The theme of distinction between men and animal has been brought up throughout the story multiple time. Prendick sides with the fact that animals are animals no matter if you try to scientifically transform them into a human creation. While Montgomery thought are opposite and felt as if he can relate to these beast men. A snapshot that I look closely on said, “Every now and then I would come upon one or other running on toes and fingertips, and quite unable to recover the verticals attitude. They held things more clumsily; drinking by suction, feeding by gnawing, grew commoner everyday. I realized more keenly than ever what Moreau had told me about the “stubborn beast flesh.” they were reverting, and reverting very rapidly” (159). This snapshot offers a clue to my guiding question which is does this island hold a connection between itself and the “real world” outside of it? Now reading this I believe it does because these beast went back to their natural instincts of their animal side once they felt has if there were no higher power you could say to order them around. It’s just like us human now if it weren’t for beliefs or government or any of those things we would fall back to what we know best and that is survival. This is the point where it all comes back to where these beast just a failure from the start were they even worth putting in the effort to be seen as humans. I think yes with the way things were going before Dr.Moreau died they had all the rights to be seen as human because just as we got taught from right to wrong by laws they were doing the exact thing. We have more things in common with these beast then we thing we do.
4 thoughts on “Clue The Island of Dr.Moreau”
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I would agree that the island holds a connection between “itself” and the real world, but Moreau’s presence was more of just a higher power ordering them around. He was somewhat of an idol they looked up to, and in some ways, mimicked him by the Laws he made them follow. The problem is that Prendick still enforced the laws upon the society of beast men long after Moreau’s death, so they could still be kept in order and not become hostile like the Hyena-Swine. Even through his enforcement and repetition of the law, they still reverted back to their animalistic ways. This contradicts what your statement that if there weren’t beliefs or government, we would revert back to our survival instincts, since we see Prendick still enforcing the laws that must be followed by the beasts and still fail.
I agree with the idea that there are moments throughout the story that show a connection to the outside world and the island, as well as animals and humans. The moment in the story that I believe reflected this idea was when Dr.Moreau died and the topic of the law was discussed by the beast. I feel that without anyone to hold them accountable, the beast would act as the pleased rather than what was deemed necessary by Dr.Moreau. The assertion that Dr.Moreau was still watching them in a different form shows strong similarities to religion and how we as humans feel accountable to a higher being even though we can’t see one. I think that by showing this connection, Wells is raising the question of if there is any difference between man and animal at all.
I Strongly agree with your point that we have more in common with the beast than we think we do. When we read about the law, we learn that to the beast they were like fetters “Before, they had been beasts, their instincts fitly adapted to their surroundings, and happy as living things may be. Now they stumbled in the shackles of humanity, lived in a fear that never died, fretted by a law they could not understand; their mock-human existence, begun in an agony, was one long internal struggle” (pg.77) This segment I highlighted because as I read it, it sounded so much like our own existence in the natural. If you take time to think about what we would be like if law and God were not established in our minds you would have utter chaos. We were born into this law; we were not born brutes and so these ideas of civility and decency are natural and don’t take much getting used to. It also is internalized within us in a sense where if we were away from the physical location where law is enforced, we would try to re-establish it. But if this were reverse and beast were born into the idea of law and God they would not have much to revert to with the exceptions of a few characteristics that are caused by genetics. But if you consider those individuals who are part of our societies, and do crime from great to small and love the freedom from the law, you can see the beast in them, the beast that is shackled and want to be free from the eyes of God and the chains of Law.
I think that what you meant to say was the theme of distinction between human and animal has been brought up throughout the story. This is interesting because you brought up the regeneration of the animal flesh on the beast people as time goes by without the law. But this isn’t necessarily true because the beast peoples animal flesh would grow back even if beast people were ignorant to the fact that their creator was dead. I don’t think there’s any evidence in the story that actually says that Dr. Moreau would take back the beast people in his laboratory when he noticed that the beast people started growing back their animal flesh. However, I agree that if it weren’t for government that humans would revert back to more ancient ways of living and that the beast people were living in a similar matter to the real world.