Humphrey Van Weyden Character Analysis

In Jack London’s philosophical adventure novel , SeaWolf, portrays a protagonist known as Humphrey Van Weyden.This philosophical adventure expresses the emotions of ambition, survival , and dominance. Humphrey Van Weyden is a survivor of an ocean collision who involuntarily ended up on a new ship known as, The Ghost , under the dominance of Capitan Wolf Larsen. Eventually Van Weyden and Wolf Larsen along with the only female Maud Brewster wash up on an island due to the fact that the Ghost had suffered some damages. Therefore, these 3 were isolated from the outside world , but then came to the solution of fixing the Ghost. This led to these 3 suffering from a devastating storm and the death of the great Wolf Larsen. However, while Van Weyden …show more content…
Wolf Larsen had distanced himself from the real world therefore he lacked what good intentions are. As he did with Johnson he decided to let him live , for the time being , even though Larsen had the intention to kill him , “He has what they have not, purpose, something to do, an all absorbing end to strive to attain, the desire to kill me, and the hope that he may kill me… and I honestly envy him” (London 114). The only reason behind the fact why Johnson lived for awhile longer was due to the fact that it benefited Wolf Larsen. He was playing games with a poor man's life for his own benefit. His understanding of morality and ethic was gone as soon as he lost hope in all and only sought dominance. Furthermore, Wolf Larsen was a man with one opinion and rule on the Ghost. He was a believer of Darwinism , “A living dog is better than a dead lion” (London 86). He believed it was the matter of survival of the fittest and you must do what is necessary to survive. That is how he lived and how made others live. He would go to deep measures and do what is necessary to make his life easier. Wolf Larsen was a man with no morality as he let others suffer and struggle to