The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells, addressing ideas of society and community, human nature and identity, religion, Darwinism, eugenics, and the dangers of unchecked and irresponsible scientific research.

The novel

When the novel was written in the late 19th century, England's scientific community was engulfed by debates on animal vivisection. Interest groups were even formed to tackle the issue: British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection was formed two years after the publishing of the novel.

The novel is presented as a discovered manuscript, introduced by the narrator's nephew; it then 'transcribes' the tale.

Summary

After being rescued from shipwreck and brought to a mysterious island, Edward Prendick discovers that its inhabitants are the macabre result of experimental vivisections, the work of the visionary Dr. Moreau. In an attempt to create a race without malice, the doctor has transformed various beasts into strange looking man-creatures, "human in shape, and yet human beings with the strangest air about them of some familiar animal."

Prendick slowly begins to recall the stories of infamous Moreau, known for his experimental science and work with morbid growths. Exposed by a journalist who published a pamphlet called The Moreau Horrors!, Moreau was shunned by the scientific community and forced to leave England.

Moreau and his assistant, Montgomery, eventually share more and more with Prendick concerning their eleven years of work on the island. The animals are held in check by a series of prohibitions which have been "woven into the texture of beast's minds beyond any possibility of disobedience or dispute." These creatures have deemed these prohibitions as "the Law," which are repeated ad nauseam.

Not to go on All-Fours; that is the Law. Are we not men?
Not to suck up Drink; that is the Law. Are we not men?
Not to eat Fish or Flesh; that is the Law. Are we not men?
Not to claw the Bark of Trees; that is the Law. Are we not men?
Not to chase other Men; that is the Law. Are we not men?

According to Moreau, the Law is ever repeated and ever broken as it battles in the creatures' minds against the deep-seated, ever-rebellious cravings of their animal natures.

Apart from the Law, Moreau had infected the creature's dwarfed brains with a kind of deification of himself. Moreau explains that he fashions and attempts to educate the creatures only to find that when his influence is taken away, the "beast creeps back in and begins to assert itself again" through a reversion process. Once the beast-men begin to revert, Moreau releases them into the wild, taking no interest in them due to a sickening sense of failure. The loosed creatures form a community—"a mockery of rational life" according to Dr. Moreau—in an attempt to maintain a sense of humanity.

Prendick has no choice but to remain on the island as Moreau's guest. As he continues to observe life on the island, Prendick, along with Montgomery, eventually discover instances where the law has been broken: scratches on trees, creatures sucking water from a stream, and several mutilated and half-eaten rabbits. Realizing that one of the beasts has tasted blood, Moreau confronts the perpetrator, a rebellious leopard-man. When accused of the offense, the leopard-man assaults Dr. Moreau and is killed in defense.

The slaying is the catalyst to a downward spiral of events. Moreau's most recent experiment, a puma, escapes before the transformation is complete. Moreau pursues the escaped puma and both are fatally wounded in a confrontation. With the knowledge of their creator's death, the animals begin to rebel, continually breaking the Law and imposing anarchy. Montgomery is forced to kill several of the beasts in self-defense. Overcome with a feeling of hopelessness, Montgomery becomes drunk and leaves Moreau's compound only to be slaughtered by some of the feral beasts. Prendick attempts to rescue Montgomery, but in his haste, accidentally sets the compound on fire.

With both Moreau and Montgomery slain and the compound burned to the ground, Prendick is forced to live for a time among the beasts. Appalled by the creatures' reversion process to their bestial natures, Prendick eventually makes his way back to the burned compound, surviving in Robinson Crusoe style until he happens upon a stranded sloop and is finally able to make his way out to sea.

Prendick is eventually rescued eleven months after his original disappearance at sea, and returns to England. His attempt to relay his experiences are written off as madness, the assumed effect of his tenure on the island.

Movie adaptations

The novel has been made into a movie on three occasions:

Island of Lost Souls (1933 film) (1933) with Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi.
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film) (1977) with Burt Lancaster and Michael York.
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film) (1996) with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, an adaptation that alters some of the original story to facilitate a more modern feel. Moreau's experimentation is focused on the altering of DNA, as opposed to vivisection. The Beast People's physical condition is maintained by a series of serums, while their moral and humanitary conditions are held in check by not only the Law, but also with brutal electroshock tactics. The creatures eventually cast off the shackles of the Law and the imposed serums, reverting back to their bestial forms.

Popular culture

Dr. Moreau is also featured in the Alan Moore's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. While never referenced in the novel, Moreau's first name is attributed as Alphonse in the comic series. He has created many characters from Classic Fiction, including Rupert the Bear and Toad of Toad Hall/. He also references Gustave Moreau as his 'Nephew'.
On their 1983 album Good For Your Soul, the eclectic New Wave band, Oingo Boingo, included a tribute to The Island of Dr. Moreau with the song No Spill Blood.
New Wave band Devo's song Jocko Homo is the B-Side to Devo's first single, Mongoloid. Based on a chant from the movie The Island of Lost Souls. ("Are we not Men? We are Devo!")
In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XIII, one of three featured short stories is titled The Island of Dr. Hibbert—a parody of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
In the Sliders episode "This Slide of Paradise" (1997), the main characters visit a compound where Dr. Vargas (played by Michael York) engages in Dr. Moreau-style experiments producing animal/human chimeras.
The anime series Full Metal Alchemist featured characters known as chimera who were essentially identical to the hybrids found in the Moreau story.
The real-time strategy video game Impossible Creatures is loosely based on the hybrid animal/man concepts found in the Dr. Moreau story.
The popular first-person shooter, Far Cry is also loosely based on the book.
The Moreau series by S. Andrew Swann deals with human/animal hybrids named "moreaus".
Several forms of moreau (including feline, dolphin, and bear moreau) are playable character races in some d20 Modern campaign settings.
Dr. Mephisto parodies Moreau as a genetic engineer in South Park. He lives in a mansion on a hill and is ever-accompanied by the small rat-human from the 1996 movie based on the book, named Kevin.
JLA: The Island of Dr. Moreau was an Elseworlds comic produced in 2002 by DC Comics portraying the Justice League as various human/animal hybrids.
In Right Back at Ya!, there is a character named Doctor Moro, whose name, character, and appearance are based on Dr. Moreau. He is a random bad guy hailing from Nightmare Enterprises who creates dinosaurs from the Cappies' own DNA and appears in the two-part episode "Fossil Fools".
The Japanese animated movie Blue Submarine No. 6 featured a Dr. Zorndyke who killed billions of people by flooding most of the world's food producing lowlands. He then retreated to Antearctica and created a series of hybrids, especially sea creatures. These creatures waged constant war against the surviving humans.

External links

Text of the novel
GradeSaver study guide with background and quizzes
The Island of Dr. Moreau at Wikisource.
A draft of the 1996 films screenplay, dated April 26th, 1994

Die Insel des Dr. Moreau | L'Île du docteur Moreau | האי של ד"ר מורו | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Остров доктора Моро (фильм)

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The novel

Summary

Movie adaptations

Popular culture

External links