The Time Machine is a great metaphor for many economic and social
differences throughout our lives and world. In the story, one place the
main character travels to has a very obvious resemblance to a place right near
our homes. In fact, for many of us we could even consider it our second home
given we spend more time at it than our real homes. That's right, it's our very
own LASA. LASA's relationship with LBJ has a striking resemblance to the
Eloi's relationship with the Morlocks.
The first resemblance is
that of the placement. LASA is literally above LBJ the same way the Eloi live
above ground while the Morlocks live underground. The second is the education
level. The Eloi consider themselves, and convince others, that they are the
smarter and more civilized. LASA does this too. Many of the students here have
convinced themselves that LASA is better and smarter than all of LBJ, or at
least give off that message.
Before anyone takes this as remotely offensive I want to point out that the Eloi are not
made out to be totally superior to the Morlocks. In fact, the Eloi are presented
as being physically lazy and weak. Suffice it to say that LASA is not
known for its athletes.
In the Time
Machine, the Eloi live a life of leisure compared to the Morlocks.
The economic disparity between LASA and LBJ has been a point of contention for
years and only serves to further illustrate the similarities between the
characters in the book and the students at LBJ/LASA.
The biggest and most
striking resemblance is one that most people don't talk about or even
acknowledge: the unspoken, undying, deep fear of the other. The Eloi act as if
they aren't scared of the Morlocks-- treating them like animals and having them
active at a different time. But there is no denying that they are terrified of
them. They won't even speak about the Morlocks without getting frazzled. This
isn't because they truly believe the Morlocks are inherently bad, but instead
because they know they are different. This is like LASA's relationship with LBJ
because many LASA students are scared of LBJ students even if they won't admit
it. The fear shows when you see people avoiding walking downstairs or talking
about how "different" it is down there.
For the most part the only stories that
you hear at LASA about LBJ are about fights and drugs and how horrible it is.
Much like how when reading The Time Machine the only things
you hear about the Morlocks are bad-- stealing the time machine, trying to
attack the narrator in the story etc. Both the relationship between LBJ and
LASA and the relationship between the Eloi and the Morlocks show the fear of
the other.
This is a great point, maybe LASA students need to break this Eloi standard they've created and branch out to Morlocks. It's an interesting perspective because it's not to far out of line. I wouldn't have made this comparison, not because it's untrue, but because I didn't see the similarity. Well done Abby!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a really good point and I think it's something that not a lot of people want to talk about because it makes them uncomfortable. Hopely they won't eat us though.
ReplyDeleteDude, careful with the implications there! :(
DeleteThat's a great analogy! I don't personally think it's as bad as you're making it out to seem, but there is an undeniable rift between the two schools.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even though of this, and as someone who is physically lazy and weak I have to say that this is painfully accurate. Last year I was in a P.E. class because of weird scheduling errors and it really left an impression. It made me realize that there really isn't a difference between the LBJ kids and the LASA kids except for where they are in the building.
ReplyDeleteOoh, this could be taken in a lot of different directions, couldn't it?
ReplyDeleteHere are some interesting things to consider with your reading:
-The Eloi aren't only weak and childlike. They're also quite stupid. At this point, they aren't the Morlock's masters anymore. They're more like the Morlock's livestock.
-Maybe this makes the Morlocks evil? I think The Time Machine argues that it does. But this has already become a pretty slippery slope (since English society in Wells's time would certainly have eaten meat). And the Morlocks are (even if nothing else) braver and cleverer and more innovative than the Eloi.