Previous
Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Key Examples in The Island of Dr. Moreau
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The majority of the novel is set on a fictional island in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of South America. Doctor Moreau moves to the island after being forced to discontinue his vivisection practices in England. The lush island is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden: it is a place where Doctor Moreau goes to start over and create a new world, with a new kind of people and a new set of rules. Here, he is allowed to practice vivisection without interference from people who believe it is unethical. The way he makes himself king or even god of his own island is also reminiscent of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe, in which a younger son of a middle-class Englishman is shipwrecked on an island and lives out his fantasy of ruling over his own property.
Related Themes:
