The Island of Dr. Moreau: Review

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells is the second half of my readings for for this year's Dueling Monsters Challenge--hosted by Heather at 30+...A Lifetime of Books (Island by H. G. Wells) and Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts ("The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft). And the goal is to decide which is the biggest nightmare.

And I have to say that, hands down, Wells writes a nightmare like nobody's business. John at Pretty Sinister Books called it when he read my-less-than-chilled-to-the-bone review of Lovecraft--The Island of Dr. Moreau thoroughly creeped me out. Living in the modern age I hate to think of science gone wrong and, boy, has Dr. Moreau taken science down a dark path.

The story begins with a shipwreck. The Lady Vain has collided with a derelict ship and a small number of the crew is rescued by another boat. It is supposed that the men who escaped in the dinghy were lost, but we find out that one man, Edward Prendick, was also rescued by a ship carrying Montgomery--a medical man, his servant, and a cargo of animals. After an altercation with the ship's captain, Prendick is forced to leave the ship when Montgomery and his menagerie reach their island destination. That's when Prendick's real adventures begin.

He finds himself an unwanted guest on an island where ghastly experiments are performed--accompanied by the screams of the "guinea pigs." He soon discovers that the island is populated by man-beasts and he fears that he will become another of the scientist's unwilling participants. It is unclear whether Dr. Moreau, the resident mad-scienctist, is taking men and making them into beast or making deformed men out of beasts. Either way, Prendick is quite sure he wants no part of it. But it will be a long journey through a dark nightmare before he can get himself away from the island and its horrible inhabitants.

Wells has done the job. Seriously creeped me out. He uses exactly the right mix of description (telling us about the what the creatures look like, describing their cries as the doctor works on them, giving us a bit of atmosphere) and action (Prendick's adventures in the woods, his interactions with the man-beasts, giving us active reasons for his building terror). Perhaps because I have an affinity for the late-Victorian era, it was easier to slip into this time period and understand what it was like. Vivisection itself is a very distressing idea--taking that to an extreme to create such horrible creatures is even worse. I'll be shivering for quite some time. Well done, Wells. Well done.

Last year I wound up siding with Softdrink in her choice of Dorian Gray as the bigger baddie. This year, I'm going to have to join Heather and say that The Island of Dr. Moreau is gonna give me the worst nightmares. Oh...and four stars out of five!

The Call of Cthulhu: Review

So, I finished "The Call of Cthulhu" last night. This short story by H. P. Lovecraft is my first story for this year's Dueling Monsters Challenge--hosted by Heather at 30+...A Lifetime of Books (The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells) and Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts (Lovecraft). And the goal is to decide which is the biggest nightmare.

I'm sorry, Softdrink, but I just wasn't that scared of Cthulhu. I felt like Lovecraft was trying way too hard to give us the creeping heebie-jeebies. He spent a lot of time talking up the atmosphere. Telling us how horrible the dreams of Wilcox were; how horrified Legrasse and his policemen were when they went out into the swamp to find the cult of Cthulhu; describing the frenzied dance; and relating Johansen's awful experience on the island. Yes, Cthulhu did arise--slobbering in "gelatinous green immensity"--and attack six men. Ooooh. How horrible. Sounds like they were killed by a giant mound of jello.

He tried to make the deaths of Professor Angell and seaman Johansen sound all mysterious and maybe like Cthulhu had somehow taken revenge on them for knowing too much. But I wasn't convinced and I certainly didn't feel the dread I was supposed to about what Cthulhu might be up to. He's sleeping on his island waiting for the stars to be right again. Well, okay. Maybe he needs to find a creepier jello mold to pattern himself for next time.

I'm not a big fan of horror and suspense so I was a little leery of reading this "Weird Tale" before going to sleep...but I can tell you, after staying up late to finish the story last night, I didn't have any bad dreams. No slobbering masses of green gelatin came slithering out to eat me up. I didn't even dream that I was eating jello. I'm afraid that The Island of Dr. Moreau is going to have to be really tame for me to vote for Cthulhu for the win.

Dueling Monsters 2011: Wells vs. Lovecraft

Yes. I know. Another challenge. And I have about 15 days to complete it. What am I thinking?

That I'm a challenge addict. That's what I'm thinking. And I'd be right.

So....here's the deal. Last year I joined in with Heather at 30+...A Lifetime of Books and Fizzy Thoughts as we tried to decide who was the bigger baddie: Mr. Hyde or Dorian Gray. This year Dueling Monsters is putting The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells up against The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft. And may the worst nightmare win! (You could also say that this is the battle of "initials guys.")

It's a bit late to join in but...if you'd like you can go ahead and choose sides or you can try to read both and then give your verdict at the end. That's what I'm shooting for...'cause I'm a glutton for punishment. Or a bit crazy. Whatever. General info may be found by clicking "Dueling Monsters" above. To sign in for either (or both books) click on the respective titles.

Gotta go now. I have a couple of books to read.

Deuling Monsters: Hyde vs. Dorian Gray

I've been letting my recent readings of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray percolate for a couple of days while I consider the question of who is the bigger bad guy. Much as I hate to do this to Heather (whose post I found first and who brought me into this duel) and her man Hyde, I've decided that it's Dorian. Dr. Jekyll is an experimenter gone bad... He's got the qualities of the addictive personality. It takes more and more of the drug to turn him back into Jekyll and at the end he sends his man on an endless hunt to find the "pure stuff." And, yes, while he admits that he enjoyed letting Hyde loose and relished doing all the evil things (without remorse) while Hyde...in the end, he is still desperately trying to get back to the good side. And rather than let his friend/lawyer and servant be afflicted with Hyde on a permanent basis, rather than live the rest of his life as the evil Hyde--he commits suicide and destroys the monster that he has become. There would seem to be some good still left in him.

Dorian Gray, on the other hand, is given several chances to repent of his evil nature. He considers it seriously when Sibyl Vane commits suicide but is soon persuaded by Lord Henry that he need not repent...that Sibyl's death was of all things artistic. Once well set on the destructive path, Dorian does not look back. And when Basil Hallward tries to persuade him to call on God for forgiveness, he goes even further and murders his friend--because at all costs he must silence the voice of conscience. Dorian commits his murder and blackmail and all the other atrocities and ends the book without regretting them...when he destroys himself (through his attack on the painting), he is not trying to save himself or anyone else from his evil deeds. He believes destroying the painting will release him from the reminders of his sins. It seems to me that Dorian is far more committed to his path....

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (revisited)

This is my second re-read of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson this year. This time I'm reading it for the Dueling Monsters Read-a-Long. Heather at Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books is pitting her favorite Jekyll/Hyde up against Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's classic story. Just like Jill at Fizzy Thoughts (who champions Dorian), Heather has posted a list of questions for participants to think about during this read along. And, again, I'm not going to try to tackle them all. Here's a few thoughts.

Dr. Jekyll strikes me a sympathetic character. He has decided that man is truly made up of two natures: the good and the evil. And he is interested in discovering whether there is a way to separate the two natures so that the evil nature will not be hampered by the regrets and conscience of the good and the good will not have to endure the evil thoughts and actions that his other nature is tempted to engage in. While Jekyll does seem to embrace his "adventures" as Hyde rather too enthusiastically at first, he does have the redeeming quality of truly trying to put an end to Hyde on various occasions. It is hard to say whether the fact that he is not successful is due more to the weakened nature of the good/composite Jekyll or the hold that the drug now has over him. It is easy to see Jekyll as the scientist whose experiment has gotten the better of him.

The implication that Man Cannot Always Be Good has been posited. "No matter how hard Dr. Jekyll tries to live a good, upstanding, sober life, he cant' resist the temptation of transforming into Mr. Hyde. Is this true of mankind? Can we never build a good society?" Given the state of the world today...it would certainly seem so. Of course, given examples of such people as Mother Teresa and Gandhi and the many philanthropists that do so much good for so man, it is obvious that the triumph of the good nature over the evil inclinations is possible. I think more than anything, it comes down to pure selfishness--an addiction to self & self-pleasure, if you will. Whether it's on a personal (one-on-one) level...This person is bothering me/keeping me from what's due me/has more than me...therefore I need to eliminate him/make him look bad/take what he has. Or on a more wide-spread level...Sure my company does things that pollute the environment/cheats others/makes my employees work way too hard for way too little, but I've got to get ahead; I've got to make MY living. It's all about self and doing whatever it takes (no matter how bad) to please self. The temptation to become Hyde that Jekyll faces is presented as an addiction. First, it gives him a vicarious thrill to become his evil self. He tells Utterson, that "the moment [he chooses, he] can be rid of Mr. Hyde." This echoes the drunkard or drug addict who believe that they can give it up any time they want. Finally, it takes more and more of the drug to return Jekyll to himself...ending with the drug not working at all.

This story is, of course, the ultimate morality play. It tells us all too well that if we are not very careful, then evil can overtake us. Once started down the road, lesser sins soon lead to bigger until finally it becomes near impossible to turn back and become what we once were. It is particularly difficult for those with addictive personalities--one looks for bigger and better thrills and that is part of what leads one further down the road.

It is interesting to think about the fact that there are no major female characters in this story. Does the story suffer from this lack? I'm not sure that it does. Nearly every movie that has been based on this story HAS had a female character (sometimes two--one "good," proper lady interested in Dr. Jekyll and one fallen/loose woman for Hyde to torment). It seems that it is necessary to use Hyde's behavior towards women as a way to truly show his evil character to viewers. It has been suggested (in the annotated version of the novel which I have just completed) that the story is too cerebral and the only way viewers would truly "get" the difference between Jekyll and Hyde is in how they treat women and behave sexually towards them. Jekyll is good (which seems, in film, to mean repressed), while Hyde is evil (licentious). I see nothing wrong with the "cerebral" story. I think Stevenson perfectly presents his case for the good in man to curb his evil nature.

As far as Stevenson's other works go: I've never read Treasure Island, although I have seen filmed versions, and most of my experience with him beyond Jekyll/Hyde is with his short stories. He has written some marvelous ones including "Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts" and the "Adventure of the Hansom Cab." For more on these, please click here. Jekyll/Hyde is one of my favorite stories by Stevenson. I love the atmosphere and the time period. I love his powers of description, although I think he does better in some of his short stories. But the description of Jekyll's last few days and hours...how he tried very hard to get his old self back and vanquish the evil Mr. Hyde was quite effective. It showed exactly how difficult it is sometimes for our better nature to win out.

Coming soon: Jekyll/Hyde vs. Dorian Gray. Who do I think is the bigger baddie? (For that matter, who do you think is the bigger baddie?)

[FYI: The annotated version that I read for this is The Essential Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: The Definitive Annotated Edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Classic Novel.]

Stevenson's story earns four out of five stars.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Wow. It's been a long time since I read The Picture of Dorian Gray. There were so many nuances that I just didn't pick up on 25ish years ago. When I read it then, what struck me was the horror of what Dorian's sinful actions had done to his portrait. Not the morality of what he did; not how his actions affected others. Just the plain facts of the portrait taking on the terrible traits. This time around, there is the influence of Lord Henry to contemplate. The juxtaposition of Lord Henry's influence to the voice of Basil Hallward as Dorian's conscience. There are the homosexual overtones that totally went over my teenage head. This is a much deeper novel than I realized.

Taking part in the Dueling Monsters Read-a-Long, there are several questions that Jill at Fizzy Thoughts would like us to contemplate. I'm not going to try to tackle all of them. But here are a few of my thoughts. It seems to me that Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward represent the voices of temptation and conscience (the good angel and the bad angel which sit on our shoulders, if you will). Lord Henry is the one who opens Dorian's eyes to life and experience. He is the one who gives Dorian the novel whose main character spends his life trying to "realise in the nineteenth century all the passions and modes of thought that had belonged to every century except his own." He is the one whose epigrams and trite sayings Dorian takes to heart and makes rules to live by. It is said by several characters throughout the book that Lord Henry does not mean all that he says. Perhaps not...but Dorian takes his words as gospel. There are several moments in the novel where Basil serves as the voice of conscience...trying to get Dorian to realize the influence that he has allowed Lord Henry to have on him and to change his ways. The most emphatic, of course, is in their final meeting when Basil implores Dorian to repent of his ways and pray with him that he will be forgiven.

*****Spoiler

When Dorian kills Basil, he is not killing the man--a man that has been his friend for years. He is attempting to silence the "still small voice" that tells him that he has done wrong. Done wrong not only in allowing Lord Henry's epigrams and sayings to lead him into a life where it is possible to hurt those who love you, commit murder and blackmail, but a life where he has also led others into horrible situations and the doing of terrible deeds as well.

The sad thing about this novel is that at each point where it seems that Dorian may realize what he has done and what he has become and he might change his ways, he decides against it. At the end of the novel, he attempts to destroy the painting. Not in disgust at the terrible deeds reflected in the portrait of himself, not in an effort to somehow make amends and wipe out the sins of the past--but because he is sick of being reminded of his terrible crimes. He still feels no remorse for them.

I certainly think that this novel stands the test of time. It is very relevant to a culture that bases so much on appearance. And especially on the appearance of youth. Dorian Gray is willing to give anything to remain young, even his soul. As he says, "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that--for that--I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" And it would seem he has. If Dorian has not made a pact with the devil, then he has certainly called up some force, some power which grants his wish and allows him to appear as an unblemished youth until he attempts to destroy the picture. The story says much about those who are willing to risk all for appearance and the pleasures of this world that make much of appearance without taking account of substance. (Five stars out of five.)