H.G. Wells: The Odd Man Who Shaped a Genre
Herbert George (H.G.) Wells was a man of many passions both strange and ordinary, but despite his eccentricities, he impacted science fiction and fantasy in a profound and noticeable way. As a man who bridged the entertainment gap between the upper and lower classes that existed at the time, H.G. Wells books felt right at home from the 1890’s clear through the Lost Generation (British Writers, Vol. 6, 226). Fantastical plots and relatable language aside, he was also what one might consider a normal man. Despite his being repulsed by monogamy, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and indulge in worldly pleasures (British Writers, Vol. 6, 227).
Born Herbert George Wells on Saturday, 21 September
…show more content…
While there, he began one of his many odd relationships with his cousin Isabel, marrying her in 1891 and divorcing her just after his departure from the college in 1894. A year later he published his works The Time Machine, The Wonderful Visit, and The Stolen Bacillus, earning him a grand total of £792 that year (British Writers, Vol. 6, 226). Between the years of 1901-1914, while continuing to gain popularity in his writing, and continuing to study various scientific theatres, Wells had four children: George Phillip Wells (who went on to co-author several books, including the extension to H.G. Wells autobiography H.G. Wells In Love), Frank Wells, Anna-Jane Blanco-White, and Anthony West (Murray, 12).
In the years that followed, going through the first (in which Wells was already too old to fight) and second world wars, Wells became disillusioned to war, and instead of themeing his works after wars and political events like many of the writers at the time tended to do, instead focused on educating mankind (“penguinclassics.co.uk”). This is evidenced by his earlier publishing of the Textbook of Biology, and his continual interview of public figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, Vladamir Lenin, and Maxim Gorki, showing his interest in getting as much information as possible to the people of the world, be it scientific or otherwise (Murray, 11-13). He even wrote essays and nonfiction books such as, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and
In the words of Miss Ida B. Wells: The student of American sociology will find the year of 1894 marked by a pronounced awakening of the public conscience to a system of anarchy and outlawry which had grown during a series of ten years to be so common, that scenes of unusual brutality failed to have any visible effect upon the humane sentiments of the people of our land. She is depicting a period of time in American history stained with the blood of hundreds of free African American men, women and children. These people were unjustly slaughtered through the practice of lynching within the South. Wells was an investigative journalist and was involved in exploring, reporting, publishing literature on, and eventually campaigning against the
H. G. Wells’ book, A Modern Utopia was published in 1905. This book seems to be unique for two reasons. As Wells tells us, it is told from the point of view of "a whitish plump man" that he calls the "Voice" (1). This allows the book to be what Wells calls, "a sort of shot-silk texture between philosophical discussion on the one hand and imaginative narrative on the other" because the Utopia that we visit in the story is the one inside the mind of the "Voice" or the narrator (ix). He (the Voice) is talking to a friend, a botanist that continues with him on his journeys, about utopian thought when suddenly these two men have been transported past Sirius to Utopia, the Voice’s ideal planet
In Ronald A. Wells History Through the Eyes of Faith, we see Wells compare and contrast the Greek and the often brushed over Hebrew societies. This analysis goes through the many different points of the two very different cultures opening the eyes of the reader as to how and why they were different. Also, with this kind of analysis it would not be beneficial unless the conclusions are accurate, which is why in the case of Wells study of Greek and Hebrew culture, it is beneficial.
When I took off the top to that white box on that calm Sunday night, I was instantly transported into this astounding library, that seemed to come out of a movie scene, rows upon rows were piled up with Verne’s, Dumas’, Stevenson’s, and Melville’s. Each week I would open this box and choose a new book. It wasn’t long until weeks turned to days, and I began to greedily treasure my Stevenson’s, truly value friendship with Dumas, prepare for an adrenaline rush with Verne, but most importantly, it was my single Melville that brought me the pinnacle of happiness.
American Novelists, 1910-1915. A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book. Ed. James J. Martine. Saint Bonaventure University. Gale Research 1981. 413-68
Ida B. Wells was a woman dedicated to a cause, a cause to prevent hundreds of thousands of people from being murdered by lynching. Lynching is defined as to take the law into its own hands and kill someone in punishment for a crime or a presumed crime. Ida B. Wells’ back round made her a logical spokesperson against lynching. She drew on many experiences throughout her life to aid in her crusade. Her position as a black woman, however, affected her credibility both in and out of America in a few different ways.
His liberal viewpoints were forged from hardships of the second World War, which would cause him to suffer great mental distress for the rest of his life, but yet found an outlet through writing to share said opinions. Not all were entirely pleased with how blunt some morals were however, and he turned to the commonly overlooked genre of science fiction. Censorship continued to haunt him though, with many works were turned into a feather duster of what they should have been originally, much too his own dismay. Nevertheless, Serling stood by his works, having used them to inspire others during his time to hopefully spread more broadminded beliefs. Far outshooting his original hopes, Rod Serling has become a visionary cultural icon of the 20th century whose well written works continue to affect the world in ways that could have never been
I saw a tall man in a long overcoat, with his collar turned up to his ears. He rushed directly to me. I assumed it was Jimmy Wells, since he knew my name. We both started talking about the old restaurant, which was torn down. Then, we both started to talk about the twenty years that had passed. Then I realized it was not Jimmy Wells. It was a soldier who brought me a piece of paper from Jimmy. I sure was scared to unfold the piece of paper. And as soon as I unfolded the paper and read it, I was under arrest for being wanted in Chicago. The End my fellow
American literature 1865-1914 is an American literary time period that began in 1865 and ended in 1914. This time period was flourished by three distinct features and the first of these features is: The Aftermath of the Civil War. It is estimated that a total of 620,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War, and for what? At the time, we were an America that was divided by one huge issue that ran supreme and it was slavery and the unequal treatment of African Americans. At this time the nation needed to figure a way to unite the North who were against slavery and the South who were for slavery. As Abraham Lincoln says in our Bedford Anthology of American Literature: “No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man, we simply must begin with, and mould from, disorganized and discordant elements,” (4). He is saying that we must not start a new, but rather we need to start from what we had and mould and shape our country into one. Prior to the Civil War, America was not a whole, it was ruled by states’ rights and was divided on countless issues, and when referring to America, people said the United States are… It wasn’t until under President Lincoln, and concluding the Civil War that the United States began to be referred to as the United States is.. Honest Abe, brought our nation together as one, but the racial tension that remained was something one man can never fix. The literature around this time period was dominated by ideas and feelings circled
Wells was apprenticed like his brothers to a draper, spending the years between 1880 and 1883 in Windsor and Southsea as a drapeist. In 1883 Wells became a teacher/pupil at Midhurst Grammar School. He obtained a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London and studied biology there under T.H. Huxley. However, his interest faltered and in 1887 he left without a degree. He taught in private schools for four years, obtaining his B.S. degree until 1980. The next year he settled in London, married his cousin Isabel and continued his career as a teacher in a correspondence college. Wells left Isabel for one of his brightest students, Amy Catherine, whom he married in 1895 (Brian 1).
The early decades of the last century saw the loss of credibility of fantasy literature among the academic elite who ruled it a popular genre with little to no scholarly merit. Little that had had the misfortune of being dubbed fantasy had escaped the blacklist cast upon the field. Many critics had also labeled the fantasy genre as largely cliché, full of shallow characters, and as having no value beyond being purely escapist entertainment. These generic labels, applied wholesale to fantastic literature, had pushed it off the
Wells, H. G. (1866-1946), was a famous English novelist, historian, science writer, and author of science-fiction stories. Wells's novel Tono-Bungay (1909) best reveals his varied talents. The novel, a story of the dishonest promotion of a patent medicine, contains social criticism tinged with satire. In it, Wells described trips in airplanes and submarines at a time when such journeys seemed like science fiction.
It is amazing how words on a page take a life of their own once they are written. An author 's story can take readers away on a magic carpet ride, to a magical castle that anything can happen in Britain, even through a wardrobe to a land far away and draft them in the battle of a lifetime. But what is even more fascinating is that unlike humans, the words on the page never changes. From this moment to 200 years from now, the words on this page will always be the same, it is only the reader and the world around them that changes. Take for example Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In 1818, Shelley had a nightmare that lead her to write her novel as a personification of the Victorian Culture’s fascination of science and death. In 1934, director James Whale adapted the material into “ The Bride of Frankenstein” film, and was an allegory for pre-WWII unity, then in 1997, someone interpreted the film as a homosexual allegory for the 1990’s. This paper will examine how Mary Shelley adapted her nightmare into an allegory for her Victorian era audience, how James Whale used her original text to turn “ The Bride of Frankenstein” into a message of unity for a pre-WWII audience, as well as how Garry Morris uses Whale’s film to create a pro same sex marriage message out of the text in 1997.
In 1890 Wells got his degree from the University of London. After Wells married his cousin Isabel, he started teaching in London at a correspondence college, as radical causes increased his criticism because more explicit. Wells had a public life; he expressed those opinions through syndicated articles. In July 1889, Wells got second degree honors in zoology after his science examination.
The Invisible Man has many possible themes. There are multiple examples of different themes in the novel. Most of them can almost fall under the same idea. The main theme for the novel is how excessive greed can have unintended consequences. The main character, Griffin, goes mad with the power of being invisible. It gets to the point that he is not even trying to just stay hidden anymore, he is just trying to cause as much mayhem in the country as possible.