Who Is Prendick's Language In The Island Of The Beast-Folk

If we consider the islanders as community, there is a clear hierarchy. Moreau and Montgomery are at the top, a category known as those with the whip, while the Beast-Folk are beneath them. Prendick has a very fluid position which varies throughout the text. Bonnie Cross argues in her essay But They Talk: Historical and Modern Mechanisms Behind the Beast Folk’s Language in The Island of Dr. Moreau that “Prendick’s choice to say the Law with the Beast Folk complicates his identity as a man or a member of the Beast Folk, suggesting that language is more important than physical appearance” (42). First this indicates that Prendick’s position varies from being a part of the Beast-Folk community although he is human and being in charge as one with a

These two characters are also probably the most docile characters in the novel, leading to the possibility that the Beast-Folk’s behaviour and docility is connected to their ability to communicate and understand complex ideas. In the novel, the Beast-Folk that resemble humans the most due to their behaviour and most importantly their language skills are M’Ling and the Dog-Man. These two characters were also the most subservient people of the entire novel. Most of the Beast-Folk live together and separately from Moreau and Montgomery, with minimal interactions between them. M’Ling on the other hand, lived on the compound and is treated as though he is Montgomery’s servant. His language skills did not result in him having a higher position within the community, instead he serves and obeys Montgomery, without protest, even though sometimes he is mistreated by Montgomery. When he was hit and insulted at the beginning of the novel by the other sailors of the Ipecahuanha he did not attempt to fight back or hurt them in any