An Analysis of H.G. Wells’ Short Stories “Mr Skelmersdale...

Linkà ¶ping University Department of Culture and Communication English I Have Dreamed a Dream†¦ An Analysis of H.G. Wells’ Short Stories â€Å"Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland†, â€Å"The Door in the Wall† and â€Å"A Dream of Armageddon† Lars Wallner C Course: Literary Specialisation Autumn, 2008 Supervisor: Helena Granlund â€Å"I have dreamed a dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lars Wallner, Autumn 2008 Table of Contents Introduction.............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 1: Failing to Recognise What Is Right in Front of You..............................5 Chapter 2: Knocking on Heaven’s Door.................................................................. 12 Chapter 3: The Beauty of the Dream and the†¦show more content†¦This essay consists of three chapters: chapters one and two deal with â€Å"Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland† and â€Å"The Door in the Wall† respectively, not following the chronology of their writing. The last chapter deals with â€Å"A Dream of Armageddon† which is the most different and complex story. Much has been written about the immense productions of H.G. Wells. Multitudes of famous writers and critics have had their say about the novels and short stories, and even Wells himself has commented on his own work in letters and diaries. However, these three stories h ave for some reason been neglected by many critics, and not much has been written about them. Richard Borden and Laura Scuriatti are two among the very limited number of critics who have made an effort to analyse â€Å"The Door in the Wall† and â€Å"A Dream of Armageddon† and what these critics mostly consider is the person H.G. Wells; his political views as well as his personal life, and how this appears in the stories. Some of these interpretations also suggest psychological, mostly psychoanalytical, readings of the texts, something that has been taken into account in this essay but not to any great extent. More than anything, these critics make superficial comments on the stories, and not much more. For â€Å"Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland†, however, it was difficult, even after considerable effort, to