Why must Edward Prendick be so judgmental towards the people of the island?
In the Island of Dr.Mareau, the protagonist Edward Prendick is very judgmental towards everyone he encounters on the island. He does not view them as humans but rather as creatures of some kind. As it states on pg 48, ” The apparition of this grotesque half-bestial creature had suddenly populated the stillness of the afternoon for me. I looked around me rather nervously and regretted that I was unarmed. Then I thought that the man I had just seen clothed in bluish cloth, had not been naked as a savage would have been, and I tried to persuade myself from the fact that he was after all probably a peaceful character, that the dull ferocity of his countenance belied him”. He judges by looks. Edward is rather scared of the people of the island because of the fact that he has never seen humans with the same complexion of them. It is rather intriguing to him. The enviorment is also very different from what he is acostomed to. Where he is from the people us clothes and cover themselves up but in this society in the island people are naked. The people of the island have diffrent ways of living and it oddly scares him somehow. The way Edward is treating these people is an normal instinct reaction to such drastic change from what he grew up being taught.
I agree with this post on some of its idea mostly on Edward being judgmental towards the people he just meant in the forest. I think he’s reacting like any other person would if they see strange people naked just having a converstartion, but what I don’t get is why he subjects to calling them beasts. As if their appearance is so unappleaing that he can’t bare to call them humans but instead refers to them as creatures. Thats were I start to disagree with this post because I don’t believe Edward is scared of the life style these people live by. But instead is intimidated of the fact that he’s in a located with these people where he can’t have a upper hand on them. These creature seem to have the advantage that he so despertaly wanted at that moment.
I would agree that Prendick’s treatment of the men on the island is a normal instinctive reaction to the creatures that he encountered there. The setting of the island is not grotesque or horrid, but rather very appealing and tranquil, posing a contrast to the creatures which is possibly the reason why Prendick is staggered by them even more. The forest is where these creatures roam, and this seems to stick with Edward as it would with anyone given the creature’s appearances. Though I do see that the physical features have a strong influence in Prendick’s judgement, I also believe that their physical attributes and the way that some walk on all fours is more influential to his judgement since he compares the creatures to animals with this detail.
I agree with this perspective as well. I think the animal like nature of the creatures is what made Prendick disgusted by them the most. Later in chapter thirteen, it was clear that there was a transition in his mindset about the creatures. In this chapter, he basically came to the realization that even though they were once animals, they are not anymore “because he had never seen an animal try to think before”. I think this moment gives the creatures a bit more humanity than what was presented to us initially, even though they were still the same creatures that he found grotesque earlier in the story.
Hi all,
I don’t often comment here, as I prefer to give people relatively free reign. These are really engaging ideas. I do want to remind everyone that the islanders’ animalistic qualities aren’t just a subjective opinion of Prendick’s – as we learn, they really are animals! Make sure you take this into consideration as you analyze his response to the beast folk. Carry on!
Clue (Pursued)
In the story “The Island of Dr. Moreau” Prendick is taken to the island quite suddenly if you look at it. He has no option because of his circumstances and he is unaware at first of the nature of the island and what awaits him there. I write about a segment from the chapter ‘The Thing in the Forest’ to show the mind set and the position Prendick unwillingly holds in the story. “I came upon an unpleasant thing,—the dead body of a rabbit covered with shining flies, but still warm and with the head torn off. I stopped aghast at the sight of the scattered blood. Here at least was one visitor to the island disposed of! There were no traces of other violence about it. It looked as though it had been suddenly snatched up and killed; and as I stared at the little furry body came the difficulty of how the thing had been done.”(pg.48-49) Here Prendick discovers a dead rabbit not unlike the one which he has previously seen scampering off into the bushes. This rabbit, like Prendick, is a new-comer to the island and is not fully aware of the dangers of this island. At the moment when the author writes “The vague dread that had been in my mind since I had seen the inhuman face of the man at the stream grew distincter as I stood there.”(pg.49) you can imagine that Prendick Is identifying with this rabbit, acknowledging that he can be next and abandoning his previous hope of the beast-man he saw being “a peaceful character, that the dull ferocity of his countenance belied him.”(Pg.48) From these segments you can get a pretty good perception of the mindset of our character henceforth, as the pursued.
I understand your perspective as to why you think Edward Prendick is judgmental towards the people of the island. What he experiences on the island is something he has never experienced so he is bound to come to conclusions upon seeing things such as the way they are dressed. However I believe his judgmental thoughts are justifiable as the people on the island aren’t actually completed human but with a mixture of animal characteristics. I believe the answer to the question becomes clearer when you put yourself in the same situation as him, I would be also judging the people on the island based of the looks which I have never encountered and start questioning the reality I lived all my life.