Dragons In The Seawolf

When I was young, I used to think dragons were real. I would watch TV shows, hear stories and read books about dragons. I remember during class I would draw them all the time. As I grew up, I gained more knowledge and went through different experiences that shaped me into the man I am today. Through my experiences and adventures, I developed into an intellectual that knows now that dragons aren’t real. Developed... that is the key word. When you think of a book, a movie, or a story about a character don’t you see them change throughout the adventure? You see them go through experiences and you read about them gaining knowledge that developed them into who they became at the end of the book. The Seawolf by Jack London has a character development that is one of the greatest of all time.

In The Seawolf, London writes about Humphrey Van Weyden, a wealthy scholar whose father passed away and left his fortune to his family. In the story, Van Weyden is on a ferry that sinks and is picked up by a seal hunting ship called the Ghost. The captain of the ship is a crooked sea captain that goes by the name of Wolf Larsen. Van Weyden is a feeble man who is not used to hard labor and a “manly” life. Wolf Larsen is a materialist that takes advantage of his authority, size and

He is the type that punches people when they make mistakes, forces them to do things that they don’t want to do all for his own entertainment. Wolf is a materialist who has no sense of ethics, honor and morals. He believes that there is no meaning of life and that when you die, you just die. In his view there is no heaven, there is no other life, there is no reincarnation. He believes that “only the strongest survive.” Wolf Larsen is the contrary to what Van Weyden is and stands for. Although he is mad, he is a courageous captain that knows the seas and the life of a sailor. He dedicates his life to his profession and is passionate about