The Time Machine: book club questions by chapter

🦉 The Time Machine · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Machine” (pages 1–6, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did the Eloi lock their doors at night?
   The story's answer: They were afraid of the Morlocks
2. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
3. The part we just read is called "The Machine". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
4. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 The Time Machine · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Two, “The Dark”; Part Three, “The End of the World” (pages 7–13, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, the end of the story.

1. What did the inventor find missing after he met the Eloi?
   The story's answer: His time machine
2. What kept the Morlocks away from the inventor?
   The story's answer: Light from matches and fire
3. Why do you think the inventor climbed back onto the machine at the end?
   The story's answer: To go back and look for Weena
4. What clue at the end shows the trip was real?
   The story's answer: Two strange white flowers in his pocket
5. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
6. The part we just read is called "The End of the World". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
7. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
   Listen for: Ask what changed them.
2. Which scene would you put on the poster if this were a film?
   Listen for: A way to find the scene that mattered most to each reader.
3. Is there a line or a moment you will remember? Why that one?
   Listen for: Let readers find it in the book and read it aloud.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.