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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
The Sea-Wolf introduces us to Humphrey van Weyden, a well-bred (and well-read) literary critic and gentleman who, through a stroke of bad luck, ends up as a cabin-boy aboard The Ghost, a sealing schooner headed for Japan and headed by Wolf Larsen, a real piece of work. Wolf, though often explosive and violent toward any and all aboard the ship, takes a bit of a shine to our man because the latter's ability to discuss literature, philosophy, and the like is a nice diversion. Among the fights, grudges, and deaths, Hump gets his sea legs and earns some respect from the crew and even the captain. Eventually the novel needs a third party that can highlight Hump's changes in temperament and character; enter Maud Brewster, at which point the novel takes a bit of a dive as far as I'm concerned. But I appreciate The Sea-Wolf as an adventure novel and piece of nautical literature. You might, too, if you can handle the frilly and heavy-handed language.
The Sea Wolf is a surprisingly philosophical adventure story. The eponymous Sea Wolf is Wolf Larsen, a sea captain who shanghais passengers and forces them to work for him. His alternate, the protagonist Humphrey van Weyden, is a bookish intellectual who has to learn to survive the pelagic life. Wolf Larsen is a lower-class, self-educated and self-made man who has the moral philosophy of an uber-rationalist, or perhaps a bit of a parody of a Darwinian, selfish, Ubermensch individual. Van Weyden, on the other hand, is empathetic and caring. Back and forth the two go, battling the sea and each other's ideas. Whichever moral system Jack London preferred, both come off as both thoughtful and naive.
Another great one by Jack London! I'm so happy I decided to buy his works. The dialogues between Hump and Wolf Larsen are so interesting and well developed, you can tell the author himself was a great man with many philosophic queries straight and a literary background and life experience to amaze anyone today!
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked the reflective and philosophical aspects of White Fang. In this, listening to the sea Wolf pontificate gets a little old, but it's equally interesting. I've come to appreciate how lucky i am to live in an age and society and class that is less physically base. The rich protagonist is Shanghaied and survives a dysfunctional crew and devil captain. The voyage ends much like it begins (definitely a high school talking point). You question your humanity and wonder if you could have made it through.
slow-paced
this book is primitively cute, sarcastically funny, and philosophically interesting.
the book became a thousand times more interesting for me once humphrey fell in love. so sweet, so very sweet. i would never think that "my woman, my mate" would be charming to me, but it had been! i guess i'll confess that masculinity (protector of the weak lol!) sounds pretty good when you're stranded on an island. oh, i loved it. my favourite part of the book! would have been awkward though if we read Maud's perspective and she wasn't into him... that'd have been creepy. i love love!
the seal part was funny, the knife sharpening part was funny, the shark revenge part, what else, i forget... lots more too...
obviously the enigmatic character of Wolf Larsen and his intriguing philosophies
fun and interesting to read
oh my god, and wolf larsen's devastation at the end...
could not care for the detailed descriptions of the boats
Basically Maud saved this book and bumped it to a 3 star rating instead of a 2 star rating
edit: i was so distracted and charmed by the maud hump love storyline that i completely forgot about the homo-erotic tension between hump and wolf in the beginning.
COME ON JACK LONDON, you can't just throw around words like "fervent ejaculation" and expect me to bat a blind eye
COME ON...
the first half of this book was a pulpy delight
the latter half however felt like being assaulted with wet socks whilst bathing in limp tuna
the latter half however felt like being assaulted with wet socks whilst bathing in limp tuna
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced