Jack London

Forgotten

The Sea Wolf is a novel written by Jack London. It is a story of how man has to overcome man, and in the face of brutality one must stand strong and not be afraid of the outcome. The Sea Wolf shows us how it is possible to overcome adversity even when it seems impossible. Jack London shows us how not even man can control a free will. For every man has a purpose on this earth, God put us all in the world to make a difference and not be afraid to stand up for beliefs.

Jack London’s belief in God is not entirely evident in the novel, The Sea Wolf as London seems to have ideas but no exact truth. Hump, the main character seems to have been a Christian, but this self taught captain has one theory that he believes throughout the course of the novel. Several long philosophical conversations between Hump and Captain Larsen lead only to more questions that seem to go un-answered. Darwinism is brought up but pushed aside and the Bible is the one book Larsen cannot get his fingers around, "Do you know, I am filled with a strange uplift; I feel as if all time were echoing through me, as though all powers were mine. Know truth, divine good from evil, and right from wrong. My vision is clear and far. I could almost believe in God.” London expresses the idea of believing in God but does not seem like he wants to. Captain Larsen however, shows stubborness in not changing his ways of un-Godliness.

London looks at man with the superman type of way, only the strongest, fittest, and toughest should have the right to survive. Captain Larsen talks of how a man will do anything to sustain his own life, and often will betray even his own beliefs to survive. Larsen does not hesitate in taking someone else’s life, for it is their fault for putting their life in jeopardy. “The continual brutality around me was degenerative in its effect. It bid fair to destroy for me all that was best and brightest in life” Humpfrey stated, after a long day of beatings and seeing men in their most savage moments. London displays a caring for only the life of his own, willing to allow any act just to survive.

Barbarianism and savagery are repeated acts of the morality held on the vessel Ghost. Instead of having fisherman, it is almost as if Larsen recruited murders and fighters. Living a life of peace on the Ghost almost seems that it might be an impossible task that no one wants to try. “The day had been like a horrible dream. Brutality had followed brutality, and flaming passions and cold-blooded cruelty had driven men to seek one another’s life, and to strive to hurt, and maim, and destroy.” Hump said. Another area where London shows how being a superior being enables you to make it father and reach greater