The Island Of Dr Moreau And Frankenstein Analysis

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In the novels The Island of Dr. Moreau and Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, the main characters are both scientists that try to supersede the natural order of life and try to play the role of God by challenging the limits of science. They push these boundaries by using science to point where they are able to create their own, man-like beings. In The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dr. Moreau is depicted as a mad scientist trying to use science to see if he could create a community of beast-men through the process of vivisection. Although he succeeds in doing this, he also ultimately ends up wreaking havoc upon the island, its inhabitants and himself. Similarly, in Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein is represented as …show more content…
Dr. Moreau shows no remorse for his role in causing pain and suffering of the animals and putting other humans in harm’s way. In contrast, Mary Shelley decided to characterize Dr. Frankenstein; with a small bit of humanity. Frankenstein feels a significant amount of remorse after the monster murders his brother, William Frankenstein. The contrasting levels of humanity is evident in the quotes “To this day I [Dr. Moreau] have never troubled about the ethics of the matter. The study of Nature makes a man at last remorseless as Nature” (Wells 93) and “Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? No sooner did that idea cross my imagination, than I [Dr. Frankenstein] became convinced of its truth; my teeth chattered, I was forced to lean against the tree for support” (Shelley 103). Dr. Moreau, being the epitome of scientific objectivity, tries to justify his lack of remorse by insisting that nature has no morality and thus he should not feel repentant after studying nature. On the other hand, Dr. Frankenstein realizes the extent of havoc that his uncontrolled thirst for knowledge has released upon the world and this is shown by Dr. Frankenstein’s body language, which signify guilt, horror and sadness; these feelings are otherwise known as “humanity”. H.G. Wells chose to characterize Dr. Moreau in such a way to preserve the underlying …show more content…
Wells and Mary Shelley represent Dr. Moreau and Dr. Frankenstein, respectively. Dr. Moreau is largely a static character with very little changing about him as the story progresses. In contrast, Dr. Frankenstein changes immensely over the course of the novel. Dr. Frankenstein is initially portrayed as an innocent young man with a peaking curiosity. As the novel progresses, however, he becomes an obsessed mad scientist who pushes the limits of scientific knowledge, and then becomes a guilt ridden and vengeful man vowing to exact revenge on his own creation. This is in contrast to how Dr. Moreau is characterized, because throughout the novel, he remains a compassionless mad scientist. Dr. Frankenstein’s development is outlined in the quotes “My father expressed a wish that I [Dr. Frankenstein] should attend a course of natural philosophy, to which I cheerfully consented” (Shelley 70), “I [Dr. Frankenstein] had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation” (Shelley 85), “When I [Dr. Frankenstein] reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation. I would have made a pilgrimage to the highest peak of Andres, could I when there have precipitated him to their base” (Shelley 119). This shows that Dr. Frankenstein develops immensely after creating the creature whereas Dr. Moreau does not develop after the continuous failure of his creations

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