A Review of Dr. Moreau

Things are at a bit of a stand still with my writing right now. The sequel to Hearts of Prey (I hesitate to reveal the title just yet) is being edited and I am holding back on starting what will be the third and probably final book in the series. I thought maybe I would use this time to write about one of the books that helped shape my writing. There are so many, but this one had a pretty palpable influence on Hearts of Prey, despite being published in good old 1896. Though there are many stark differences between my book and this one, they have two things in common: first is that they both have characters that are both animal and human. Second is that Wells successfully uses sci-fi to thoughtfully examine human nature, and not to mention it's incredibly well written, both being skills I aspire to do. Of course I'm talking about this classic:

     I read The Island of Dr. Moreau in my early twenties and it has stuck with me. It's about a shipwrecked traveler who ends up on a mysterious island where a mad scientist is conducting experiments on animals to elevate their intelligence. The beast creatures are still rather wild by nature but they have the desire to behave as humans. Here's a very creepy quote from a beast creature in the book: 

 

"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?"

    It's a constant battle to keep these creatures from reverting to their animal instincts and you might guess what happens. Without continuous treatment from the doctor they revert more and more back to animals. In the end the shipwrecked narrator makes it off of the island and leaves quite the grizzly scene behind him. He gets back to civilization, which in this case is London in the late 19th century, and sees that mankind appears to be on the verge of some kind of devolution itself. Here is an excerpt from the last page of the book:

Then I look about me at my fellow-men; and I go in fear. I see faces, keen and bright; others dull or dangerous; others, unsteady, insincere,—none that have the calm authority of a reasonable soul. I feel as though the animal was surging up through them; that presently the degradation of the Islanders will be played over again on a larger scale.

        I was young when I read this, and my mind was blown. I too looked around myself and saw people about to revert back to animals! Now days it's a little more nuance and when I see humans behave cruelly and carelessly I think one of two totally contradictory things: either this must be their first lifetime as anything other than a wild boar, or only a species with a highly evolved intelligence could do something so horrible. Both of these ideas are in this book.  

    That being said, what this book did for me was show me that science fiction could be real. Not in that human beings are all about to revert back to non-human animals, but in that generally unbelievable genre fiction can deal with real issues, it can examine the human condition as closely as literary fiction, or non fiction. Science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, they aren't solely epic quests in make believe worlds. They can be philosophical too, at least in this case they can. It's hard to read this book without taking a look around yourself. Or maybe I have an over active imagination. Whatever the case, The Island of Dr. Moreau gets five stars from this girl! Thanks for your contribution, H.G.! You look like a fine gent and I wish I could have shaken your hand.