Moreau’s vivisections cause physical torment, and his Law compels them to defy their beastly natures and fear human beings, which causes them much mental suffering. Prendick is also sickened by both the physical and mental anguish that Moreau inflicts on the Beast Folk. Although the captain is raging drunk and Prendick is weakened from his time lost as sea, he stands up to the man, indicating that he is courageous in the face of wrongdoing. In the first chapters of the story, having been shipwrecked and then rescued by the Ipecacuanha, Prendick intervenes to prevent a brawl between the captain of the ship, Davis, and Montgomery, even though it brings the ire of both men down on him. Initially, Prendick is presented as a man with a firm moral conscience. This suggests that, especially in survival situations, morality is relative to one’s circumstances, rather than a rigid set of universal dictates. Although Prendick is initially horrified by Moreau’s actions and the cruelty with which he treats the Beast Folk, when it becomes a matter of survival, Prendick commits many of the same acts.
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