The centuries since are strewn with tales of trips to the moon, from Francis Godwin's The Man in the Moone (1638) to Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865); even Poe weighed in (so to speak) with a tale of his own, "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall." What all these tales had in common, though, was that the method of reaching the moon was fantastical -- riding in a balloon, being drawn by vast team of trained geese, or shot out of a cannon -- which were, in point of fact, unrelated to the actual challenge of reaching their destinations. Verne's cannon, with the astronauts strapped into a giant artillery shell, proved enormously popular, despite its two disadvantages: 1) The initial firing of the cannon would have killed everyone inside the shell; and 2) Because of inertial decay, it's impossible for any object to escape the earth's gravity without some additional form of propulsion.
And, though Wells's moon in many ways his moon is just as fantastical as his predecessors, came up with a fictional -- but scientifically plausible -- method of reaching this goal. His "Mr. Cavor" is a scientist, working to develop a kind of material that will block the force of gravity. Cavor reasons, sensibly enough, that we have materials that block light, block x-rays, and block radio waves -- why not a material that could block gravity? (all this before the long post-Einsteinian debate over a unified theory of force that could include gravity).
The rest follows, scientifically consistent with its premise; Wells also realize that the passengers in a sphere coated with this material -- which its inventor dubs "Cavorite" -- would lead to weightlessness, and offers the first description of it in fiction:
It was the strangest sensation conceivable, floating thus loosely in space, at first indeed horribly strange, and when the horror passed, not disagreeable at all, exceeding restful; indeed, the nearest thing in earthly experience to it that I know is lying on a very thick, soft feather bed. But the quality of utter detachment and independence! I had not reckoned on things like this. I had expected a violent jerk at starting, a giddy sense of speed. Instead I felt – as if I were disembodied. It was not like the beginning of a journey; it was like the beginning of a dream.
What happens once Cavor and his partner, Mr. Bedford, actually arrive on the moon quickly accelerates from the plausible to the purely fantastical, a pattern that later science fiction often follows, taking (for instance) the rational and scientific crew of the starship Enterprise from one fantastical world to another.
The 1964 film version is remarkably faithful to the original, though -- being a Hollywood film -- it has to add a love interest. Lionel Jeffries is brilliant as Cavor, as is Edward Judd at Mr. Bedford. The selenites -- "moon creatures" -- are brilliantly rendered by Ray Harryhausen. The frame story of a more modern moon landing is brilliantly used, and lead to an ending far more poignant than that imagined by Wells.
This novel was one of the most interesting ones we have read this semester to me, and I think it’s because it is about exploring an area that we are uncertain of. Space is such a vast and mysterious place that we do not have all the knowledge on, and I believe that’s why I found it interesting – because who knows, this story could even be true and just adds to the mystery theories.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of this novel concerning the exploration that fascinated me was how back and forth Bedford was about going on this exploration and his reason for it. All Bedford wanted from this exploration was the results that lead to money, as he was bankrupt. He did not want to go on the exploration for fame like other explorers in the Arctic, or to make a new discovery like Hall. Instead, he wanted the profit; however, he could not stop complaining the whole way to the moon, even though it was a miracle it happened. Bedford states, “’I’m a fool! What business have I here? I’m not coming, Cavor. The thing’s too risky…’” (Wells). He did not want to go, but felt he had to survive on Earth later, while Cavor was doing it all for discovery and for this device to work for later explorations of space. Cavor was doing it for the greater good.
The other part of this novel that caught my attention was when they encountered the Selenites’ cavern in the moon where they had machines and just blue everywhere. What could the blue river and blue light and blue skin mean? Is it supposed to be enchanting to the reader or symbolize some new beginning or fairytale? Then comes the machines and how the Selenites split their workload in their inner-moon society. Cavor states that “’In the moon… every citizen knows his place. He is born to that place, and the elaborate discipline of training and education…” (Wells). I recently have been watching the Divergent movie series on Amazon Prime and couldn’t help but compare these two societies. In these movies, citizens are born into a faction (erudite, abnegation, amity, candor or dauntless) where they are said to do their best work. After growing up in this faction, they take a test saying which faction they will best succeed and contribute to society in. They then choose which faction to live in the rest of their life. This seems similar to the Selenites’ society in that they are born into a certain training and education in a belief or skill that will allow them to best contribute to society. Maybe this comparison is completely incorrect, but this idea of being born into a profession just reminded me of the Divergent series.
At first, I had trouble connecting this to the idea of Arctic exploration. I knew that venturing out into space is a form of exploration in its own right, but how does that fit in with the Arctic voyages in the other stories that we read? It was not until Cavor convinces Mr. Bedford that the connection between the Arctic and space formed: “’After all, to go into outer space is not so much worse, if at all, than a polar expedition. Men go on polar expeditions.’” (39). Rationalizing the harsh conditions of polar travel is an excellent analogy to the idea behind space travel because it gives the reader context for the potential conditions that Bedford and Cavor may go through. This is elaborated further when Cavor exclaims, “’No! Banish all that! Think yourself a sort of ultra-arctic voyager exploring the desolate places of space. Look at it!”’ (53). I think that the connection between space and the polar regions is very interesting. Wells compares the emptiness of the Arctic to the emptiness of space. One would assume that Earth would have life in its remote regions, while the moon would not. However, as Cavor and Bedford soon find out, space (the moon, specifically) is not really all that empty.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the story, we find that Mooney’s and humans are not that different from each other. The Mooneys live in a society similar to feudalism, with the smartest alien at the top while gradually thinning out to the peasant classes (the moon cow herders). Even though Wells paints the two species as similar, I find it sad that “every citizen knows his place” (198). It just means that the Mooneys are more machine than… Mooney. This particular point in the novel reminded me of the Pink Floyd music video “Hole in the Wall”. I wonder if Wells thought that the Mooneys were something humanity should emulate or avoid…
I really enjoyed reading this novel for our course because I feel like it is a little different in a way from what we have read so far in our class with exploring over seas or exploring to the arctic to another state or country. This is obviously a little different because these guys are traveling to the moon.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time though, although the way they explored are different from overseas vs going to the moon it is also a little similar at the same time. No matter where these men and women from all the stories we read are exploring to, they all have suffered in someway. For example, to get to where they wanted to they have to get past many difficult obstacles and many times some have died and have gotten ill. Going to the moon is just as difficult, if anything even scarier than the other exploration because they are going to the moon!! Leaving earth! That within itself is scary because there has been many stories over the years where people don’t even make it up there in the first place.
This novel was really fun to read. It was totally unexpected and I enjoyed how fantastical it was at times. I was struck by Mr. Bedford’s motivations, and I feel like we’re seeing something similar play out now. Mr. Bedford was hurting financially at the opening of the novel, and he sees Cavor’s invention as a great business opportunity. He remarks that “I saw a parent company, and daughter companies, applications to right of us, applications to left, rings and trusts, privileges, and concessions spreading and spreading, until one vast, stupendous Cavorite company ran and ruled the world” (Chapter 1). While Mr. Bedford wants to profit off of Cavorite, there is also the connection to the moon and space travel here. I’m reminded of the current push by some businesspeople/billionaires to make traveling to the moon commercial, like something you could do for vacation (well, something the super-rich could do for vacation). It’s also interesting that Mr. Bedford inserts himself into Cavor’s experimentation, and he intentionally shapes language to tether him to the venture when he thinks there could be financial gain, particularly in the part where he says that, “I stuck like a leech to the “we”—“you” and “I” didn’t exist for me” (Chapter 1). He sees Cavor’s idea for its brilliance, but he immediately jumps to how they could profit off of the venture. Where Cavor looks toward research, invention, and discovery, Mr. Bedford looks toward financial gain and building a business empire.
ReplyDeleteThere was an interesting part to this book that really caught my attention when in comparison to that of the artic adventures we are so familiar with. Namely, in the native residents that are encountered, the Selenites, which are much different to the any natives found in the novels we have read. The Selenites find themselves in a strictly role-based society and have their being determined for them. One of the many things I found interesting here was the idea of their society being "lesser" to human in society in the same manner that earlier explorers considered the Inuit people inferior or uncivilized to themselves.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention, space is alluded to be like an artic exploration here, so does the way the Selenites organize their population seem inferior or even uncivilized to humanity, and why? That's what had my attention, as although exploration at its core will never shift, the way we deal with and interact with people, especially those we are unfamiliar, can change.
Overall, this topic is one of the many that caught my attention, but the one I wanted to bring up the most.
After viewing the text and film, it is important to recognize how similar both Artic exploration and Space exploration truly are. Both were uncharted territory at one point in time that fascinated people to explored whether to understand the area, the people who thrive there, or what resources we as a country can benefit from. Both exploration topics read semi similarly as they are a mystery to the narrator. Both intrigue/ spark the interest to want to know more. However, the difference between the two (at least in film/TV) presents slightly different.
ReplyDeleteIn film/Tv, the Artic is both a vast area of ice and a section of the Earth that does have its limits of where there is no longer ice. Not only this, but the Inuit people that inhabit the land, living amongst the elements it offers. Space presents vast as well, however, its vastness extends beyond what we know/ can see. Its almost more terrifying because it is so unknown. Although the Tv series, "The Terror," included an invisible creature that is reeking havoc on the men of the expedition the creature is not real. In the film, " The First Men in the Moon," we are shown disturbing insect like aliens that harass the Earthlings that invade their territory. One of thing that has always interested people about space is the existence of another life form on a planet that is not ours. This film specifically exemplifies this "dream state ". Space event to this day is seen as a "dream" because there are aspects that are still unknown, not discovered, and raises questions that the Artic does not.
I am interested in this almost Utopian society on the moon depicted by H.G. Wells where "every citizen knows his place, he is born to that place." The inhabitants of the moon are given a purpose at birth and altered through education and even surgery to become perfect at their skill. Wells also mentions that the Selenites "have no ideas nor purpose" beyond the one purpose they were designed for. I wish the film would have gone deeper into this idea. It seems to only mention it once when we see some Selenites become frozen in sleep when they are no longer needed.
ReplyDeleteA good question, Sarah. One can see the fact that everyone is born to one purpose and is good at what they do as a sort of "utopia" -- but the lack of any ability to do anything else, or even -- as that quote hints -- lack of desire to do anything else -- may seem "dystopian" to some. Then again, there are places such as America today, where everyone talks about having the choice to do what one wants, but education and "market forces" end up limiting that choice pretty severely.
DeleteSpace is a common landscape for science fiction novels. Whether it be colonizing another planet, living on a space ship, or traveling between planets, universes, or galaxies, most science fiction novels feature space in some way, and "The First Men in the Moon" is no different.
ReplyDeleteWhat fascinates me about these earlier science fiction novels, however, is how they're able to stick to the science despite not really knowing or understanding it. For my final paper, I read "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury, and I discuss in my paper how he's able to write with such scientific accuracy about the rockets and such without ever actually having seen one. This is even more the case for the 1901 novel we read here. Even though the science is more of a reach with the deflection of gravity, it's still plausible. It's creative, inventive, and it makes a backwards lick of sense. The only requirement a book needs to keep it science fiction versus fantasy is that it be somehow, some way, scientifically plausible. And I feel that this is.
Having the bugs living in the moon is fantastical, but still science fiction because we technically don't know what's out there so it's teeeechnically possible that they could exist. And the societal structure that they have is modeled as Tim says after class systems here on Earth, and is reflected in the faction systems in the dystopian Divergent series.
These early novels are still relevant because they have not been so drastically disproven that they're implausible. And I think that that's really cool -- moreso than the space travel itself. Space is whatever -- how writers involve science in their literature is infinitely fascinating.
The Novel, The First Men in the Moon, was a very fun read. What I really liked about this novel is that it was written during the time where there was little known about Space and the Moon. The idea of space travel was still something that wasn’t reachable yet. When Bedford and Cavor arrive on the moon, they run into the Selenites who live on the moon. It is an interesting idea because we still not have found life on other planets but it is still very possible that there are other life forms out there that haven’t been discovered yet. Another thing about this novel that I found interesting was the character Bedford. The fact that he was bankrupt was the only reason he wanted to travel to space to gain wealth. He did not seem to really want to go but was hoping to gain money from his trip there.
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