Wells uses the simile of a "beast in a trap" to depict the Time Traveller's sense of entrapment in the distant future. In the novel, the Time Traveller finds himself in a world that is vastly different from his own, and, after losing his time machine, is unable to return to his own era. This sense of isolation and helplessness is conveyed by his description of his experience:
Before, I had felt as a man might feel who had fallen into a pit: my concern was with the pit and how to get out of it. Now I felt like a beast in a trap, whose enemy would come upon him soon.
This passage follows the Traveller's escape from the Morlock's underground civilization, which he had entered in search of his lost machine. The sense of being "trapped" emerges from his realization that the Morlocks have a "malign" element to their nature, and may have taken his machine from him in order to lure him to his death. The simile of a "beast in a trap" is used to convey the sense of feeling helpless and hopeless that follows his displacement from his own time.
However, there is a further sense of entrapment that emerges from his relationship with the Morlocks, who attempt to lure him into their subterranean kingdom. The intelligent, malignant intent behind this action makes the Traveller feel like a "beast"— not only trapped, but trapped by an entity that intends to harm him, and who may possess capacities and resources greater than his own.
Several times, the Time Traveller refers to the Eloi metaphorically as cattle. This comparison serves to highlight the Eloi's apathetic and passive nature; the Time Traveller's comparison suggests that the Eloi have become docile and easily manipulated by their environment. This comparison draws attention to the dangers of complacency and the loss of individuality and freedom that can result from societal regression. In Chapter 10, the Time Traveller uses a simile to express this idea:
Very pleasant was their day, as pleasant as the day of the cattle in the field. Like the cattle, they knew of no enemies and provided against no needs. And their end was the same.
This comparison serves to highlight how vulnerable the Eloi are to predation. Just as cattle are fattened and eaten by humans, the Eloi are bred and consumed by the Morlocks.
The Time Traveller also compares the Eloi to cattle in Chapter 7 using a metaphor, suggesting that both the Morlocks and the Eloi have lost their humanity and are now engaged in an animalistic relationship:
These Eloi were mere fatted cattle, which the ant-like Morlocks preserved and preyed upon—probably saw to the breeding of.
The cattle metaphor is used to explore the theme of class division in the novel. The Morlocks, who represent the working class, have gained power and control over the Eloi, who were once the upper class. Thus, both sides of the class divide have exploited and preyed upon the other, leaving no one side the victim or the perpetrator. This metaphor reveals how societal inequality corrupts both the capitalist and the laborer, and is a tool used by H.G. Wells to comment on the dangers of societal regression and the exploitation of the vulnerable by the powerful.
Several times, the Time Traveller refers to the Eloi metaphorically as cattle. This comparison serves to highlight the Eloi's apathetic and passive nature; the Time Traveller's comparison suggests that the Eloi have become docile and easily manipulated by their environment. This comparison draws attention to the dangers of complacency and the loss of individuality and freedom that can result from societal regression. In Chapter 10, the Time Traveller uses a simile to express this idea:
Very pleasant was their day, as pleasant as the day of the cattle in the field. Like the cattle, they knew of no enemies and provided against no needs. And their end was the same.
This comparison serves to highlight how vulnerable the Eloi are to predation. Just as cattle are fattened and eaten by humans, the Eloi are bred and consumed by the Morlocks.
The Time Traveller also compares the Eloi to cattle in Chapter 7 using a metaphor, suggesting that both the Morlocks and the Eloi have lost their humanity and are now engaged in an animalistic relationship:
These Eloi were mere fatted cattle, which the ant-like Morlocks preserved and preyed upon—probably saw to the breeding of.
The cattle metaphor is used to explore the theme of class division in the novel. The Morlocks, who represent the working class, have gained power and control over the Eloi, who were once the upper class. Thus, both sides of the class divide have exploited and preyed upon the other, leaving no one side the victim or the perpetrator. This metaphor reveals how societal inequality corrupts both the capitalist and the laborer, and is a tool used by H.G. Wells to comment on the dangers of societal regression and the exploitation of the vulnerable by the powerful.
