Essay - H.G. Wells Introduction Herbert George Wells Was a Major Force...

H.G. Wells

Introduction

***** George ***** was a m*****jor force in literature in his time and achieved a good de*****l in a number of different fields, showing himself to be a Renaissance as he explored such topics as *****tory, science, sociology, ***** philosophy in his works. Today, he is best known for his science fiction *****, but even t*****se represent a version of his *****terest in other subjects, notably various sociological concerns of the era as to what progress would mean *****to ***** next century and how human beings would fare in the develop*****g scientific world. Wells was particularly concerned over themes that related to the evolution of society and to the ways in which society served the *****terests ***** ***** masses, or the ways in which ***** failed to serve those *****terests. Wells was conflicted between two visions ‑ one of science as progressive and the other ***** science ***** a destructive **********. While ***** could perceive science ***** technology *****s progressive forces, he was keenly aware of the dangers of scientific experiment and technological advancement lacking ethical vision and concern. An examination ***** ***** writings shows that Wells believed in progress and sought ***** understand and shape ***** future development of society in a progressive direction, but he also had reservations about the human element and what it would be able to make of *****s scientific opportunities.

H.G. Wells

Wells crossed from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries and commented on the changes taking place. His reputation is peculiar in many respects. He wrote on a wide v*****riety of subjects, and he did so with a scholarly erudition that showed he ***** read and studied wi*****y. He ***** viewed more as a popularizer of different subjects than as a serious scholar, however, and is al***** not considered among the first rank ***** any particular field:

most academic specialists will ***** have him. for students ***** English literature he h***** shrunk to t***** dimensions of a minor novelist, fit for sweeping into the literary dustbin nowadays shared by Hilaire Belloc, Arnold Bennett, and John Galsworthy. In all ***** ***** he invaded for his adventures in journalism and vulgarization, from history ***** biology to economics and education, he is either completely ignored or *****lerated with contempt.

This is ***** than an assessment after the fact by critics and scholars look*****g back to an earlier time, for it was always the accepted ***** made ***** Wells and h***** work:

All through his career, Wells' admirers ***** critics could not make up *****ir minds whether to label his work a distill*****tion of the world-view ***** the late nineteenth century, a mirror of contemporary thought, or a body of prophetic wisdom well ahead of its time. It ***** well perhaps less than any of **********, but an extraordinary number of ideas did crowd ***** Wells' mind *****d, stamped in***** the familiar shapes of his *****, they did tumble out into his books.

********** seems to be grudging praise and shows the ambiguity in