genre is "world-building," which describes the ways an author establishes a specific and believable setting with rules of its own. One example of Wells's world-building is his extensive imaginings of Eloi culture. Describe the rules of Eloi culture, show how Wells tries to convince the reader of this culture, and examine the extent to which his fictional Eloi culture is believable, in terms of the novel. You will also want to consider the ideas dramatized by these characters and the setting established by their culture.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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