The Sea Wolf: Love (want) changes Power

307 Words2 Pages
Jack London has always been known to have a fascination with nature. His books from The Call of the Wild to the epic of White Fang show his unique interest, but also the visions of nature his fellow Americans developed with the ideas of ‘the frontier’(Wilcox, 12-17-07). He personifies animals in a way that is interesting, and in a way introduces us to the natural order. The ‘survival of the fittest’ is one of his main themes. In To Build a Fire, the wolf who is with the man survives because it is ultimately more adept to the conditions brought on by the harsh winter in the story. It is clear that some of Jack London’s philosophy in writing books came from the ideas of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a prominent philosopher who pondered such questions of natural selection. If we examine London’s books closely, we can see the Nietzscheian traits they embody. The uber man, one of London’s primary themes is found in The Sea Wolf in the character Wolf Larsen. He is the embodiment of “the fittest” being both brutishly powerful and intelligent. Larsen’s philosophy towards holding power is clear to have Nietzscheian ideals behind it as he believes in might is right, weakness is wrong (London, 55). To have unnecessary wants such as friendship with woman (love) is to be weak by Nietzscheian standards. Maud Brewster, a character who enters randomly in the book, really has a mission (set by London) to redefine Larsen’s philosophy on power. It is clear in the events after Maud arrives that Larsen undergoes large changes, and in the end these changes brought on by Maud are what ultimately defeat him. Work Cited: Wilcox, Earl J. Introductory Remarks About London's Literary Naturalism, http://www.jacklondons.net/writings/Essays/intro_literary_naturalism.html,
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