The Sea Wolf Sparknotes

In writing the Sea Wolf, Jack London attempted to display the shortcomings of postmodernism and postmodernism's eventual societal dominance by pitting it against a form of humanism. The two worldviews, represented in the characters of Wolf Larsen and Humphrey van Weyden, were in a constant battle throughout the book starting from the time that Van Weyden, a cosmic humanist, was captured by Wolf Larsen, a postmodern materialist, after Van Weyden's ship was sunk in the San Francisco Bay. During the course of the book, London perceptively predicted the triumph of postmodernism over traditional philosophies by having Wolf Larsen's worldview remain constant, while having Van Weyden symbolically borrow elements from Larsen's worldview. According to the story, Wolf Larsen had lived his entire life on the sea, gaining his postmodern beliefs by reading an unspecified book. Larsen possessed extremely utilitarian beliefs; at one time in the story, he revealed that he planned to kill the dissenting crew members when the hunting season …show more content…
Van Weyden symbolically surrendered to Larsen's view by acquiring those attributes by the end of the story; this represents the victory of postmodernism over traditional philosophies which can be seen in today's world. London does show, however, that postmodernism is not a particularly practical worldview. During the events of the book, the entire crew wanted to kill Larsen. Van Weyden, in contrast, is generally loved by the crew because he believed that everyone had intrinsic value. He exhibited moral courage and stood up for what was right in the face of Larsen's extreme utilitarian