FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about The Sea Wolf
Quiz about The Sea Wolf

The Sea Wolf Trivia Quiz


I recently read Jack London's classic "The Sea Wolf" and I simply loved it, cover to cover. I hope you enjoy this quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by avis. Estimated time: 6 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Literature Trivia
  6. »
  7. Authors L-P
  8. »
  9. Jack London

Author
avis
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
173,298
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
17 / 25
Plays
430
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 71 (18/25), Guest 142 (0/25), Guest 212 (7/25).
- -
Question 1 of 25
1. Okay, easy stuff first: What is the main character's name? Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. What does van Weydon (the main character) do for a living? Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. What is the name of the ferry-steamer that van Weydon was travelling on and which subsequently sank in the first chapter of the book? Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. After the sinking of the above-mentioned ferry-steamer, van Weydon is picked up by the good ship Ghost, which is captained by the mysterious "Sea Wolf" Larsen. Does the book ever reveal Wolf Larsen's real first name?


Question 5 of 25
5. True or False: Wolf Larsen is hideous to look upon.


Question 6 of 25
6. What is NOT a name used at one time or another for the cook of the Ghost? Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. The Ghost is a seal-hunting ship, bound for ______ to hunt seals. What country fits the blank? Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. When Wolf Larsen is attacked by nearly his whole crew, what does van Weydon do? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. Which is NOT a name of one of the sailors aboard the Ghost? Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. The cabin-boy and one of the sailors of the Ghost soon establish an intense hatred/fear of Wolf Larsen that eventually leads them to their deaths. What are the names of this pair? Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. Judging from van Weydon's casual comments, what was his childhood nickname? Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. According to Wolf Larsen's theory, what is "life"? Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. Eventually, the Ghost picks up the survivors of a shipwreck who were drifting around in a life boat. There is one woman in the life boat. How many men are there? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. To van Weydon's amazement, the woman who comes aboard the Ghost is none other than Miss Brewster, the famous American writer. Van Weydon twice brings up the topic of her famous sonnet. What is this sonnet called? Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. What is Miss Brewster's first name? Hint


Question 16 of 25
16. Who loses a foot to a hungry shark while being dangled from a rope alongside the Ghost? Hint


Question 17 of 25
17. True or False: Wolf Larsen attacks Miss Brewster, only to be beaten to the ground by an outraged van Weydon, who gains superhuman strength from his fury.


Question 18 of 25
18. Van Weydon escapes the Ghost on one of her little seal-hunting boats. He takes Miss Brewster with him. Did he take anyone else?


Question 19 of 25
19. Can van Weydon or Miss Brewster swim? Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. After a nightmarish period in the little boat on a very unpleasant sea, van Weydon and Miss Brewster come to a little island in the Bering Straight. What is true about the island? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. What do van Weydon and Miss Brewster name the island they land on? Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Convinced that they shall have to spend the winter on the island, van Weydon and Miss Brewster build huts and kill several large sea-mammals for meat and skin. And then something happens which they did not expect. What was it? Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. How does Wolf Larsen die in the book? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. How does "The Sea Wolf" end (more or less)? Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. When was "The Sea Wolf" Published? Hint





Most Recent Scores
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 71: 18/25
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 142: 0/25
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 212: 7/25
Mar 03 2024 : Guest 79: 5/25

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Okay, easy stuff first: What is the main character's name?

Answer: Humphrey van Weyden

This story is narrated by Mr. Humphrey van Weyden, aka "Hump".
2. What does van Weydon (the main character) do for a living?

Answer: He is a writer

Though he never actually says so, you get a hint that he doesn't get all his money from his writing. Perhaps his father left him a small fortune. Anyway, we know that he was quite rich and well-to-do before he came aboard the Ghost.
3. What is the name of the ferry-steamer that van Weydon was travelling on and which subsequently sank in the first chapter of the book?

Answer: The Martinez

Hump was returning from his weekly trip to visit his friend, Charley Furuseth, and was on his way back to San Francisco when the Martinez collided with an unnamed ferry-boat and sank to the bottom of the sea.
4. After the sinking of the above-mentioned ferry-steamer, van Weydon is picked up by the good ship Ghost, which is captained by the mysterious "Sea Wolf" Larsen. Does the book ever reveal Wolf Larsen's real first name?

Answer: No

We do, however, learn that he was a Dane who grew up in Norway poor and uneducated. He turned cabin boy "at the mature age of ten", was a "ship's boy" at fourteen, an ordinary seaman at sixteen and an able seaman at seventeen. He taught himself to read and developed his own (and undeniably depressing) theory of life.
5. True or False: Wolf Larsen is hideous to look upon.

Answer: False

Actually, Hump makes a point of stressing how handsome and almost god-like Wolf Larsen is in appearance.
6. What is NOT a name used at one time or another for the cook of the Ghost?

Answer: Mug

Thomas Mugridge was one of the less-pleasant characters of "The Sea Wolf", being a sneaky, cowardly, self-centered poor excuse for a man. You do, however, feel slightly sympathetic when he relates his pathetic life story.
7. The Ghost is a seal-hunting ship, bound for ______ to hunt seals. What country fits the blank?

Answer: Japan

Yes, Japan is their seal-hunting destination. Also heading for Japan is Wolf Larsen's brother, Death Larsen (what a charming nickname!).
8. When Wolf Larsen is attacked by nearly his whole crew, what does van Weydon do?

Answer: He hides under a bunk until the action is over

Though this was rather a cowardly thing to do, you must recall that at this time Hump was still quite weak and still shocked at the crew and captain's show of violence and lack of feelings. And, anyway, when the fight was over, Hump made himself useful by doctoring the wounded.
9. Which is NOT a name of one of the sailors aboard the Ghost?

Answer: Dawson

The crew of the Ghost consists of the hunters (who do nothing except kill seals and are lazy during every other part of the voyage), the sailors and, of course, the unforgetable cook, Thomas Mugridge.
10. The cabin-boy and one of the sailors of the Ghost soon establish an intense hatred/fear of Wolf Larsen that eventually leads them to their deaths. What are the names of this pair?

Answer: Leach and Johnson

Leach harbors an animal-like hatred for Wolf, while Johnson is terrified of him after being beaten like a dog by the captain over something ridiculously trivial. Twice they try to escape via one of the seal-hunting boats: the first time they are dragged back aboard, and the second time a gale swoops up and Wolf Larsen refuses to let them aboard and they drown beside the Ghost.
11. Judging from van Weydon's casual comments, what was his childhood nickname?

Answer: "Sissy" van Weydon

As you can probably guess, Hump was never into athletics or being macho in any way, but prefered books and his studies. Thus he became quite intellegent but pathetically unexperienced in the field of manual labor.
12. According to Wolf Larsen's theory, what is "life"?

Answer: A yeasty ferment which eats its fellows in order to move but which inevitably ceases to move

Wolf seems to particularly enjoy preaching his theories to Hump, who utterly disapproves of their lack of any form of idealism.
13. Eventually, the Ghost picks up the survivors of a shipwreck who were drifting around in a life boat. There is one woman in the life boat. How many men are there?

Answer: Four

Though we are not told the name of the ship or how it sank, we do know that Maud was travelling "for her health" to Yokohama when it did.
14. To van Weydon's amazement, the woman who comes aboard the Ghost is none other than Miss Brewster, the famous American writer. Van Weydon twice brings up the topic of her famous sonnet. What is this sonnet called?

Answer: "Kiss Endured"

It turns out that both Maud and Hump have known each other before, as Hump has known Maud for her verse and Maud has know Hump because he wrote a critique of her verse.
15. What is Miss Brewster's first name?

Answer: Maud

However, due to her brilliant literary career, Hump would occasionally refer to her as the "American Mrs. Meynell".
16. Who loses a foot to a hungry shark while being dangled from a rope alongside the Ghost?

Answer: Thomas Mugridge

In a horribly unjust spirit of sport, Wolf Larsen orders Mugridge to be dunked in the water to clean him as he is a disgustingly dirty man. The result was a wild chase to catch him (none of the crew liked him, so it was hardly a fair chase with the whole ship against the Cockney) and, once Mugridge was in the water, dangling from a rope, along comes a shark which promptly bites off his right foot. To add further injustice, Wolf orders the shark caught, and once it is, a stick is jammed in the its mouth so that it cannot eat.
17. True or False: Wolf Larsen attacks Miss Brewster, only to be beaten to the ground by an outraged van Weydon, who gains superhuman strength from his fury.

Answer: false

Yes, Maud is attacked by Wolf and yes, Hump attacks Wolf, but all he managed to do was stab him in the shoulder with a knife, after which Wolf seemed to realize what a bad thing he was doing and became nearly meek with shock. "I am a sick man, a very sick man, Hump," he says as Humphrey helps him into a chair.
18. Van Weydon escapes the Ghost on one of her little seal-hunting boats. He takes Miss Brewster with him. Did he take anyone else?

Answer: No

Leaving Wolf in his bunk still in shock over his attack on Maud, Humphrey loads one of the seal-hunting boats with all sorts of provisions (except, as he later furiously realizes, matches). He asks Maud to come with him and she says okay. He took only her, and her alone.
19. Can van Weydon or Miss Brewster swim?

Answer: No, neither of them can

Apparently, Maud, like Hump, was never into athletics either for she, like him, did not know how to swim.
20. After a nightmarish period in the little boat on a very unpleasant sea, van Weydon and Miss Brewster come to a little island in the Bering Straight. What is true about the island?

Answer: It is uninhabited by humans

Though the couple optimistically thought there may be a station on the island, there was none and the island was completely absent of any form of human life.
There was a huge population of seals, but no walruses were mentioned.
They did find a single seal-hunting boat, nearly buried in sand, but that was it for shipwrecks.
The island, plant-wise, was quite barren and mainly covered with rocks and brush.
21. What do van Weydon and Miss Brewster name the island they land on?

Answer: Endeavor Island

Though they were only on the island for few weeks, Hump and Maud took the time to name their island and, upon leaving it aboard the Ghost, they lamented the prospect of not seeing it again. "Dear, dear Endeavor Island! I shall always love it," cries Maud.
22. Convinced that they shall have to spend the winter on the island, van Weydon and Miss Brewster build huts and kill several large sea-mammals for meat and skin. And then something happens which they did not expect. What was it?

Answer: The Ghost washes up on the island, with only a weak Wolf Larsen aboard

It turns out that not long after Hump and Maud deserted the Ghost, the whole crew abandoned Wolf to serve his brother, Death Larsen, aboard his ship, the Macedonia. However, earlier Wolf had captured nearly all of Death's seal-hunting boats and forced his hunters to work for him, so it was in a way just what Wolf had coming to him. All alone on the Ghost, Wolf (who wasn't feeling well) let her drift at her will, and her will took her to Endeavor Island.
23. How does Wolf Larsen die in the book?

Answer: He becomes fully paralyzed and dies in this state

We do not know exactly what causes Wolf's paralysis, but we do know that he became blind and then he couldn't feel or control the left side of his body. Bedridden, he soon lost feeling in his right side as well until his whole body became paralyzed. After he stopped breathing, Hump and Maud ceremoniously tossed his body overboard.
24. How does "The Sea Wolf" end (more or less)?

Answer: Van Weydon has Miss Brewster in his arms aboard the Ghost as a U. S. ship heads their way

Almost since the very beginning, Hump knew he was in love with Maud, but didn't dare tell her because of the trying circumstances. Not even until the second-last page does he (intentionally) give away his feelings, and on the very last page, as they stand alone on the deck of the Ghost, they embrace and declare their love as a ship (a "United States revenue cutter") heads their way, which undoubtedly means they shall be rescued.
25. When was "The Sea Wolf" Published?

Answer: 1904

"The Sea Wolf" was published by Jack London after "The Son of the Wolf" (1900) and "The Call of the Wild" (1903) and before "White Fang" (1906), "The Iron Heel" (1907) "Martin Eden" (1909), "John Barleycorn" (1913) and "The Star Rover" (1915). Hoped you enjoyed this quiz and please contact me if I made any mistakes!
Source: Author avis

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/29/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us