Hierarchies in H. G. Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau"

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, language: English, abstract: In this work the author discusses the question in how far H. G. Wells¿ critique on authorities and hierarchical structures can be detected in his book "The Island of Doctor Moreau." The author argues that Wells creates microcosms of society which represent certain forms of hierarchies. By illustrating their malfunctions, Wells shows that such hierarchical forms fail to persist and he thereby implicitly criticises the social hierarchy system.

The society on the ship Ipecacuanha starts the analysis of the work, followed by the examination of the overall hierarchy on the island. Afterwards hierarchies within the Beast Folk are illustrated. Raewyn Connell¿s definition of hegemonic systems provides a framework, which serves to identify primarily striking characters matching Connell¿s systems and their relations within these social microcosms. Thereby, performative aspects of these characters are taken into account.

H. G. Wells is predominantly known for his revolutionary science fiction novels. Though, in many of his works his political view as a socialist also seems to play an important role. In "The Island of Doctor Moreau" society appears to be more complex due to the greater network of character constellations. However, there also seem to be topics of subjection and hierarchy within the story.