The Malaise Of Modernity Of Legendary Science Fiction

Herbert George Wells was a famous novelist and social activist in modern Britain. In hiswhole life he was paying attention to and thinking about human’s destiny and the future oftechnology. In his early works, Wells created the science fiction’s creation model whichcombined artistic imagination, scientific warning and social criticism. In these works, as aconceptual symbol the legend of science fiction conveys the Wells’insight on the existingsocial relationship. Therefore, Wells’early science fictions contain rich social meaning. Fromthe perspective of modernity, the paper analyzes the reality theme of his early science fictionsand explores the author’s concerns about kinds of modern perils which potentially exist in theprocess of modernization, which implied in his early works, and the deep thought aboutmodern society and human destiny.This paper consists of three parts which are the introduction, the text and the conclusion.The text is divided into three chapters: the first one, the conflict between technology andethics, from the alienation of technology and human being, the deviation between technologyand ethics, analyzes the concern about kinds of modern perils which potentially exist in theprocess of modernization, including human’s automation, technology’s weaponization,animal’s humanization and the lack of technology’s ethics. Furthermore, it shows the author’sidea of technology and ethical Utopian from the aspects of the fusion of aesthetic andpracticality, and socially high civilization. The second chapter, the class antagonism inpolarization, from three aspects of the germ of class consciousness, the occurrence of classantagonism and the intensification of class antagonism analyzes the implying concerns aboutkinds of modern perils which potentially exist in the process of political moderation in Wells’early works. And the perils include the appearance of polarization and the consciousness ofsocial lower survival situation, the deformity of the social division of labor and thedeterioration of lower survival conditions, and violently social unrest and the outbreak of thewar, etc, showing the author’s thought about the cause and the form of performance of classantagonism. The third chapter the damage of anthropocentrism to ecology, from the aspects ofhuman’s conquer to nature and the decay of human nature analyzes the implying concernsabout kinds of modern perils which potentially exist in the process of modernization ofideology in Wells’ early works. The perils include disregard of nature, the lack of compassionfor human’s colonization to nature and the mental and intellectual degradation etc.Furthermore, it shows the author’s ecological ideal of harmonious co-being of human andnature from the construction of natural ecology and implement of good life, etc.To sum up, the intersection of science fiction and reality endows Wells’ early sciencefictions with deep and rich social significance; at the same time it shows the author’s highsocial sense of responsibility and sense of historical mission.