The Perfect World in The Island Of Doctor Moreau
For thousands of years man has dreamed of finding or creating a better world. Better worlds are even quoted in the bible, 'Moses led the Jews into the chosen land' and also Heaven. For a long time man has realised that nothing is perfect, even at the inner depths of his/her psyche, images created cannot be perfect. The Island Of Doctor Moreau, written by HG Wells, is a book based on many themes, one of them 'Creating a Perfect World,' is a theme that keeps coming back to the reader.
It could be said that perfect is the literacy term for infinity, something that you can get close to, but, is really unachievable. Throughout the book each character tries to perfect some of their own problems. The prominent of these characters is Prendick, the protagonist, he is from upper class England and is considered a Gentlemen. When Prendick is on the island, he faces a world entirely different to his own. He quoted how the island brought back many of his youthful horrors, like the boogieman. Prendick desperately tries to go Doctor Moreau to change his ways but feels that the whole world is against him. It is summed up in this quote, "I must confess I lost faith in the sanity of the world when I saw it suffering the painful disorder of this island. A blind fate, a vast pitiless mechanism, seemed to cut and shape the fabric of existence, and I, Moreau (by passion of research), Montgomery (by passion of drink) and the Best People, all with their instincts and mental restrictions, were torn and crushed, ruthlessly, inevitably, amid the infinite complexity of its incessant wheels." Through out the ordeal Prendick is mentally tested, as mentioned in the quote above. As a result of this had to lower his moral codes and guidelines, thus had trouble controlling his emotions. At time he was accepting, passionate, sympathetic, angry, scared, murderous and confused. Through these display of emotions Prendick found it hard to better the people around him when he was not even sure of himself.
Another character is Doctor Moreau, who also tries to perfect his 'world.' Doctor Moreau, the exiled vivisector, manufactures humanised animals or 'Beast People' as they are known. His laboratory named 'The House Of Pain' does just that. Doctor Moreau uses the pain inflicted as a means of control, and thus forcing it to become 'Human-Like.' Moreau believes that with each Beast Person he creates he has improved it physically and temporally freed it from its animal nature. Yet after he has finished 'Creating' another Beast Person, he sees it as a failure. He banishes it, reflects upon the creation, decides what he has learned from the experience and then goes to work to create his perfect Beast Person.
The last of the main characters is Montgomery, a man who was caught in middle of the 'two sides.' Particularly get pleasure from downing the odd shot or two from his beloved 'drink,' Montgomery is an English ex-medical student who was talked into helping Moreau while sitting drunk in the early hours of the morning, some 11 years ago. Montgomery is the kind of person who even if he tried could not make a better world for himself. He seems to be heading nowhere, befriends some of the Beast Folk, and only lives for his desire of drinking his sorrows away. He curses his fate everyday and wallows in self-pity, believing the only way to perfect his life is to lose total, mental consciousness.
The Beast People as a whole, try to perfect there own world by convincing themselves that they all were men, and condemning those could not control their animal tendencies. One of the ways in which the Beast Folk tried to create a better world was by preaching laws, "Not to chase other men; that is the law. Are we not men? Not to eat flesh or fish; that is the law. Are we not men? Not to go on all fours; that is the law. Are we not men?" Doctor Moreau encouraged the saying of these laws, and punishes those who did not abide by it.
Not only do the characters try to perfect their world, but also the way the story is told or its 'Point Of View' has a strong background with this perfection image. The Island Of Doctor Moreau starts off with an introduction written by Prendick's nephew, about how his story could be very well true. The significances of this is so that we will believe what is said later on, and also that we will understand that the story is written in the format of a scientific report. From this basis, we assume what we are told is real and therefore the notion of trying to create a better world be comes realistic.
The Island Of Doctor Moreau was written by a man who loved and believed in science. HG Wells had a utopian belief, a belief that science would make man perfect. This was contradictory to what many believed, that scientific knowledge is a power, which can be abused, and that is what The Island Of Doctor Moreau is about. The utopian and distopian belief fuelled the great scientific vs. religion debate. A big topic off the debate was on the book, "The Origin Of The Species," by Charles Darwin. It was about how the greatest animal, the human, had evolved, via the process of natural selection (survival off the fittest). Of course this caused great public outrage, even to mention that the supposed human race was not created in god's perfect image was condemning the Catholic Church and the whole notion of infallibility. Another reference was from Pavlov, the man who studied conditioned reflexes in dogs and how it influenced behaviour. While Doctor Moreau can easily physically alter an animal, he found it very hard to alter their behaviour. While trying to perfect it, he found that he had to alter the homeostasis system in the body, and give it rigours training in speech and morals.
At the end of the book, when Prendick finally gets back to civilisation, he finds he can't stand it. He realises that the society that he once adored was far from the perfect world he once thought it to be. His doubt turns to horror as he realises human beings are imbued with a metaphorical beast far more ugly and frightening than the simple beast people or animals because it results in crimes, pain, despair, hypocrisy, poverty, shame and boredom.
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