The Sea Wolf

By Lucy Sky  |   Submitted On February 18, 2021

Book Review: The Sea Wolf by Jack London

The Sea wolf is a novel written by Jack London. It is an intriguing tale about the adventures of a protagonist, Humphrey Van Weyden aboard the ship called the Ghost. The novel is about Humphrey who is a cultured young gent that finds himself in tough terrain and difficult situations. He is put in conditions where he is tempted to compromise his moral beliefs and honour but he refuses to do so even when the men around him disregard such values as signs of weakness. It is a difficult situation, but Humphrey is forced to face it with every ounce of moral fibre in his body.

At the beginning of the novel, Jack introduces us to this character who is travelling on a boat in the Frisco bay area. Dense fog appears which the steamer fails to notice, another boat in the fog appears and they crash into it.

He then finds himself lost and stranded in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay. Not being a very capable swimmer and also lacking the resources to save himself, he is completely unprepared for the disaster that he now faces. Finally he accepts that he is going to lose this battle against the waters for his life, then luck shines down upon him as the Ghost picks him up from the waters.

At this point of the story, the author introduces the captain of the Ghost and his name is Wolf Larsen. He is described as a rugged, handsome fellow which masks his actual terrifying nature. Humphrey on his first few meetings with the captain is not able to figure him out completely but senses that this man is not exactly what you would call honourable. The captain starts to concoct his plans which are totally different to what he tells Humphrey. What follows next is a tale of deception and adventure which I leave to the readers to find out.

The Sea Wolf is a literary classic, a tale of good over evil entwined in a good old fashioned perilous adventure story.

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