Learning From Literature

The Sea-Wolf by Jack London

Cover of The Sea Wolf by Jack London

The Sea-Wolf by Jack London is a psychological adventure novel published in 1904.

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General Summary (No Spoilers!)

The narrator, Humphrey van Weyden, is a weak-willed, intellectual man that is easily pushed around. He has never done any manual labor and has no dreams of doing so in the future. One foggy day, he is on a ferry crossing the San Francisco Bay when another boat suddenly appears out of the mist and collides with them. Van Weyden escapes by jumping into the ocean as the ferry sinks. After floating in and out of consciousness while in the water, he is picked up by another ship.

He wakes to a rough-looking crew and figures out over time that he is headed towards Japan on a sealing schooner called the Ghost. The vessel is ruled by a menacing captain named Wolf Larsen, who terrorizes the crew with his physical power and lives by his internal view of the world – eat or be eaten. The rest of the novel tells of Humphrey van Weyden’s experiences after being picked up by the Ghost.

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Background

In literature, a foil is a character who is presented as a stark contrast to another character in order to highlight an advantage of one of them. The narrator / protagonist Humphrey van Weyden serves as the foil (contrast) to Wolf Larson.

Humphrey van Weyden has been a reclusive scholar all his life, communicating with other well-learned individuals and equally contemplates each side of a philosophical question.

Wolf Larsen grew up with no choice but to live a rough life sailing the sea. Larsen is self-educated by collecting books along his travels. However, since he is isolated physically and intellectually from the world, he is extremely biased and twists every experience in literature + real life to fit his own moral code – survival of the fittest.

Themes

The Purpose of Life + How to Treat Others + Religion

  • The characters each have different perspectives on many philosophical subjects — usually portrayed through dialogue and actions. These varying mental outlooks lead readers to compare and evaluate their own beliefs

Isolation from Civilization

  • The setting is at sea, and London repeatedly emphasizes how isolated the crew is from civilization. Therefore, another theme in the novel is the deterioration of humankind into brutality without society’s ability to maintain order (similar to the Lord of the Flies)

The Equal Potential for Spiritual Growth and Regression

  • Humphrey van Weyden and Wolf Larson are two sides of the same coin. The development of one character and regression of the other is a final theme present throughout the story
Review

The Sea-Wolf is a prime example of characterization (methods a writer uses to reveal a character’s values, feelings, goals, etc. to readers), much more so than other books in this genre.

The description of maritime life was realistic and engaging by itself but keep in mind that is not the primary purpose of The Sea-Wolf.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS and recommendations

I appreciated The Sea-Wolf and would rank it as my favorite Jack London book. My favorite elements of the novel are the characterization of Wolf Larsen and Humphrey van Weyden (the crown achievement) and the realistic maritime/sailor plot.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes exposure to many different personalities / outlooks on life. For example, if you like The Stranger by Albert Camus or The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, you should read The Sea-Wolf.

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