The Time Traveller by H G Wells. :: English Literature

The Time Traveller by H G Wells. 'Time Travel' For my English Coursework Wide Reading Assignment I have read two S F novels. Even though they were written over 50 years apart they are similar in some ways and different in others. Both the books were based around 'time travel'. The first was the Time Traveller by H G Wells. A scientist had discovered a way to travel through time and when he travels to the future he finds that civilisation has broken down. The other book I read was 'The Sound of thunder' by Ray Bradbury, this was about a group of people who travelled back in time to hunt and kill animals. I think that this shows how Bradbury perceives the way we use the technology we have. It does not seem to be for the benefit of all mankind just as a toy for those who can afford it. It could be used for so much more than hunting dinosaurs. Both authors deliberately make their characters two-dimensional. This may be because the stories are about time travel and civilisation rather than the individuals in the narrative. When Wells wrote his novel there were no telephones or aeroplanes, technology was not so advanced and the reading public would be sceptical about time travel His characters are professional men who will convince the reader that Wells' ideas are possible: QUOTE (the professional bit) It is strange that much of what Wells wrote has come true, even though people may have felt it was far fetched over 100 years ago. In 100 years from now perhaps those 'far fetched' stories of today may come true. It could be that people like Wells and Bradbury had a real insight into the future. Perhaps they saw the way civilisation was going in their own time. Bradbury is more contemporary than Wells and his vision, though fantastical in its own way does not seem so far fetched to a late 20th Century audience. Ray Bradbury generally just uses the character's surname in the story. This keeps a more macho feel to the 'hunting' activities and there are no women. The characters described are hunters: Quote (opening advert) There are several men who have paid their money to travel back to Jurassic times to hunt and kill the dinosaurs: Quote (rules) The tenor of the story remains masculine with the rules reinforced in a curt way: Quote (speaks to Eckles etc.) Bradbury's short story focuses more on the effects of time travel than Wells. In Bradbury's tale when the travellers go back to the past Eckles goes off the suspended path and stands on a butterfly causing great changes when they travel back to their own time.