Unit Exam on Jack London's The Sea-Wolf and Short Fiction

(Prepare all; write on three to be selected by instructor.)

• Discuss Browning's "Caliban Upon Setebos" and explain its attractions for Wolf Larsen.
• The Sea-Wolf explores several dualities--such as land/sea; female/male; civilized/brutal; group/individual; practical/academic; sickly/healthy; immaturity/maturity. There are probably others you have noticed. Discuss the issue of duality, using examples that support your observations.
• Most critics say that the introduction of Maud Brewster weakens the drive of the narrative. In class, however, I have argued that the love story is vital to both the psychological and political themesof The Sea-Wolf. Take a stand and support it.
• TheSea-Wolf chronicles patterns ofgrowth and decline as characters interact. Discuss the complex relationship of Wolf and Hump.
• The short fiction of the naturalist era examined social issues using an often unstated but nevertheless clearly implicit moral perspective. Discuss some of the things that these so-called "objective" and "scientific" writers thought were wrong with the world.