The Sea-Wolf

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1904

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Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary

After three days, the Ghost finally catches the northeast trade winds, which allow for smooth, fast sailing. Humphrey enjoys watching the sea and, in particular, the stars at night. One evening while he lies on deck, stargazing, he is joined by Wolf Larsen. Larsen recites a stanza from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Long Trail.”

They enter another discussion about the value of life and enjoyment. Larsen attempts to explain that the value he places on such a beautiful evening is relative only to himself; moreover, that the satisfaction he feels at the beauty of nature or poetry may not be so different from physical satisfaction, like eating to fullness and banishing hunger. Humphrey is astonished at how quickly Larsen’s words can “rush from sublime exultation to despair” (58). Larsen disappears suddenly, leaving Humphrey to continue his vigil while listening to a sailor singing the “Song of the Trade Wind.”

Chapter 8 Summary

Humphrey attempts to understand Larsen’s enigmatic character by observing his comportment with the sailors and comparing this to the intellectual, individualistic man who philosophizes with him. From Humphrey’s assessment, Larsen is an “individualist of the most pronounced type” (59) whose intellect and strength separate him from the other sailors. Humphrey theorizes that Larsen’s angry outbursts aren’t always uncontrollable emotion but may be a way for him to “level” (59) himself with the sailors and communicate with them in a way they can understand.

Humphrey relates an incident between Mugridge and Larsen: Larsen invites Mugridge to play Nap, a card game popular among English sailors. They bet on each round and drink whiskey that Humphrey is obliged to serve them. Mugridge loses round after round and grows increasingly drunk, while Larsen seems perfectly composed and unaffected by the drink.

Once Mugridge effectively loses all his money, Larsen orders Humphrey to take the man to the deck and have some of the sailors douse him with seawater to rouse him from his drunken stupor. When Humphrey returns to the cabin, Larsen announces that he has won $185—the exact sum that was stolen from Humphrey. When Humphrey requests that Larsen give him the money as it is clear Mugridge stole it from him, Larsen refuses, asserting that he has no obligation to do so: “Might is right” (62). Humphrey tries to convince him that the ethical thing to do would be to return the money to its proper owner, but Larsen’s individualism and materialism sit firm.

Humphrey and Larsen discuss the concept of altruism as presented in Spencer’s Data of Ethics. Larsen absolutely rejects it as productive for his own life, and he readily accepts Humphrey’s charge of amorality. Humphrey compares his lack of morals and desire to inspire fear in others to an animal. Larsen replies, “Now you know me [...] And you know me as I am generally known. Other men call me Wolf” (65). That evening, Larsen invites Humphrey to dine with himself and the hunters in the cabin to continue talking.

Chapter 9 Summary

Humphrey spends the next three days talking with Larsen. The captain’s favoritism is beginning to turn some of the crew against Humphrey, including the cook, Mugridge. Louis warns Humphrey to “watch out for squalls” (66) when it comes to the captain’s changeable character. During one of their conversations, Humphrey oversteps and begins examining Larsen’s character aloud; the captain reacts negatively, lunging forward and griping Humphrey’s arm. His grip is so tight that it causes serious injury. Later, in the galley, Larsen squeezes a potato to pulp to show Humphrey that his injury might have been much worse.

The animosity grows between Mugridge and Humphrey. In a display of aggression, Mugridge sharpens his knife for hours in front of Humphrey. A new rumor starts among the crew, that “Cooky’s sharpening his knife for Hump” (69). George Leach once teases Mugridge about this, and Mugridge attacks him, cutting Leach’s arm “open from elbow to wrist by a quick slash of the knife” (69). Rather than being angered, Leach calmly announces he’ll take revenge at an unexpected time.

As the Ghost continues its journey over the course of a few days, Humphrey becomes seriously afraid of what Mugridge might do and distances himself from the captain. When directly confronted by Larsen at dinner, Humphrey confesses that the favoritism Larsen has been showing him has caused him great trouble with Mugridge. Larsen’s reply is philosophical: “Why, my dear fellow, you will live forever. You are a god, and God cannot be killed. Cooky cannot hurt you. You are sure of your resurrection. What’s there to be afraid of?” (71). Larsen suggests that Humphrey kill Mugridge before Mugridge has the chance to kill him.

Humphrey strikes a deal with Louis: five cans of condensed milk for a dirk. They sharpen the dirk to a usable edge. The next morning, as Mugridge sits down to whet his knife as usual, Humphrey does the same, and they sharpen their respective weapons for two hours to the enjoyment of the crew. Humphrey reflects on how much he’s changed since becoming the cabin boy, as “the whole thing was laughable and childish” (73) but still necessary to secure his survival.

In the end, Mugridge stops sharpening his knife and offers his hand to Humphrey, calling a truce of sorts to save face from his defeat. From then on, the power dynamic in the galley switches. Mugridge listens to Humphrey and begins to complete the more onerous tasks of the kitchen, while the rest of the crew understands that Humphrey runs the galley now.

Chapters 7-9 Analysis

Through these chapters, Larsen and Humphrey begin discussing the body-mind connection and how physical experience directly affects the workings of the mind. Larsen argues that eating to fullness is similar to spirituality, as the experiences of relief and fulfillment occur in both instances. This is difficult for Humphrey to grasp at first, as he has never before encountered food deprivation and therefore doesn’t know how to relate to Larsen’s and the crew’s more bodily motivations.

However, Humphrey’s body begins adapting in correlation with his experiences. When defending himself against Mugridge, Humphrey notes that “I was becoming animal-like myself, and I snarled in his face so terribly that it must have frightened him back” (68). Humphrey notices the effects of the Ghost’s environment on his physical responses, suggesting that Larsen’s thoughts on the connection between mind and body will be further explored as the narrative proceeds.

Much of the content of these chapters centers around Humphrey’s attempts to analyze and understand Larsen’s character: “His tremendous virility and mental strength wall him apart” (59) from the rest of the men on the crew, yet Humphrey believes that Larsen’s belligerence is be an attempt to descend to the level of the sailors and speak in a language they recognize—that of strength and brute force.

Larsen is entirely self-educated, a fact that Humphrey often paints a deficiency, implying that, had Larsen attended a proper school, his reasoning would have developed differently. Larsen “betrayed the inaccuracies of the self-read man, and, it must be granted, the sureness and directness of the primitive mind” (65) in his discussions with Humphrey. At the same time, Humphrey’s privileged education and involvement in American intellectual life is evinced in his enthusiastic evaluation of Larsen. Humphrey cannot help but admire the man.