Author(s): Jack London; Gary Kinder (Introduction by); James Dickey (Commentaries by); Carl Sandburg (Commentaries by)

Classics

A maritime classic acclaimed for its exciting adventure, The Sea Wolf offers a thrilling tale of life at sea, while exploring the many difficulties that may erupt on board a ship captained by a brutally hedonistic and controlling individual. Additionally, the psychological adventure novel covers several themes including mutiny, existentialism, individualism, brutality, and the intrinsic will to survive.

The novel sets into motion when its protagonist, the soft and cultivated scholar Humphrey van Weyden, is witness to a precarious collision between his ferry and another ship. Consequently, the accident causes the ferry to sink and sets Weyden adrift in the San Francisco Bay, but before long, he is picked up by a seal-hunting vessel headed for Japan. As Weyden finds himself aboard the Ghost, he is promptly greeted by its vile captain, Wolf Larson. An autodidact sailor, Larson is presented as a pitiless and single-minded individual, who rules over his crew with the help of his extraordinary physical strength and the pure terror he emits. Accordingly, he brushes aside Weyden's request to be taken ashore, and instead forces him into the position of cabin boy, which is accompanied by menial work and contact with the similarly brutal crew. As Weyden spends time on board the vessel, he comes to learn some of the captain's enigmatic philosophies, which include survival of the fittest, a disregard for the human soul, an individualistic stance, and a life guided by the acquisition of pleasure alone. Left with the choice to either work or die, Weyden must endure terrifying ordeals aboard the ship, which incidentally never seem to diminish. Furthermore, he must grow from his cowardly idealistic ways if he is to even stand a chance at life among the crew, let alone escape from the grasps of the despotic Larson.

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