South Sea Tales

Jack London is one of the best writers of the twentieth century. In his collection of short stories, South Sea Tales, he is at his best, weaving compelling stories with incredible detailed descriptions of the life and geography of the South Pacific in the late 1800’s. Here are the titles of the short stories:

    The House Of Mapuhi
    The Whale Tooth
    Mauki
    Yah! Yah! Yah!
    The Heathen
    The Terrible Solomons
    The Inevitable White Man
    The Seed Of McCoy


Each short story is a masterpiece. While reading them I felt as if I were actually there, living among the cannibals and other natives. London spells out the tenuous relationship between the white man and the black man, revealing much of western man’s arrogance and ignorance while also revealing the savagery of both the blacks and whites. London paints the beauty of the islands with his words, but also the horrors of living through a hurricane, shark attacks, and being chased, killed and eaten by cannibals.

In the story, “The Heathen,” the narrator, Charley, saves Otoo’s life, a native of Bora-bora, during a shipwreck and he is in turn nursed back to health by the Otoo after they wash up on shore. As is the native’s custom, they become blood brothers by taking each other’s name. Charley is a young man, and his character and life are changed as he and Otoo spend the next 17 years together. He says:

“I never had a brother; but from what I have seen of other men's brothers, I doubt if any man ever had a brother that was to him what Otoo was to me. He was brother and father and mother as well. And this I know: I lived a straighter and better man because of Otoo. I cared little for other men, but I had to live straight in Otoo's eyes. Because of him I dared not tarnish myself. He made me his ideal, compounding me, I fear, chiefly out of his own love and worship and there were times when I stood close to the steep pitch of hell, and would have taken the plunge had not the thought of Otoo restrained me. His pride in me entered into me, until it became one of the major rules in my personal code to do nothing that would diminish that pride of his.”

This story caused me to think of two things: first, how important friendships are and how having the right friend can change your life for the better. It is rare to have a friend like Otoo who would willingly give his life for you, and who constantly looks out for your best interest, even when you don’t.

The second is, how Christ has bound himself to man in much the same way through the cross. By becoming a man, the Son identified with us and took our name upon himself, bearing our sin to the cross. In exchange, he has given us his name, calling us brothers, so that we partake in the divine nature and share in all of his heavenly blessings. When we appropriate this relationship through faith, we realize that we dare not tarnish his name, and realizing that he loves us and is looking out for our best interest, we can be motivated to live in a way that is pleasing to him.

In the story, “The House Of Mapuhi” we see how greed can destroy lives as several white traders take advantage of Mapuhi, a pearl diver, who has just found the largest, most perfect pearl ever. In “The Whale Tooth” London points out the ignorance and folly of a missionary who failed to learn the culture of the South Pacific islanders and ended up being killed and eaten by the people he was trying to convert. In “Mauki” we meet a young man forced into slavery, who is severely treated after many escape attempts. He finally escapes with the head of his master and returns to his island to rule as chief. The head of the most feared white man gives him power over all the other tribes who fear him. In “Yah! Yah! Yah!” London explains why the natives now feared the white man even though they outnumbered them and had successfully killed them in the past. In “The Seed of McCoy” we meet the great-grandson of the leader of the mutiny of the Bounty. Each tale is a treasure in itself and all taken together paint a compelling picture of life in the South Pacific.