There are misconceptions that often overarch science fiction. One misconception is the fact that readers tend to see science fiction as prophetic “that is, fundamentally, predictive.” They overlook the fact that science fiction is about “the vanished present.” From such a conception, an intention of Wells in his novel can be drown. Although most of what occurs in the Time Traveler’s journey is in the future, it however resembles “a specific temporal relation to a moment in history that corresponds very closely to the date of The Time Machine 's composition” (Ruddick 337). But one might ask, if the structure of The Time Machine is a response to the society of the late 19th century, what makes The Time Machine novel survive till today? One
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G. Wells’s The Time Machine,” Ruddick observes certain intentions of Wells that he calls “topical allusions,” in which such allusions imply an indirect relation to Wells’s desires in 1894. An example would be the mentioning of Professor Newcomb. The Time Traveller in chapter one demonstrates the notion that time is the fourth dimension, to an audience in an era where the understanding of time wasn’t quit agreed upon. Having this in his mind, the Time Traveller “supports the speculation [that time is a kind of space] by remarking . . .” Professor Newcomb (Ruddick 340). Simon Newcomb, an American mathematician, introduced a paper called “Modern Mathematical Thought,” writes Ruddick “This paper, which did speculate on four dimensional mathematics, was reprinted in the British weekly general science periodical Nature (1 February 1894) . . .”(340). Consequently, we now realize that the Time Traveller didn’t attend the meeting, but however read the last edition of the general science journal. Furthermore, this topical allusion “ almost certainly fixes the date of the Time Traveller 's dinner-party that opens the Time Machine as a Thursday some time in early February 1894”
G. Wells’s The Time Machine,” Ruddick observes certain intentions of Wells that he calls “topical allusions,” in which such allusions imply an indirect relation to Wells’s desires in 1894. An example would be the mentioning of Professor Newcomb. The Time Traveller in chapter one demonstrates the notion that time is the fourth dimension, to an audience in an era where the understanding of time wasn’t quit agreed upon. Having this in his mind, the Time Traveller “supports the speculation [that time is a kind of space] by remarking . . .” Professor Newcomb (Ruddick 340). Simon Newcomb, an American mathematician, introduced a paper called “Modern Mathematical Thought,” writes Ruddick “This paper, which did speculate on four dimensional mathematics, was reprinted in the British weekly general science periodical Nature (1 February 1894) . . .”(340). Consequently, we now realize that the Time Traveller didn’t attend the meeting, but however read the last edition of the general science journal. Furthermore, this topical allusion “ almost certainly fixes the date of the Time Traveller 's dinner-party that opens the Time Machine as a Thursday some time in early February 1894”