Examining Child Oppression in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine Through Structural Analysis

Iqbal, Muhammad
Darmawan, Ruly Indra

Journal of English Language Teaching and Literature (JELITA)
Vol 6 No 2 (2025): Journal of English Language Teaching and Literature (JELITA)

This article applies Claude Levi-Strauss' structuralism to examine how child oppression is symbolically encoded in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1895). Focusing on binary oppositions such as Eloi versus Morlocks and light versus darkness, the study identifies narrative patterns that construct Eloi as infantilized, passive beings and the Morlocks as dominant, adult-like predators. Through the analysis of syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships among key narrative units (mythemes), the novel reveals a mythic structure of vulnerability and domination. By interpreting these structural patterns, this study offers a focused reading of Wells’ portrayal of power, dependency, and systemic exploitation within a speculative future society.