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| Edition: | EDCON Publishing Group (Paperback) |
| Author: | Jack London |
| Published: | January 2008 |
| Pages: | 72 |
| ISBN 10: | 1555761801 |
| New: | $3.49 (24) |
| Used: | $2.78 (16) |
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The Sea-Wolf is a novel written in 1904 by American author Jack London. An immediate bestseller, the first printing of forty thousand copies was sold out before publication. Of it, Ambrose Bierce wrote "The great thing—and it is among the greatest of things—is that tremendous creation, Wolf Larsen... the hewing out and setting up of such a figure is enough for a man to do in one lifetime."
Plot
Like The Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf tells the story of a soft, domesticated protagonist, in this novel's case an intellectual man named Humphrey van Weyden, forced to become tough and self-reliant by exposure to cruelty and brutality. The story starts with him onboard a San Francisco ferry, which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks. He is set adrift in the sea, eventually being picked up ("rescued" is not the right word) by Wolf Larsen. Larsen is the captain of the seal-hunting schooner Ghost. Brutal and cynical, yet also highly intelligent and intellectual (though highly biased in his opinions as he was self-taught), he rules over his ship and terrorizes the crew with the aid of his exceptionally great physical strength. Van Weyden adequately describes him as an individualist, a hedonist, and a materialist. As Larsen does not believe in the immortality of the soul, he finds no meaning in his life save survival and pleasure and has come to despise all human life and deny its value. Being interested in someone capable of intellectual disputes, he somewhat takes care of "Hump" while forcing him to become a cabin boy, do menial work, and learn to fight to protect himself from a brutal crew.
A vast majority of the story concerns itself with Humphrey's growth as a character, from self-described wimp to self-sufficient individual. Such episodes include his learning of the ship's workings, his rivalry with Thomas Mudgridge (the ship's cook, which climaxes with a standoff that Humphrey wins), and his tense relationship with Wolf Larsen. He is promoted throughout the story, from cabin boy to mate.
A key event in the story is an attempted mutiny against Wolf Larsen by several members of the crew. The organizers of the mutiny are Leach and Johnson. Johnson had previously been beaten severely by Larsen, and Leach was a close friend of Johnson, motivating the two. The first attempt is by sending Larsen overboard, however he manages to climb back onto the ship. Searching for his assailant, he ventures into the sleeping quarters, located beneath the main deck, the only exit being a ladder. Several, at least seven men, take part in the mutiny and attack Larsen. Larsen however, demonstrating his inhuman endurance, strength, and conviction, manages to fight his way through the mob, climb the ladder with several men hanging off him, and escape relatively unharmed. He later gets his vengeance by torturing his crew, and constantly claiming that he was going to murder Leach and Thompson at his earliest convenience, being after the hunting season is done, as he can't afford to lose any crew. He later allows them to be lost to the sea when they attempt to flee on a hunting boat.
Following this, the Ghost picks up another set of castaways, including a woman poet named Maud Brewster. Both Wolf Larsen and Humphrey immediately feel attraction to her, due to her intelligence and "female delicacy". Humphrey sees her as his first true love. He strives to protect her from the crew, the horrors of the sea, and Wolf Larsen. As this happens, tension begins to rise between Wolf Larsen and his brother, Death Larsen, with the two aggressively competing for seals. Wolf goes as far as kidnapping several of Death's crew and forcing them into servitude to fill his own ranks. During one of Larsen's intense headaches, which render him near immobile, Humphrey steals a boat and flees with Maud.
The two eventually land on an uninhabited island, heavily populated with seals. They hunt, build shelter and a fire, and survive for several days, utilizing the strength they gained while on the Ghost. The Ghost eventually crashes on the island, with Wolf Larsen the only crew member. In vengeance, Death Larsen had tracked his brother, bought his crew, destroyed his sails, and set Wolf adrift at sea. It is purely by chance that Humphrey and Maud meet Wolf again.
Wolf's headaches only grow worse, and they are revealed to be strokes. The three coexist to some extent. Humphrey obtains all of the firearms left on the ship, but cannot bring himself to murder Larsen, who does not threaten him. After one stroke, Larsen is rendered blind. Humphrey and Maud decide they can repair the ship, but Larsen, who is intent to die on the island and take them with him, sabotages any repairs they make. He feigns paralysis, and attempts to murder Humphrey when he foolishly draws within arm's reach, but just then is hit with another stroke that leaves him blind and the left side of his body paralyzed. His condition only worsens, he loses usage of his remaining arm, leg and voice. Maud and Humphrey, unable to bring themselves to leave him to rot, care for him. Despite this kindness, he continues his resistance, setting fire to his mattress. Finally, during a violent storm, Wolf Larsen passes away.
Humphrey finishes repairing the Ghost, and he and Maud set sail. They give Larsen a burial at sea, an act mirroring an incident Humphrey witnessed when he was first rescued. The story ends with them being rescued by an American revenue cutter.
