The Sea Wolf-By Jack London
So technically I didn't "read" this book, but I was looking for an audio book to listen to nightly, in that last half-hour or so before bed, when the day's work is done, and mental energy is spent, but you're still not drowsy enough to doze off, and got tired of surfing the internet, filling my head with rubbish, and don't feel like laying in bed having to hold a book steady over yourself, wanting to be able to just curl up and listen, so I tried this.
Jack London is one of those writers that I love for his choice of simple subject matter. He just
seems to like talking about people and places that he finds interesting. There's not a whole lot of technicality to his plots, from "Call of the Wild" to "White Fang", or any of the numerous short stories you might read.
This one was about a high class, pish-posh intellectual man who is the victim of a shipwreck and is stranded at sea until a group of rough and tumble sailors, who hunt sea lions for their blubber, luckily happen by and take him aboard. He experiences the culture shock then of men of less learning than him, and not so sophisticated of manners, but with more dynamic and mysterious personalities.
The captain lives somewhat isolated from the crew, and goes by the name Wolf Larsen. He has that domineering "he man" quality, and the environment, being an all male workspace, has that hyper macho atmosphere and social hierarchy that our high class, somewhat nancy, literary critic needs to become acclimated to. We watch him try and earn respect, while also forming a bond with the captain, whom he discovers is a well read and insightful man, but did not receive any formal education. They debate politics and philosophy, religion and science, and why the captain still does this for a living. He was raised poor, and never had any opportunities where he was from.
But the "social Darwinism" here is still prevalent, (but I won't let this turn into an essay or thesis paper...God no) Because Jack London seems to have this fascination with masculinity and the social hierarchy that gets established between men outside of civilized society. The set up of sailors on the ship, out to sea, does remind one of the gold prospectors in "Call of the Wild" out in the rugged wilderness, relying on their own toughness and all that.
I didn't get all the way through it, but I am glad I read the maybe one-third of it that I did. It was relaxing, and the long, drawn out dialogue and scene descriptions of literature really set themselves up as a unique experience to get lost in, like a piece of great music.
Jack London is one of those writers that I love for his choice of simple subject matter. He just
This one was about a high class, pish-posh intellectual man who is the victim of a shipwreck and is stranded at sea until a group of rough and tumble sailors, who hunt sea lions for their blubber, luckily happen by and take him aboard. He experiences the culture shock then of men of less learning than him, and not so sophisticated of manners, but with more dynamic and mysterious personalities.
The captain lives somewhat isolated from the crew, and goes by the name Wolf Larsen. He has that domineering "he man" quality, and the environment, being an all male workspace, has that hyper macho atmosphere and social hierarchy that our high class, somewhat nancy, literary critic needs to become acclimated to. We watch him try and earn respect, while also forming a bond with the captain, whom he discovers is a well read and insightful man, but did not receive any formal education. They debate politics and philosophy, religion and science, and why the captain still does this for a living. He was raised poor, and never had any opportunities where he was from.
But the "social Darwinism" here is still prevalent, (but I won't let this turn into an essay or thesis paper...God no) Because Jack London seems to have this fascination with masculinity and the social hierarchy that gets established between men outside of civilized society. The set up of sailors on the ship, out to sea, does remind one of the gold prospectors in "Call of the Wild" out in the rugged wilderness, relying on their own toughness and all that.
I didn't get all the way through it, but I am glad I read the maybe one-third of it that I did. It was relaxing, and the long, drawn out dialogue and scene descriptions of literature really set themselves up as a unique experience to get lost in, like a piece of great music.
