INSTRUCTIONS
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Context: Written during a period of rapid economic growth and capitalist industrialization in Victorian England at the apex of the British Empire, The Time Machine is a notable work of utopian/dystopian fiction and social criticism. Most notably, it imagines the ways in which humankind has evolved (or rather, “devolved”) into two separate species, the Eloi, and the Morlocks, whose relationship of struggle and survival can be read as a metaphor and prophecy for the future of capitalistic societies. But to a lesser extent, The Time Machine also criticizes the concept of a classless, genderless, seemingly egalitarian “communist” society depicted by the communal Elois.
Prompt: Write a 550 to 600-word essay (2 pages, double-spaced), explaining how the future society(ies) depicted in The Time Machine can be considered utopian, dystopian, or both.
Format: Your essay must rigorously follow MLA Format and Formal Language Guidelines (see the step-by-step guide provided in Course Documents>Writing Guidelines and Materials folder). Underline your thesis and topic sentences and include a works cited list. Submit your work in either .doc or .docx format (MS Word) or .pdf. I cannot read .odt files (Pages).