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Description edit
An English traveler, shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island, meets notorious vivisectionist Dr. Moreau and the creatures that have resulted from his experiments in turning animals into human beings.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Moreau: Add a description of this character.
- Edward Prendick: Narrator and protagonist, a well-off gentleman from London, studying natural history
- Prendick
- Sayer
- Helmar
- Doctor Moreau: A scandal-hit vivisectionist who has relocated to a remote island to pursue his research with blinding dedication
- Montgomery: Doctor Moreau's assistant, driven out of London as a young medical student
- M'ling: Montgomery's assistant
- Sayer of the Law: An unidentified Beast Man who is the keeper of the Law
- Leopard Man: A leopard-based rebel
- Hyena-Swine: A carnivorous hybrid of hyena and pig
Quotes edit
-
“Very much indeed of what we call moral education is such an artificial modification and perversion of instinct; pugnacity is trained into courageous self-sacrifice, and suppressed sexuality into religious emotion.”
Dr. Moreau -
“Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not Men?”
Sayer of the Law -
“But there are times when the little cloud spreads until it obscures the whole sky. 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 know this is an illusion, that these seeming men and women about me are indeed men and women, men and women forever, perfectly reasonable creatures, full of human desires and tender solicitude, emancipated from instinct, and the slaves of no fantastic Law -- being altogether different from the Beast Folk. Yet I shrink from them, from their curious glances, their inquiries and assistance, and long to be away from them and alone.”
Edward Prendick
Setting & Locations edit
The story takes place between 1887 and 1888 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.
- Beast People
- Beast Folk
- Lady Vain: A ship carrying Prendick from Callao, Peru, when it collided with a derelict.
- Ipecacuanha: An uncertified trading schooner which rescues Prendick after the collision of the Lady Vain. It is owned and manned by Captain John Davies, a boisterous drunk with red hair and freckles.
- The Island: The volcanic, unnamed island in the South Pacific on which Dr. Moreau and Montgomery take up to conduct the experiments.
- London: Home of Prendick and long-lost home to Montgomery.
First Sentence edit
I do not propose to add anything to what has already been written concerning the loss of the Lady Vain.
Table of Contents edit
Introduction
I. In the Dingey of the "Lady Vain"
II. The Man Who Was Going Nowhere
III. The Strange Face
IV. At the Schooner's Rail
V. The Man Who Had Nowhere to Go
VI. The Evil-Looking Boatmen
VII. The Locked Door
VIII. The Crying of the Puma
IX. The Thing in the Forest
X. The Crying of the Man
XI. The Hunting of the Man
XII. The Sayers of the Law
XIII. The Parley
XIV. Doctor Moreau Explains
XV. Concerning the Beast Folk
XVI. How the Beast Folk Taste Blood
XVII. A Catastrophe
XVIII. The Finding of Moreau
XIX. Montgomery's Bank Holiday
XX. Alone With the Beast Folk
XXI. The Reversion of the Beast Folk
XXII. The Man Alone
Glossary edit
- vivisection: (from Latin vivus ("alive") + sectio ("cutting")) is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Humanity: What does it means to be human? What seperates man from the beast?
- De-Evolution of Man: If man can evolve "up", why should he not just as easily evolve "down"?
- Playing God: What are the consequences of man trying to play God in science?
Series & Lists edit
This is book 20 of 199 in Newman and Jones 200 Best Horror Novels. (community list)
This is book 78 of 95 in The Art of Manliness' Essential Man’s Library. (authoritative list)
This book is in Penguin Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 81 of 101 in Penguin English Library. (publisher series)
This is book 796 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Heinemann, Stone & Kimball
Country: Great Britain
Publication Date: 1896
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Heinemann, Stone & Kimball
Country: Great Britain
Publication Date: 1896
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 209
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 823.912
Subjects edit
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