The Dangers Of Passivity In The Time Machine By H. G. Wells

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it” (Martin Luther King Jr.). Passivity is employed throughout The Time Machine by humanity demonstrating its dangers. Throughout H.G. Wells novel, The Time Machine, the passiveness demonstrated by the Eloi, juxtaposed with the assertiveness of the Morlocks, illustrate the dangers of passivity in society. Overall, The Time Machine touches on a variety of ideas and themes such as, Darwinism, entropy, and relativity. The novel opens with a dinner party in which the Time Traveller describes a device he created that travels through time. To the disbelief of his guests, the small-time

The Eloi demonstrate how passivity throughout time and the idea of living in a utopian society has created this toxic society. People throughout time have desired a utopian society but sometimes that desire is dangerous. For example, “Under the new conditions of perfect comfort and security, that restless energy, that with us is strength, would become weakness” (Wells 37). The strength that allows for people today to work and function in society is being used by the Eloi as energy to participate in leisure activities all day. In addition, Passivity leads to none of the Eloi attempting to rescue Weena when she is drowning. Evidently, “The main current ran rather swiftly, but not too strong for even a moderate swimmer. It will give you an idea, therefore, of the strange deficiency in these creatures, when I tell you that none made the slightest attempt to rescue the weekly crying little thing which was drowning before their eyes” (Wells 48). The Eloi community employs such passivity that they would rather sit and do nothing than to rescue one of their own who is