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The Island of Dr. Moreau

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Written more than a century ago The Island of Dr Moreau is still read by many people to this day. An Englishman is shipwrecked and lands on the island where Dr Moreau portrays god and struggles to create the perfect race. Messages on evolution and the misuse of intelligence is found throughout the book. Issues on the role of God and his relationship with mankind are also discussed. Everyone can relate to The Island of Dr Moreau through the the beast people. We are the beast people surpressed by God, or Dr Moreau. We bury our intincts and our desires, and try to follow what society believes is right. Once in a while those emotions can no longer be hidden and they burst through our molded personalities. It is probable that this is what HG Wells was trying to express in his work since it was written in 1896, around the same time when Charles Darwin anounced the idea of evolution. There are passages in the book that make reference to the old testament. I enjoy this controversial aguement in The Island of Dr Moreau. This might well be the mystery that unkowingly intrigues poeple to read this book. Anyone will enjoy this classic science fiction thriller.

Until I read this book, I didn't know that a serious novel about human like animals existed. Certainly H.G. Wells is not most well known as one of the fathers of sci-fi for this novel. It was one of his first, published in 1896, and the book lovers of the time must have really found this work disturbing and shocking. Maybe that's why The Island of Dr. Moreau has been playing catch up to The Time Machine and War of the Worlds ever since. I admit that I myself found the basic idea in this book very cruel, but I realized that the book covered other issues as well. Besides being the novel about an insane scientist who tries the hand at playing God, this book evokes thoughts of social responsibilty and freedom of all living things. Also, it shows that sometimes who we think of as being authority really have no right to be, and deals with anarchy and revolution. But it is the basic plot that has the most effect. Why does Moreau torture animals so that can make them in the image of man? Dr. Moreau beats Victor Frankenstein on who is a more of a nutcase. Frankenstein intended for something good to come out of his work. Moreau did his experiments just for curiosity. He didn't expect for his creations to have any real purpose. He didn't care for them. And yet he brainwashes his creations to fear and respect him, to treat him like a god, and follow his laws. And another thought occurs. What really seperates man from beast? What causes humans to sometime commit violent and brutal acts? What does that account for? When I read this novel, the reality of what genetic cloning may become years from now passed through my mind. If genetics had been an established science in the 1890's, Wells could of utilized it in this book, but he would probably have created a controversy beyond any proportion. But certainly the ignorance of genes back then was not his fault, and he came up with probably the best substition: vivisection. Being the substitute of what was unknown and likely more plausible, vivisection was more than enough to shock Well's audience of reading about the blasphemous idea of creating "Beast-People". I am certain that people in 1896 weren't ready for it. Neither are we. That's what I think is the main reason that The Island of Dr. Moreau isn't as popular as H.G. Wells other novels. I found, however, that this was a worthwhile read because its suspense and creepiness intrigued me, and it made me think of some social issues. If you're a person who can bear reading a grotesque story of cruelty and suffering, I highly recommend this book.

Wells' imagination is almost scary. Despite being written over one hundred years ago, Wells presents a tale chilling and relevant to this day. A great story in it's own right, it delves deeper into human technological and biology conflicts that have only intensified in recent years. With the onset of cloning, gene therapy, and genetic modifications, the issues spark debate to this day.

It starts off with Pendrick, shipwrecked, eventually arriving on the Island of Dr. Mareau and discovering strange beasts. These strange beasts were not natural though, but instead modified animals made up to look and act like humans. Without giving away the plot, the book then moves into action, while moving into such themes as insanity, animals versus humans, and the existence and treatment of god.

This book works as a simple fun filled novel with intrigue, suspense and action. It's strange to have a book of such magnitude provide so much simple enjoyment. Even without the deep literary and social meanings, this book stands out by itself. The only flaw is the somewhat antiquated language.

Of course, as a sort of added bonus, the insights and issues brought up provide a great addition. Such a book could easily be debated in literary and scientific circles. If such a book was used in my English classes, as opposed to such crud and Faulkner and Jane Austin, I might have actually enjoyed class.

The Island of Dr. Maruea is the best mixture of plot and intellectual enjoyment I read since Animal Farm.

And it is with these words that the main character in Hg wells masterpiece, "the island of Dr moreau",expresses the feeling of being back in civilization. This is not a book just about being trapped on an island with a madman, but is a book about finding ourselves here in this existence and confronting and doing battle with the dual nature of animal and human in each of us. It is the struggle between social responsibilty and personal freedom, between the primal, organic impulses and the spiritual and intellectual. The conflict is eternal and inherent in what it is to be human. To negate and deny the other aspect is to live a life lacking of the full breadth of what it is to be human and to be at conflict with oneself. To live with both aspects is to live, paradoxically, with the same struggle. So here is man, as he is, doing what he can in this chaotic, crazy world,as the main character does,looking to the stars for "hope".

One cannot go wrong with HG Wells and Dr. Monreau!! I am embarrassed that I had not read the book up until now, but was pleasantly surprised by the flow.

I had seen a loose interpretation film and glad to see the contrast that is cast from the original version.

HG Wells left the story wide open for me to use my imagination. The word picture of the characters were clear enough to give me an idea of the hybrid man-animals that were created by Dr. Monreau and Mr. Montgomery, but still let me fill in the gaps to my liking.

You will feel yourself take to the man-animal creations and struggle with the idea of what is it to be human and how, or if that can be harnessed, taught or evolved artificially. Maybe we will never know, but for me I believe it is unique to be human and it is something that we will not see in other species no matter how far along we move forward with science.

This story provides one with the question of what is it to be human and lets your run with and make your own conclusion as the story comes to a close.

Finally, like other reviewers, I urge you not to see the film first because it will pigeon-tail your imagination.

A sinister book that is absolutely true still today. At the end of the 19th century surgical attempts and experiments permitted some animals to be transformed into evolved forms of their species close to human beings. He is an animalistic Frankenstein, this Doctor Moreau.

These evolved animals could speak which is impossible since they could not have the phonatory, articulatory and brain capabilities necessary for language. But the idea enables the first level of the fable. And it is a fable at the time that could become a nightmare. Moreau's attempts were only surgical before anesthetics and antibiotics. It means it was highly improbable.

The next stage is that Dr Moreau, through some kind of hypnosis impresses into their minds a "religion" of sorts in two directions: first fear, the fear to go back to the house of pains, that is to say Moreau's own laboratory, to suffer some more in the hands of Moreau who is seen as the master, the only authority, a god of sorts in other words. The second trend is the learning by heart and the ceaselessly repeating of a catechism that implies they respect some rules because they are human. In fact it is the reverse of what they say in this catechism: by repeating these rules they can pretend they are human.

But strangely enough the ruin of this world will come from the very assistant of Dr Moreau. He will bring from his last voyage to Africa some rabbits he will free in the jungle and a man that had been picked up in the middle of the ocean more than half dead. The rabbits will multiply for sure but some of the monstrosities created by Moreau from carnivores will get a taste of that blood and that is one of the rules in the catechism that is thus broken. Once this rule is broken, why not the others, and once this rule is broken by one creature why not by other creatures. This creates a rebellion among the more or less controlled "society" of these monstrosities and against the humans who dominate them with whips, guns and fear.

This will be amplified by the escape of the latest animal, a leopard, from the laboratory before the transformation is complete. The hunt for that imperfect animal leads to the death of Dr Moreau and then the complete crumbling of the island.

The assistant becomes crazy and spreads alcohol among the beasts, burns the two boats that could provide an escape and some of the carnivores can attack and kill the assistant.

Pendrick, the rescued guest saved from a shipwreck, has only one solution: to escape after killing the carnivore that is most menacing. But to escape he needs a boat of some kind. His building a raft is not that successful but a current brings a small boat with two dead people aboard. He is able to recuperate the boat and escape. Within three days he is picked up by a ship.

But back with humans he finds he has developed a taste for solitude, mistrust for humans and that no one wants to believe him, not even the slightest allusions about this island.

But this book is still valid for us because with our surgical science and technology, with our anesthetics and our genetic engineering we can do exactly what Dr Moreau tried to do, but without the pain and without the drawbacks. We easily can clone for instance or graft one animal element onto the genes of a human being, or vice versa and develop animals with human physiological and physical characteristics, and vice versa, humans with animal characteristics.

In fact we can wonder at times if our neighbors are not genetically modified organisms when we see how animal-like their behavior may be when they bark or ululate or go for a taste of blood on an accident scene or on a crime scene.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

When Edward Prendick, an unfortunate shipwreck survivor, is plucked out of the ocean by the strange Dr. Montgomery, little does he know that he has dropped out of the frying pan and into the fire. When they arrive at their destination, Prendick finds that the whole island is filled with unnatural seeming people, and the least unnatural, but the most frightening is the lord and master of the island Dr. Moreau. There is a secret to this island, something terrifying, and Prendick is about to find out what it is, whether he wants to or not.

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. But, it is not merely an early science fiction story. Mr. Wells wrote this story as something of a lesson about scientists playing God, and creating monstrosities (not unlike Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). This book is an exciting adventure story, with a fascinating lesson. Even though the book was written in 1896, it is still an exciting read, one that I highly recommend to you.

The mad scientist has been with us since the early 1800s. And while H.G. Wells didn't create the mad scientist stereotype, he certainly gave it a boost in his harrowing novella "The Island of Dr. Moreau" -- beast-men forced to live like humans, a crazy scientist carrying out mad plans, and a bland Englishman stuck in the middle of it.

After he is shipwrecked, the English gentleman Edward Prendick is rescued by a passing boat. The man who saved him, Montgomery, is taking a number of wild animals to a remote deserted island, where the creepy Dr. Moreau does some kind of research on the animals that are brought there. Naturally, Prendick is suspicious of Moreau's activities.

It doesn't take long for him to stumble across the products of Moreau's work -- grotesque hybrids of animal and human, who are surgically turned into humanoids and ordered not to act in animalistic ways. And with the laws of nature being horribly perverted, it's only a matter of time before Dr. Moreau's experiments lash out.

It's pretty obvious from this book that H.G. Wells was nervous about the ramifications of meddling in nature -- be it vivisection, evolutionary degeneration, or even just the idea that scientific progress could be used for horribly evil things. As a result, "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is perhaps his darkest, most horrific book.

The first couple chapters are rather stuffy in the 18th-century style, with Prendrick fussily noting everything that's happened to him. But the creepiness begins to enter once he arrives on the island, and explodes into weird, almost dreamlike scenes once he encounters the Beast Folk, culminating in the slow decay of everything on the island.

Prendrick is also perhaps the weakest link in the book. When the only other humans on the island are.... well, a mad scientist and his sidekick, you need a protagonist who really grips your imagination. But he's honestly kind of bland, to the point where any number of the beastly folk have far more presence and power than he does.

"The Island of Dr. Moreau" is a dark, eerie cautionary tale about science run amuck, and only its bland protagonist keeps it from fully engaging.

As with many of H.G.'s stories, it is a tail told by a narrator. Also at first, you may not notice his slipping in of social underpinnings.

Pendrick, our narrator starts out trying to tell how he was disenshipped and disappeared at sea for a year to turn up alive. His explanation is so fantastic that no one believes him. However after we read his account, we do.

He spent the bulk of his time on an isolated island with the mysterious Dr. Moreau, Moreau's right hand man Montgomery, and a menagerie of unique people. Where did they come from and what are they doing on this island? As the story unfolds, Pendrick realizes he is the next either on the operating table or for supper or maybe something more sinister.

This story has shades of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies". However, I can swear that I work with the very same creatures every day. Moreover, I will never look at my cat in the same way.

Somehow, I missed the movie version of this book, so I cannot compare them.

100-150 years ago, there were two visionary authors who became the pioneers of the science fiction genre. The first, who predicted the coming of space travel, sea travel, and modern geology, among other things, was Jules Verne. The second, who developed the idea of an Invisible Man, Martian Invaders, Time Machines, Atomic Energy, and Genetic Engineering, was H.G. Wells. The greatest works of Verne came true and yet men still strive to accomplish the ideas developed by Wells. Which one was the true visionary?

However, two famous works of Wells HAVE come true. The first is his beliefs for the use of Atomic Energy in 'The World Set Free,' the other is man's perfection of nature in 'The Island of Dr. Moreau.' The main difference is that his modern day's 'viviseciton' has been replaced by OUR modern day's genetic engineering.

Here is classic Wells; man's struggle with concepts of nature which he cannot comprehend, his inevitable downfall, and salvation and forgiving through nature. Yet in 'The Island of Dr. Moreau,' Wells's belief that humans are basically evil is never more easy to see.

It also flows at a much smoother pace than some of his other novels, however certain parts can be hard to understand (I still don't understand exactly HOW the animals can talk and why they revert back to animals after 10 months WITHOUT Moreau as opposed to being half-humans for years WITH Moreau). And the end feels rushed as well.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates science, literature, and the strange feeling that comes with the realization that a book that seems so modern was written so long ago.