The Island of Doctor Moreau

Content warning: This section of the guide mentions suicidal ideation.

Edward Prendick is the protagonist of the novel; he also narrates most of the story. Prendick is a wealthy and well-educated Englishman who has studied biology. Polite and gentlemanly, Prendick tends toward intellectual pursuits and lacks practical skills. This trait becomes quite problematic when he is desperate to escape the island: When Prendick is unsuccessful at building a raft, he laments that, “a certain lack of practical sense […] has always been my bane” (125). Prendick does not consume any alcohol and steadfastly refuses to do so even when Montgomery pressures him. Despite repeatedly surviving catastrophic events, Prendick is not particularly resilient and can be impulsive in a crisis. After Prendick realizes that Moreau has been conducting grotesque experiments, he wades into the ocean and explains that “I am going to drown myself” (66). He also contemplates suicide again later in the plot. However, Prendick is also motivated by a deep desire to survive and get off the island. Prendick is not a traditional hero in that his survival seems to be primarily a result of fate, rather than his own efforts, but he does repeatedly manage to survive events that wipe out everyone around him.