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The Law As Religion In

Brendan Mannion

Dr. Anna Lepine

Victorian Gothic

April 20, 2009

The Law as Religion in “Fight Club” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau”

In any organized and standard society, laws are an essential element for its proper

functioning and overall well-being. But what would happen when these laws inevitably turn into

a strictly-observed form of religion? In The Island of Dr. Moreau and Fight Club, author H.G.

Wells and director David Fincher comment on society and humanity’s tendency for mindless

obedience, mainly by directly mocking and attacking organized religion. The laws of Fight Club,

Project Mayhem, and the Beast Mans’ Law act as forms of religion in that their followers’

humanity relies entirely on faith, they seek to better themselves by following, and the laws are so

entrenched in their brains to the point that it takes over their lives and find difficulty believing

anything else.

The laws of Fight Club and the Beast Man’s Law can be seen as forms of religion

because the believers and their humanity, or the way they relate to being human, relies entirely

on faith in the law. The members of Fight Club renounce the comfort of their past lives in order

to attain a primitive lifestyle based on violence. According to the members of the club and Tyler

Durden this is the best way to live since it allows them to become more in touch with physical

pain which is viewed as good and is almost worshipped: “Without pain, without sacrifice, we

would have nothing”. By engaging in violence, the members feel more human in a world they

believe is dominated by superficiality and a lack of masculinity. Similarly, people find comfort

in the Church and organized religion and they believe that if they follow the rules or doctrine set

forth by the Church, then they will discover something about themselves and their humanity. In

stark contrast, in The Island of Dr. Moreau the Beast Men have no memories of their past...