Technology makes our lives better, but – if you believe the premise of the novel – it can make humans lazy and ultimate lead to their demise. Like any technology, fire can be used or misused, and it can have unintended consequences. So perhaps fire symbolizes technology in the novel. And fire can become dangerous, as we see when it burns down the forest and probably kills Weena. Fire can be useful (for fighting off the Morlocks and seeing things at night), but it can also be misused. However, that doesn't mean that fire is always our friend. Our use of tools is one thing that sets us apart from other animals, and fire is one of our most important (and maybe oldest) tools. In other words, it's people who make fire. So why does fire play such an important role in the novel? For one thing, as the Time Traveller observes: 'what a rare thing flame must be in the absence of man' (9.3). There are also times when the absence of fire is important: for instance, when the Time Traveller and Weena lie down to rest in the forest by a bonfire and wake up to discover that it has gone out and the Morlocks are attacking (9.9). There's also the time when the Time Traveller lights his pipe using a spill (a long, thin piece of wood or rolled paper) – bad for his health, but good for proving how important fire is in the novel (1.62). When the Time Traveller demonstrates his model time machine, for instance, he places it in front of the fireplace so that everyone in the room can see it clearly (1.53).

For instance, the Time Traveller uses his matches to amuse the Eloi and distract Weena from an upsetting topic (5.35, 5.41). There are other fires that might be easier to miss. These are examples of fire playing a really central role in the plot. (Smokey the Bear is not going to be happy.) There are several smaller fires that are important in the story, too, like when the Time Traveller uses his matches to escape the Morlocks (6.11). Some of it is really hard to miss, like the first fire the Time Traveller starts, which gets out of control and burns down the forest (9.2). You probably noticed that there's a lot of fire in this book.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells