Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

First book “review” of 2012 – it’s been a spell (reading old books makes me want to use old lingo) since I finished this one, so my memory is already getting hazy. I decided to take another trek down the old science fiction route, since it was short and very different from ‘The Tale of Genji’ which I was reading concurrently.

It seems as though the most popular novels by Herbert George (H.G.) Wells were during the beginning of his career. Of these, I have read all the popular ones (in bold).

• The Time Machine (1895)
• The Wonderful Visit (1895)
• The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
• The Wheels of Chance (1896)
• The Invisible Man (1897)
• The War of the Worlds (1898)

This may mean that I’m done with my Wells’ experience for some time, similar to my proclamation of being done reading the most popular works of Jack London. I’m thinking that from an old science fiction perspective, I’m going to delve more into Jules Verne, whom I think it a much better writer/storyteller than Wells (both are referred to as a ‘Father of Science Fiction’).

*Summary Spoilers Only*

The Island of Doctor Moreau (TIODM) was an account of an 11 month and four day habitation on an unknown island close to Hawaii by Edward Prendicks. The story begins with the sinking of the ship “Lady Vain”, and the pick-up of Prendicks aboard his schooner by another merchant ship. This ship is transporting animals (leopards, apes, etc) to the unknown island. Aboard is a strange man with a black face – who the captain rages against. He refuses to transport what he calls “the ugly devil”, feeling that something is not right about this man. Prendicks is not allowed to return to ship or continue onto the island (a man named Montgomery is very hesitant on inviting him), so he is cast out to see on his schooner. Fearful of death, eventually Montgomery concedes and Prendicks is brought to the island.

He finds out that there is a doctor who was banished from England, performing experiments on the island. In addition, there are numerous strange creatures lurking in the dark and we get the feeling that there is something very suspicious about the doctor and the inhabitants of the island.

*End of Summary Spoilers*

According to Wikipedia, this book was written in response to some controversial thoughts on vivisection in Great Britain at the time:

“When the novel was written in 1896, there was much discussion in Europe about degeneration and animal vivisection. Interest groups were formed to address the issue: the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection was formed two years after the publication of the novel."

I’m also going to quote Wikipedia in reference to themes, which it proclaims are “pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature.” I could not agree more with this. There is a lot of talk by Dr. Moreau about how to get rid of pain and why it’s important in the type of work he is doing. The animals he is operating on, however, are very afraid of pain after going under the knife. Moreau attempts to convince Prendicks against cruelty in the pursuit of science.

Moral responsibility and human interference with nature are still important topics in society today, and I would argue the movements for the former probably peaked (at least in North America) during the hippy 60-70’s and movements against the latter have become stronger over time and will probably continue as we get further into the 21st century. Both topics are fairly straightforward in reference to vivisection at the hands of Dr. Moreau.

There were a few moral points which I believed were made against drinking, and in one case the drink lead to multiple deaths. Also, there was a strong slant in this work towards the teachings of Christianity – that men’s morals are kept in check by religion – something I would disagree with as a general rule.

Without giving it all away, the re-integration into society by Prendicks was the most interesting part of the novel. The experience jaded him and he had a hard time with seeing the beast in people, converting him to a recluse.

This book was an interesting read, but there was nothing in it that made you think too hard. The writing was average and while I would rather read a work of science fiction from over 100 years ago than one written within the 21st century, this was one of those books that you shouldn’t feel guilty for not having read… but a decent book if you’re looking for something light which still contains important themes.

Review: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

I have recently discovered that I really enjoy old science fiction classics. I’m a little upset that my parents didn’t see my fascination with The Hardy Boys mysteries (I should read a few to see how horribly they translate as an adult) and Tolkien fantasy in grade school and turned me on to some science fiction from the likes of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. I’m sure I’ve stated this in Verne posts prior to this review on “The Time Machine”, but there is something for everyone in these types of novels.


As a child, the adventure present in these works is very appealing and the book provides a completely different perspective on life and our place in the universe which was mind expanding during youth. However, due to a primitive understanding of the universe and how humans function within it, much of the subtleties of this work in particular would have gone over my head.

“The Time Machine” is a short novel by H.G. Wells that details the first created time machine and a professor’s experiment with time travel. As I understand it, the term “time machine” was originally introduced to society through this work. Can you imagine how intriguing it would have been to hear the term for the first time prior to reading the book and prior to humans being aware of what existed on planets like the moon? But I digress.

**SMALL DEGREE OF SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT**

This story was published in serial and reads like it. Each chapter has a very specific point, and as I read I wrote a one line synopsis for each one. The first chapter relates the professor’s initial trial with a model time machine and in the second chapter, the time traveler comes back to join his educated friends for dinner after a long time spent in the future – an event that comprises the whole of a novel through the re-telling of the story.

The professor travels forward in time to the year 802,701AD, where he encounters a very different earth. All the people are 4 feet tall, elegantly dressed and seem to spend all their time in leisure. They are slightly dimwitted, produce no goods and eat only fruit. Conversely, there is a subterranean race which only comes to the surface at night, eats meat and is very resourceful.

The theory postulated by the professor is that at some time, the working class was sent underground because the rich ended up owning all the surface land. Consequently, the surface people consumed and the subterranean produced and this happened for generations. Thus, the surface people devolved (physically and mentally) and Wells’ states the reasons for this quite eloquently: “There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change.” Ch10

The evolution of the subterranean people was like most organisms that live in caves. They lose their pigmentation and their eyes become very sensitive to light (I digress here, but after an even longer period most eyes are lost through evolution because they become superfluous). Due to the fact that they continued to produce and think, they became very intelligent and intuitive. Here’s what Wells states about the reasoning behind the evolution of the subterranean world:

“…industry had gradually lost its birthright in the sky. I mean that it had gone deeper and deeper into larger and ever larger underground factories, spending a still-increasing amount of its time therein, till, in the end—! Even now, does not an East-end worker live in such artificial conditions as practically to be cut off from the natural surface of the earth?” Ch5

I also love the fact that Wells’ blasts the functioning of modern society here, still applicable today in most areas of the globe. I have spent probably ¾ of my life indoors... and during this time in the fall/winter season, I no longer see the sun as I drive to and from work in the dark.

The concept of skills is also still practical today. I feel myself as if I have no tangible skills because I am not really producing any products, while people that earn far less than me are working in factories creating items for consumption or use. I have lost a large portion of natural intelligence because I do not need to do things like fix my car, because someone else will do it for me. Of course, I am still doing something... so I am not likely to lose all intelligence altogether. Think of for how many people are striving for a concept of spending their time NOT working but instead in leisure. That’s pretty much the definition of retirement for many people. In addition, this produces an interesting commentary about the trend of society at the time and foreshadows the growing divide between the rich and the poor.

My favourite line comes at the very end of the work, in the epilogue where Wells’ makes his most important and optimistic opinion of mankind when he states:

“And I have by me, for my comfort, two strange white flowers—shriveled now, and brown and flat and brittle—to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man.” EPILOGUE

I will not delve into the meaning behind this, because it would ‘take the piss out of the whole thing’ – but even with the horror existent in such a society, there was still present the beauty of humanity. I wonder if the publisher made him change the ending to have an optimistic slant, to sell more books? ;)

Wells’ writing style was very simplistic and I didn’t find myself writing down literary devices used. It was more of a straight forward portrayal of ideas while making a commentary on the society at large and the direction the human race was going. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an easy but mind expanding read – probably a really interesting beach book for those of you who don’t really enjoy popular fiction. And if you have children in grade school, it may be a good idea to slip this book onto their bookshelf or next month, into their Christmas stocking.


Other works I’ve read by Wells:
“The Invisible Man” - read in grade school
“The War of the Worlds” – read between high school and university.

I remember the passion I had for 'The Invisible Man' as a child due to the story (reminds me now slightly of 'Dr. Jekyll and Hyde' which I read afterwards), but my thoughts on 'The War of the Worlds' have not withstood the test of time.