Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
We often appeal to the sense that man is more than mere animal; but is this common thinking part of why we suffer so easily? Why is being human so hard?
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an HG Wells novel published in 1896, written somewhat in response to the trials of Oscar Wilde. Wells stated that:
“There was a scandalous trial about that time, the graceless and pitiful downfall of a man of genius, and this story was the response of an imaginative mind to the reminder that humanity is but animal rough-hewn to a reasonable shape and in perpetual internal conflict between instinct and injunction… confused and tormented beasts.”
As such, The Island of Doctor Moreau goes against the common thinking that human beings are often meant to be more than animals, stating instead that we’re simply ignoring the true calling of our instincts, pain and pleasure. While this may seem a depressing statement, that ultimately all of our actions and creations are simply a trick against nature’s purposelessness, I think HG Wells’ optimism, seen in works like The Time Traveler, puts a hopeful spin on this possibly pointless idea. Rather than feeling degraded by being animals, creatures brought lower than we were meant to be, what if we instead saw ourselves as animals; already doing tasks much greater than ever meant? In this story of experimentation (vivisection), where Pendrick stumbles upon Dr. Moreau’s Island full of his man-beast experiments and The Law, can we find something of ourselves in these animals forced to be men?
A video essay explaining and analyzing the themes of H.G. Wells’ “The Island of Doctor Moreau,” and Pendrick’s experience of the doctor's vivisection to turn wild animals into humans.
Thatched Villagers, Dragon and Toast, and Gymnopedie No 3 by Kevin MacLeod are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
5:38 Part 1 | The Beastfolk
24:38 Part 2 | The Doctor
44:43 Part 3 | The Inspiration
1:01:23 Members/Patrons
We often appeal to the sense that man is more than mere animal; but is this common thinking part of why we suffer so easily? Why is being human so hard?
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an HG Wells novel published in 1896, written somewhat in response to the trials of Oscar Wilde. Wells stated that:
“There was a scandalous trial about that time, the graceless and pitiful downfall of a man of genius, and this story was the response of an imaginative mind to the reminder that humanity is but animal rough-hewn to a reasonable shape and in perpetual internal conflict between instinct and injunction… confused and tormented beasts.”
As such, The Island of Doctor Moreau goes against the common thinking that human beings are often meant to be more than animals, stating instead that we’re simply ignoring the true calling of our instincts, pain and pleasure. While this may seem a depressing statement, that ultimately all of our actions and creations are simply a trick against nature’s purposelessness, I think HG Wells’ optimism, seen in works like The Time Traveler, puts a hopeful spin on this possibly pointless idea. Rather than feeling degraded by being animals, creatures brought lower than we were meant to be, what if we instead saw ourselves as animals; already doing tasks much greater than ever meant? In this story of experimentation (vivisection), where Pendrick stumbles upon Dr. Moreau’s Island full of his man-beast experiments and The Law, can we find something of ourselves in these animals forced to be men?
A video essay explaining and analyzing the themes of H.G. Wells’ “The Island of Doctor Moreau,” and Pendrick’s experience of the doctor's vivisection to turn wild animals into humans.
Thatched Villagers, Dragon and Toast, and Gymnopedie No 3 by Kevin MacLeod are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
5:38 Part 1 | The Beastfolk
24:38 Part 2 | The Doctor
44:43 Part 3 | The Inspiration
1:01:23 Members/Patrons
