The Rise or Fall of Humanity: Comparing 'The Time Machine' in Fiction and Film Anonymous 9th Grade

In The Time Machine, H. G. Wells takes on the impossible task of imagining the future of our world. The story features the Time Traveler (George), the main character of the story, and his many adventures in the year 802,701 A.D. Later in 1960 Wells’ crazy prophecy was transformed into a film. However, when the time came to adapt the book into a movie many changes had to be made to the plot of the story so that the audience could understand the chain of events that take place. Some of the plot discrepancies took place in Weena’s river scene, the talking rings scene, Weena’s death, and the Eloi rescue mission from the Morlocks. Each change was made with clear intent, and the most crucial of these differences depart from Wells's pessimistic tone while preserving the key themes of the original text.

First, we see differences in the plot between Weena’s near drowning experience at the river, featured in the book and the movie. At this time in the movie, George (the time traveler) had just arrived in the future and he came across the Eloi at the river. This was the first time in the movie that George had ever seen the Eloi whereas in the book George had met some of the Eloi at the sphinx statue when he first arrived. Also in the...