October 14, 2007

Book 55: The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau
H.G. Wells

Written in a time before DNA and genetic engineering were the least bit fathomable, Wells definitely hit the spot regarding the next big ethical dilemma facing scientists in the wake of evolution. Where could the human race go next, and how exactly did humans emerge from animals in the first place? Wells indirectly tackles these issues and more basic scientific ethical questions with gusto, presenting the unrepetant mad scientist and the not-so-innocent outside observer with narrative flair that adds significant characterization but retains enough stock qualities to make metaphorical sense.

Wells juxtaposes the increasing humanity of Moreau's creations and the decreasing humanity of the scientist and Prendick, the accidental narrator, to create an interesting montage of the book's central dilemma and the question of humanity. Dr. Moreau's lack of mercy is paralleled by the monsters he creates, but only as they descend back into their primal selves, mostly after his disappearance. Wells seems to suggest that humans are just as capable of violent and selfish qualities as the animals we typically associate them with, but does so in an underhanded manner that requires thought and rumination on behalf of the reader, who is also forced to question those forms of being that may exist above humanity. The book is certainly not without its criticisms of and comparisons with God, which are extra potent given the plot's relationship to colonialism and its attendant idea of the heirarchy of the great chain of being.

Wells moves his prose along well, occasionally drifting into lulls and bits of unnecessary inaction, but the book reads quickly and has a certain depth surprising for a novel so short. The novel not only translates well in its own context of the expanding English colonial empire and the ramifications of evolutionary theory and the rise of science, but its warnings resonate with modern audiences facing a fair less painful method of creating animal crossbreeds. This book is intended to provoke discussion as much as it is a simple narrative, and though the narrative has its own strengths and weaknesses, the problems it presents are relevant and deserve fictional and intellectual treatment. Wells has laid the groundwork for a great conversation on the ethics of science.

Grade: A-

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