The Sea-Wolf

Humphrey is the first-person protagonist in Jack London’s The Sea-Wolf. Prior to the start of the novel, 35-year-old Humphrey was known as the Dean of American Letters, the Second, a prominent literary critic and intellectual. He lived with his mother and sister but was largely solitary in his habits, preferring to view the world through the discursive lens of literature. At the start of the narrative, Humphrey is book-learned, a gentleman, and ignorant of the realities of life outside his middle class society.

The development of Humphrey’s independence and sense of self are the driving factors behind plot development. Larsen keeps Humphrey aboard the Ghost instead of bringing him to San Francisco precisely because of Humphrey’s bookish character; Larsen desires to show Humphrey what it means to work, earn his own money, and stand on his own feet without parental support. Though Humphrey is briefly in danger of falling completely to Larsen’s brutal influence, Maud’s introduction allows Humphrey to reconcile the new halves of his identity: that of an educated gentleman and that of a hard-working mate of the Ghost. Humphrey discovers his independence and escapes the Ghost with Maud, demonstrating his newly established self-reliance and self-confidence.