Technical/Academic Writing

Animal Theory: The Illusory Divide Between Man and Nature

The concept behind Animal Theory is that there are hierarchical divides between humans and animals that are based on undervaluing animal life and inflating human importance. This theory relies heavily on the Christian belief that God granted man dominion over the land and animals, and it is something Sigmund Freud described as a challenge to the general narcissism of mankind. The ideas of Animal Theory are littered throughout literature and film. For example, H.G. Wells’ novel entitled The Island of Dr. Moreau highlights the illusory divide between humans and animals while also attempting to break it down. Looking into the 1993 version of Jurassic Park, viewers can assert that humans have obtained a false sense of control over animals and nature. Finally, the feature documentary entitled Blackfish illustrates how mankind attempts to force animals to suppress their natural instincts.

In his novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, H. G. Wells worked to break down the illusory divide humans have spent years constructing between man and nature. He did this by demonstrating the interconnectedness between humans and animals. The beast folk’s demeanor, as well as the law and the remoteness of the island, served as a sort of link between humans and animals in Wells’ fictional world.

The beast folk, much like humans, portrayed tension between their primal urges and their desire to be civilized. To illustrate this, Wells included The Sayer of the Law. The law goes as follows, “not to go on all fours; that is the law. Are we not men? Not to suck up drink… Not to eat flesh or fish… Not to claw bark of trees… Not to chase other men” (Wells, 1996, pg. 43). While the law serves as a boundary between animalistic urges and the desire to be civilized, it could also be related to religious authority in human society. The beast folk looked to Dr. Moreau as a god whom they sometimes referred to as “the hand that makes” (Wells, 1996, pg. 43), and they did not wish to disappoint him by returning to their animalistic nature.

The setting of the novel also came into play. Wells’ choice to focus the novel on such a remote island worked to demonstrate how the beast folk could create their own diverse society that strongly resembled that of humans. While there were very few, if any, of the same species of animals-turned-man on the island, they did not mind it at all. The beast folk formed a society in which they adhered to laws and served their creator, and they even had a few outcasts or criminals. A sort of caste system could be observed within the beast folk’s society; there was Dr. Moreau, The Sayer of the Law, the everyday people, and those who did not fit in. Once Dr. Moreau and The Sayer of the Law died, the beast folk lost the structure of their society as well as the desire to fight against their primal urges (Wells, 1996, pg. 88). It was only after their society fell apart that they were no longer considering themselves men, and this serves to further the connection between man and nature since there typically is no civilization without rules. Despite Wells’ attempts to break down the illusory divide, there is still evidence of the belief that man is in control. Symbols such as the whips used to keep the Beast Folk from attacking ‘their maker’ portray that Dr. Moreau still held authority over them. If the divide had truly been deconstructed, this authority would not have existed. Examples of mankind believing they have authority over nature appear yet again in the 1993 film Jurassic Park.

While watching Jurassic Park, it becomes clear again that there is an illusory divide between humans and animals/nature. This film is filled with instances in which humans believe they are superior to animals, to the point where they think they can control nature. The plot of the film demonstrates that no being — human or animal — is superior to another. Within the first thirty minutes of the movie, viewers are made aware that John Hammond has found a way to clone dinosaurs using the DNA from their blood. The mere fact that Hammond believed he should recreate such a powerful creature shows that humans hold within them a god-like ego. A particular quote from Ian Malcolm comes to mind: “God creates dinosaurs, God kills dinosaurs, God creates man, man kills God, man brings back dinosaurs.” It’s this sense of superiority that man possesses that leads to all things bad, both in the movie and in real life.

Hammond truly believed he had enough power, technology, and the like to control these creatures despite their inability to understand the species. Throughout the first half of the film, the audience is made aware of these practices. He, with the help of Dr. Wu, created only female dinosaurs in an attempt at population control. More extremely, he was placing goats and cows chained up in the pens for the dinosaurs to eat. Both Alan and Robert agreed that this would not satiate the creatures for long since “they don’t want to be served food; they want to hunt.” These scenes demonstrate that Hammond, much like Dr. Moreau, was under the impression that he could suppress the animals’ natural instincts. Finally, once the humans are turned from observers to prey, Robert believed he could kill them. Once more, the audience sees one of the biggest downfalls of mankind: the belief that they are in control despite all evidence to the contrary. Hammond attempted to create something he felt was wonderful, but it did not go as planned.

Jurassic Park does well to prove the point that Animal Theory is trying to get across: superiority among species does not exist. Humans may walk on two legs and have disposable thumbs, but that does not make them more intelligent or socially inept than, say, monkeys. Each species of animal, humans included, has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Simply because we do not speak the language of cats does not mean they do not have a language. Each species creates its own way of living, and just because it does not make sense to humans does not mean it does not make sense.

Taking another look at the work of Sigmund Freud, there is evidence that humans and animals are more alike than mankind would like to admit. For example, Freud’s psychoanalytic theory explains that human personality is comprised of three structures: the id, the ego, and the superego. “The id is the most basic part of the personality; it represents our most animalistic urges, like the desire for food and sex” (Love, 2022). While comparing humans and animals, both The Island of Dr. Moreau and Jurassic Park support Freud’s findings. Blackfish also illustrates the chaos that ensues when animals are denied their primal instincts.

A feature documentary describing the life of a captive killer whale named Tilikum, Blackfish is filled to the brim with ecocritical insights and analyses. While revealing the truth behind the 2010 attack at SeaLand of the Pacific, the film also goes into detail about how the orcas came to be in captivity, how they were treated, and the events leading up to and following the attack. There are several recurring themes in this documentary that are so obviously connected to ecocriticism and Animal Theory, such as tragedy, animal cruelty, and control.

After a successful show on February 24, 2010, Dawn Brancheau, an animal trainer employed for SeaLand of the Pacific, congratulated Tilikum with a pat on the head. Tilikum, who had allegedly shown no previous signs of aggression, pulled Dawn into the water and drowned her. It took thirty minutes for rescuers to pull her body from Tilikum’s grasp. This occurrence was caught on film and sparked a controversial debate about captive orcas that eventually led to SeaLand of the Pacific closing its doors. Although Tilikum was later involved in several other “accidental” injuries and deaths, this was the one that started the domino effect of violent outbursts.

This, of course, plays on and adds to the key themes of tragedy, animal cruelty, and control. Dawn lost her life, not due to her own folly or irresponsibility, but because Tilikum was denied his primal instincts for so long. Not only that, but the documentary explained how these orcas came to be in captivity, and it was not a gentle process. As seen in previous readings, mankind thought they could control animals by denying them their natural instincts and environments and replacing them with artificial ones.

Much like in Jurassic Park and The Island of Dr. Moreau, man attempted to hold animals in captivity and deny them of their primal instincts. Orcas are natural predators, and they are not meant to be deprived of their most primal urges. Even zoos and circuses have instances in which staff members are injured or killed by big cats and other predatory species. This is not to say that animals must be predatory to be violent; “It is natural for both humans and animals alike to get agitated or aggressive due to the lack of their natural environments and urges” (Love, 2022). Dawn’s death was a preventable tragedy that stemmed from man’s incessant need to obtain a false sense of control.

One thing that Blackfish described in detail was how Tilikum and the other orcas came to be in captivity. A group of workers would hunt down the orcas and rip them away from their families while they were still young. The video footage of the mother orca sitting in the same spot for hours trying to call her child just goes to show that what humans call “humanity” is present in other species as well. These scenes, like several in The Island of Dr. Moreau and Jurassic Park, work to break down that illusory divide between humans and nature and make viewers wonder what it really means to be human.

Yet another ecocritical standpoint that can be taken from this film is the fact that mankind has an undeniably God-like attitude. Looking back at Freud’s definition of Animal Theory, humans mistakenly believe they can control animals and nature. SeaLand of the Pacific provided examples of this by thinking they could train killer whales to deny their primal instincts, control their breeding habits, and live in artificial habitats. As seen in this documentary, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and again in Jurassic Park, mankind’s narcissism never ends well.

All three of these works emphasized the message of Animal Theory in some way. The Island of Dr. Moreau identified and attempted to break down the illusory divide that is present between humans and animals by comparing the species, while Jurassic Park and Blackfish demonstrated why and how mankind’s narcissism can become dangerous. Besides the obvious theme of control that is present in each of these pieces of literature, there seems to be another key factor: human interference with nature. Again, this goes back to Freud’s view of the narcissism of mankind by showing that, just maybe, there would be fewer occurrences of preventable tragedies if man would get off his high horse and realize that he would not have been able to get there if there was not a horse in the first place.

Works Cited

Love, Howard. “Examples of Id, Ego, and Superego.” YourDictionary, 2022.

Spielberg, Steven. “Jurassic Park.” YouTube, 26 Nov. 2022.

Wells, Herbert George. The Island of Dr. Moreau. Dover Thrift Edition ed., Dover Publications, 1996.

*Essay originally written for and submitted to Arkansas Tech University in 2022. Also published on Medium in 2023.

A Mirror of Society: Power Dynamics in British Literature

After studying the history of British literature, I’ve noticed several recurring themes across different time periods. These themes ultimately seem to mirror society’s treatment of certain issues; subsequently, some of them do not change much from one era to the next. An example of this is the portrayal of the power dynamics between men and women in literature since the Romantic Period. With Sally Rooney’s Normal People as the primary text of consideration, I look at this portrayal of power dynamics in Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “Jenny,” and Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. In doing this, it will become clear that the portrayal of the power dynamics between men and women in Normal People represents a continuation of beliefs since the Romantic Period.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was first published in 1792 as one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In it, she criticizes the sexist expectations society places on women, saying society’s only reason to keep women uneducated is to allow men to keep power over them, hinting at the idea that women need men to take care of them. For example, she says “Women are told from their infancy […] that a little knowledge of […] cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience, and […] propriety will obtain for them the protection of man” (Wollstonecraft, Ch. 2) before going on to criticize past literature’s implication that women “were beings only designed by sweet attractive grace, and docile blind obedience, to gratify the senses of man” (Wollstonecraft, Ch. 2). The ideas of women being created solely for men, their supposed need to be protected and taken care of, and their so-called innate desire to be obedient and submissive translates over to Rooney’s Normal People. Although there are obvious differences in the availability of education for women, Normal People maintains Wollstonecraft’s idea that society places in women an overwhelming desire to please men. Marianne has goals and aspirations, as fluid as they may have been at first, but her main focus is getting and keeping Connell’s love and respect. For example, after the first time Connell tells her he loves her in the chapter titled “April 2011,” it is said “she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life” (Rooney, p. 46).  Because Marianne “never believed herself fit to be loved by any person” (Rooney, p. 46), Connell’s arguably false pronouncement of love gave him power over her to the point that she spends the entirety of the novel, and her “new life,” fighting to keep that love no matter the consequences. This is again highlighted when the two reconnect in the “July 2014” chapter, when it is said “[Marianne] feels pleasurably crushed under the weight of his power over her, the vast ecstatic depth of her will to please him” (Rooney, p. 241). 

Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” continues Wollstonecraft’s ideas of men’s power over women through the Goblin characters in her poem. Like Wollstonecraft, Christina Rossetti argues, however subtly, that society has given men too much power over women, though her reasoning relates more to the Victorian ideas of women’s purity. The Goblins in “Goblin Market” hold power over women’s happiness and even their lives. For example, after Laura realizes she can no longer hear the Goblin’s song since she corrupted herself by tasting their forbidden fruit, she becomes depressed, “[dwindling], as the fair moon doth turn[ed] / To swift decay and burn[ed] / her fire away” (Rossetti, stanza 12). It is then revealed that, because of her depressed state and so-called fall from grace and virtue, she is “knocking at Death’s door” (Rossetti, stanza 16). The goblins’ power over Laura’s life mingles with their power over women’s virtue and reputation. For example, when Lizzie attempts to collect fruit to save her sister’s life without eating any, the goblins “Held her hands and squeez’d their fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat” (Rossetti, stanza 18). By assaulting Lizzie and forcing her to eat, the goblins are showing that they have the ability to hurt her physically as well as emotionally, alluding to men’s ability to rape women with little to no consequences and effectively harm their reputations. We see a muted version of these power dynamics in Normal People in the chapter titled “August 2011” when Alan gets physical with Marianne. It is explained that “[Their mother] decided a long time ago that it is acceptable for men to use aggression towards Marianne as a way of expressing themselves” (Rooney, p. 68). This treatment of Marianne by her brother and, as we learn, her father, teaches her that men’s violence toward women is acceptable. Later, Connell himself acknowledges the power he holds over her and his unwillingness to give it up when he expresses “he has never been able to reconcile himself to the idea of losing his hold over her, like a key to an empty property, left available for future use. In fact, he has cultivated it” (Rooney, “July 2014” chapter, p. 255). The use of the phrases “empty property” and “available for future use” further demonstrates Wollstonecraft’s and Rossetti’s ideas that men see women as created solely for their use, enjoyment, and entertainment.

Following, and perhaps in response to, his sister’s poem, Dante Gabriel Rossetti composed and published “Jenny,” a poem which re-emphasizes Christina’s ideas of the unvirtuous woman and man’s power over her. Throughout the piece, the speaker is figuratively and literally looking down on Jenny, a prostitute he has presumably been sleeping with. After pondering Jenny’s sad life, the speaker says “[…] handsome Jenny mine, sit up / […] so you do not sleep” (Rossetti, stanza 7). This control over when and if Jenny can sleep, coupled with the underlying economic differences, demonstrates a more direct form of power over women held by the speaker. This directness is also present in Normal People. When Connell and Marianne are catching up in September of 2012, she explains that she proposed the idea of a dominant-submissive sexual relationship with her current boyfriend, saying, “I wanted to submit to him […] and it turns out he likes to beat me up” (Rooney, p. 137). Later, Marianne’s sex life takes an even more drastic turn when the narrator explains her and Lukas’s so-called game, “Like any game, there are some rules. Marianne is not allowed to talk or make eye contact […] If she breaks the rules, she gets punished later, [and] the game doesn’t end when the sex is finished” (Rooney, “December 2013” chapter, p. 196). While Marianne’s seeking both degradation and gratification/praise through submission during sex is trauma-based, it is also closely tied to the Romantic idea of women’s sole purpose being to please men, even if they don’t enjoy what they have to do, as well as the Victorian ideas surrounding sex and women’s virtue.  

Ian Fleming’s Modernist novel, Casino Royale, also shows the differences in power between men and women. [EH8] After Vesper is kidnapped by Le Chiffre and his men, Bond notes how she is “trussed up like a chicken, [with] her skirt pulled over her head [and tied]” (Fleming, ch. 16, p. 123). Here, Fleming is playing on Victorian ideas of women’s purity and virtuousness by giving these men the power to humiliate Vesper in a way that makes her seem “childlike and defenceless” (Fleming, ch. 16, p. 123), adding on to the blatant sexual dominance Bond expresses throughout the rest of the novel. Normal People continues these ideas when the narrator explains that “some drunk guy at a party told [Connell] […] that there were [naked] pictures of [Marianne] on the internet” (Rooney, “March 2014” chapter, p. 222), which connects back to the time in November of 2011 when Rob showed Connell and Eric naked photos of his date. The use of nude photos and nudity in general to blackmail and/or humiliate women demonstrates men’s power and control, since society still treats women’s sexuality as taboo and shameful.

It is clear, then, that the power dynamics between men and women have not changed much in British literature or society since the Romantic Period. Because of this, I believe Rooney’s Normal People is a necessary piece of literature in survey courses such as this one. The novel relates in many ways, not just the one I’ve focused on here, to both my chosen texts from each literary era and other texts from these eras. The style and merit of Normal People, as well as its ability to capture what life is like in the twenty-first century, make the novel worthy of study. 

Works Cited

Fleming, Ian. Casino Royale. Willian Morrow, 2023. 

Rooney, Sally. Normal People. Hogarth, 2020.

Rossetti, Christina. “Goblin Market.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-market. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025. 

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52332/jenny. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025. 

Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Feminist Papers: A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Gibbs Smith, 2019. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=187738f0-0743-3188-bd5f-3a266301b79d.

*Originally produced for and submitted to Arkansas Tech University in 2025. Please note that the professor specifically requested the use of first-person pronouns and opinions.