Historical Context
The name of the person who was the inspiration for the antagonist of The Sea-Wolf.
Who was Alexander McLean?
This character believes in goodness and acting justly and is surrounded by violence but never partakes in it.
Who is Humphrey Van Weyden?
This is the name of who is believed to be London's father.
Who is William Chaney?
This philosophy is the idea that the smartest and strongest people would rise to the top of society.
What is Social Darwinism?
in The Sea-Wolf, this functions as setting, a symbol, and imagery.
What is water?
This invention in the 18th century led to an increase in seal-hunting.
What is the rifle?
This character is strong, traditionally masculine, and handsome; represents the animalistic quality of mankind.
Who is Captain Wolf Larsen?
The president who brought London back to the US when he was arrested multiple times, while in Japan and Korea.
Who was President Theodore Roosevelt?
This is a key trait that Van Weyden has, but Larsen lacks.
What is the ability to evolve?
This is the name of the island that is one of the main settings of the novel
What is Endeavor Island?
This is the name of the philosopher who suggested that humanity could overcome the destructive tendencies of pleasure through asceticism and self-denial.
Who was Arthur Schopenhauer?
This character represents compassion, sympathy, and comradeship in opposition to the brutal attitude of the captain
Who is Maud Brewster?
London suffered from alcoholism and these two other diseases.
What are scurvy & dysentery?
London legitimizes Van Weyden's masculinity through Maud Brewster's choosing of him over Wolf Larsen and this.
What is Van Weyden's survival?
In this form, water causes the shipwreck of the Martinez and Van Weyden's subsequent time on the Ghost.
What is fog?
This is the name of the protection that made commercial seal hunting and other marine animals illegal in the US
What is the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972?
This character exemplifies class struggle; they are a victim of poverty and determinism.
Who is Mugridge?
The full name of the female author who wrote The Kempton-Wace Letters with London.
Who was Anna Strunsky?
The detail of Wolf Larsen's death reflects the innate pessimism in this genre.
What is Naturalism?
Van Weyden's descent into water after the Martinez incident and his rescue can be viewed as similar to this Christian tradition.
What is batism?
This is the Nietzschean concept that some men were so superior that their very existence justified the whole human race (German name).
What is übermensch?
These two characters represent the concept that goodness does not always win in the face of evil.
Who are Johnson and Leach?
The name of sealing schooner London signed on with that was headed to Japan in 1893.
What was the Sophia Sutherland?
These things that adorn the elite women are created through brutal maritime labor of seal hunting.
What are sealskins?
This represents Van Weyden's old life: friendly, well-ordered, and carefree.
What is the Martinez?