How Does H. G. Wells Create A Dystopia?

Dystopia is often described as the antithesis of utopia, although the connection between the two is more complex than that in most cases. As Naomi Alderman states, “[e]very utopia contains a dystopia. Every dystopia contains a utopia (Alderman, 2017). Utopias are supposed to be perfect by definition but complete perfection often warrants suspicion and wariness. In many cases in dystopian fiction, these alleged utopias sooner or later turn out to be less ideal than previously thought.

The concept of utopia in disguise can be best illustrated by H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, which is one of the most well-known early dystopic fiction. In the novel, the Time Traveller gets thrown into the strangely peaceful and paradisiacal future that is inhabited by small, humanoid

They are all fragile creatures, their appearance androgynous and beautiful and they spend their day dancing around and playing in the sun, like children. The Time Traveller concludes that this place must be a paradise, resulting from the lack of fear and danger present in the lives of the future humans. Only days later does he realize how wrong he was in his assumption as he discovers another race inhabiting the place. The Morlocks are vicious ape-like creatures, preying on the peaceful and helpless Eloi at night. The Time Traveller discovers that what he first thought to be a utopia, is in fact a dystopia in disguise, presumably a result of the class difference between the labourers and the rich, who later became the Morlocks and the Eloi respectively (H.G. Wells, 1895). Another example of a dystopia in disguise is the society of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. In the novel, a seemingly perfect world is achieved by artificially growing human beings and predetermining their social classes even before they are born. People are kept happy and content with the help of a drug called soma, which stabilizes their emotions and calms them down.