The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells, addressing ideas of society and community, human nature and identity, religion, Darwinism, eugenics, and the dangers of unchecked and irresponsible scientific research. 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Time Machine. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Human nature is the fundamental nature and substance of humans, as well as the range of human behavior that is believed to be invariant over long periods of time and across very different cultural contexts. ... The notion of identity has many uses throughout the social sciences. ... Charles Darwin Darwinism is a term for the underlying theory in the ideas of Charles Darwin, particularly concerning evolution and natural selection. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ...

The novel

When the novel was written in the late 19th century, England's scientific community was engulfed by debates on animal vivisection. Interest groups were even formed to tackle the issue: British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection was formed two years after the publishing of the novel. Etymologically, vivisection refers to the dissection of, or any cutting or surgery upon, a living animal. ... An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group or special interest) is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. ... The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection is a pressure group based near Highbury Corner in North London, United Kingdom that campaigns peacefully against vivisection. ...

The novel is presented as a discovered manuscript, introduced by the narrators' nephew; it then 'transcribes' the tale.

Summary

After being rescued from shipwreck and brought to a mysterious island, Edward Prendick discovers that its inhabitants are the macabre result of experimental vivisections, the work of the visionary Dr. Moreau. In an attempt to create a race without malice, the doctor has transformed various beasts into strange looking man-creatures, "human in shape, and yet human beings with the strangest air about them of some familiar animal."

Prendick slowly begins to recall the stories of infamous Moreau, known for his experimental science and work with morbid growths. Exposed by a journalist who published a pamphlet called The Moreau Horrors!, Moreau was shunned by the scientific community and forced to leave England.

Moreau and his assistant, Montgomery, eventually share more and more with Prendick concerning their eleven years of work on the island. The animals are held in check by a series of prohibitions which have been "woven into the texture of [the beast's] minds beyond any possibility of disobedience or dispute." These creatures have deemed these prohibitions as "the Law," which are repeated ad nauseam.

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?

According to Moreau, the Law is ever repeated and ever broken as it battles in the creatures' minds against the deep-seated, ever-rebellious cravings of their animal natures.

Apart from the Law, Moreau had infected the creature's dwarfed brains with a kind of deification of himself. Moreau explains that he fashions and attempts to educate the creatures only to find that when his influence is taken away, the "beast creeps back in and begins to assert itself again" through a reversion process. Once the beast-men begin to revert, Moreau releases them into the wild, taking no interest in them due to a sickening sense of failure. The loosed creatures form a community—"a mockery of rational life" according to Dr. Moreau—in an attempt to maintain a sense of humanity.

Prendick has no choice but to remain on the island as Moreau's guest. As he continues to observe life on the island, Prendick, along with Montgomery, eventually discover instances where the law has been broken: scratches on trees, creatures sucking water from a stream, and several mutilated and half-eaten rabbits. Realizing that one of the beasts has tasted blood, Moreau confronts the perpetrator, a rebellious leopard-man. When accused of the offense, the leopard-man assaults Dr. Moreau and is killed in defense. Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. ... Binomial name Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) Leopards (Panthera pardus) are one of the four big cats of the genus Panthera. ...

The slaying is the catalyst to a downward spiral of events. Moreau's most recent experiment, a puma, escapes before the transformation is complete. Moreau pursues the escaped puma and both are fatally wounded in a confrontation. With the knowledge of their creator's death, the animals begin to rebel, continually breaking the Law and imposing anarchy. Montgomery is forced to kill several of the beasts in self-defense. Overcome with a feeling of hopelessness, Montgomery becomes drunk and leaves Moreau's compound only to be slaughtered by some of the feral beasts. Prendick attempts to rescue Montgomery, but in his haste, accidentally sets the compound on fire. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

With both Moreau and Montgomery slain and the compound burned to the ground, Prendick is forced to live for a time among the beasts. Appalled by the creatures' reversion process to their bestial natures, Prendick eventually makes his way back to the burned compound, surviving in Robinson Crusoe style until he happens upon a stranded sloop and is finally able to make his way out to sea. Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday by Carl Offterdinger Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the first novel in English. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat In sailing, a sloop is a vessel with a Fore-and-aft rig. ...

Prendick is eventually rescued eleven months after his original disappearance at sea, and returns to England. His attempt to relay his experiences are written off as madness, the assumed effect of his tenure on the island.

Movie adaptations

The novel has been made into a movie on three occasions: 1933 (as Island Of Lost Souls), 1977, and 1996. Moreau was played by, respectively, Charles Laughton, Burt Lancaster, and Marlon Brando. See also: 1932 in film 1933 1934 in film 1930s in film years in film film // Events British Film Institute founded. ... // Events In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ... Charles Laughton as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Charles Laughton (July 1, 1899 - December 15, 1962) was a British-born American stage and film actor. ... Burt Lancaster Burt Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor. ... Marlon Brando at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C Marlon Brando, Jr. ...

The most recent adaptation alters some of the original story to facilitate a more modern feel. Moreau's experimentation is focused on the altering of DNA, as opposed to vivisection. The Beast People's physical condition is maintained by a series of serums, while their moral and humanitary conditions are held in check by not only the Law, but also with brutal electroshock tactics. The creatures eventually cast off the shackles of the Law and the imposed serums, and eventually revert back to their beastial forms.

Popular culture

• Dr. Moreau is also featured in the Alan Moore's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. While never referenced in the novel, Moreau's first name is attributed as Alphonse in the comic series.
• On their 1983 album Good For Your Soul, the eclectic New Wave band, Oingo Boingo, included a tribute to The Island of Dr. Moreau with the song No Spill Blood.
• New Wave band Devo's song Jocko Homo is the B-Side to Devo's first single, Mongoloid. Based on a chant from the movie The Island of Lost Souls.
• In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XIII, one of three featured short stories is titled The Island of Dr. Hibbert—a parody of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
• In the Sliders episode "This Slide of Paradise" (1997), the main characters visit a compound where Dr. Vargas (played by Michael York) engages in Dr. Moreau-style experiments producing animal/human chimeras.
• The anime series Full Metal Alchemist featured characters known as chimera who were essentially identical to the hybrids found in the Moreau story.
• The real-time strategy video game Impossible Creatures is loosely based on the hybrid animal/man concepts found in the Dr. Moreau story.
• The popular first-person shooter, Far Cry is also loosely based on the book.
• The Moreau series by S. Andrew Swann deals with human/animal hybrids named "moreaus".
• Several forms of moreau (including feline, dolphin, and bear moreau) are playable character races in some d20 Modern campaign settings.
• Moreau exists as a genetic engineer in South Park. He lives in a mansion on a hill and is ever-accompanied by the small rat-human from the 1996 movie based on the book.
• JLA: The Island of Dr. Moreau was an Elseworlds comic produced in 2002 by DC Comics portraying the Justice League as various human/animal hybrids.

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton, England) is a British writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels, Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a two comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin ONeill, published under the Americas Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Good For Your Soul is the third album by Oingo Boingo, released in 1983 on A&M Records. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in American, Australian, British, Canadian and European popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Oingo Boingo, circa 1983 Oingo Boingo was the band of composer Danny Elfman from the mid-1970s to October 31, 1995. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in American, Australian, British, Canadian and European popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, sometimes spelled Dev-O and often DEVO) is an American Rock group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... The Simpson family first seen on The Tracey Ullman Show. ... Treehouse of Horror XIII is the first episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season, as well as the thirteenth Halloween episode. ... This article is about the Sci-Fi television show. ... This Slide of Paradise in the final episode for the third season of the science fiction television series Sliders. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael York (born Michael York- Johnson, March 27, 1942, in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England) is a prolific British actor now resident in California, perhaps best known among mainstream audiences for his role of Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series of films. ... In Greek mythology, the Chimera (or, as in Latin, Chimaera) is a monstrous creature made of the parts of multiple animals. ... Fullmetal Alchemist ), or commonly abbreviated FMA or Hagaren by fans, is a manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa and serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan. ... Age of Empires (1997), Invasion of an enemy A real-time strategy (RTS) game is a type of computer game characterised by being in real-time being a wargame (strategic) featuring resource gathering featuring base building technology development using direct control over individual units Thus, RTS titles are strategy wargames... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Doom, one of the games that defined the first-person shooter genre. ... Far Cry is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Crytek Studios and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004. ... Nohar Rajasthan is the private investigator from the Moreau Series of books by S. Andrew Swann (aka Steven Swiniarski) published by DAW Books. ... S. Andrew Swann - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The d20 Modern Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook d20 Modern is a role-playing game designed by Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, and Charles Ryan. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The Justice League of America, also often referred to as the Justice League or JLA for short, is a DC Comics superhero team. ... Elseworlds logo. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... The Justice League of America, also often referred to as the Justice League or JLA for short, is a DC Comics superhero team. ...

External links

• The Island of Doctor Moreau, available for free via Project Gutenberg
• Text of the novel
• The Island of Dr. Moreau at Wikisource.
• A draft of the 1996 films screenplay, dated April 26th, 1994
• The Island of Lost Souls (1933) at The Internet Movie Database
• The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) at The Internet Movie Database
• The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) at The Internet Movie Database