Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sea-Wolf, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Self-Reliance and Maturation
Materialism vs. Idealism
Survival of the Fittest
Love, Duty, and Choice
Summary
Analysis
For three days, Van Weyden does Mugridge’s work in addition to his own. On the fourth day, Mugridge must resume his responsibilities, even though he is badly injured. Mugridge complains about how he never had any chance in life. Later, Johnson joins them, despite sustaining serious injuries from the earlier fight. Johnsen is meek around Wolf Larsen and Johansen, but Leach remains defiant.
The three days that Van Weyden does Mugridge’s work mirrors the three days of rest that Van Weyden had earlier (at Mugridge’s expense). The fact that Larsen forces injured sailors to work shows how little compassion Wolf Larsen has for his crew—his only concern is the success of his seafaring excursion, and he doesn’t care if that success requires cruelty.
Themes
