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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

by Jules Verne published: 1870

SETTING

The story begins in 1866 and ends in 1868 (The journey on the Nautilus begins during the summer of1867). The story is set on the Nautilus, the submarine vessel designed by Captain Nemo. The Nautilus traverses Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Artic and Antarctic Oceans, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

Major Characters

Dr. Pierre Aronnax The narrator, aged forty. He is a former medical doctor turned scientist and lecturer at the Museum of Paris. He is unmarried and childless. He resides in Paris with his manservant, Conseil. While lecturing in the United States, he is asked by the U.S. government to join the expedition aboard the Abraham Lincoln in search of the mysterious monster that has been attacking ships.

Conseil Aronnax’s domestic servant. He is thirty years old. He follows Aronnax on all of his voyages and never offers counsel. He is knowledgeable of science, yet has little practice. He never complains.

Ned Land A Canadian traveling on the Abraham Lincoln. He is revered as the king of harpooners. He is forty years old, large, quiet, and angry when contradicted.

Captain Nemo The commander of the Nautilus. He is a mysterious man. He is often moved to tears, yet easily angered. He is a brilliant man who was formerly an engineer. He designed the Nautilus himself. His nationality remains unknown to the narrator.

CONFLICT The protagonist of a story is the main character, who traditionally, undergoes some sort of change. He or She must usually overcome some opposing force. In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas the protagonist is Dr. Pierre Aronnax. He is the narrator and central character of the tale. Aronnax is repeatedly described as a naturalist throughout the story. A naturalist is, essentially, a person who is well studied in natural        sciences such as zoology and botany--as is Aronnax. However, within the context of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, a tale of science fiction, his position of a naturalist is juxtaposed with that which seeks to thwart nature--Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. Ironically, Aronnax’s confrontation with Nemo, during which he sees how science can be used for evil, he chooses his fellow man over science.

Climax

The climax of a story is the major turning point that determines the outcome of the plot. It is the point to which the rising action leads. In this story the climax is in Chapter 22, “Captain Nemo’s Last Words,” when the men make the decision to escape. This is a major decision, which permanently changes their condition of imprisonment.

Outcome

Also known as the resolution or denouement, this is the place in the plot where the action is resolved or clarified. In this novel, the outcome is that the men survive the giant whirlpool. Captain Nemo remains a mystery; we do not know if he has survived, nor do we know where he came from or who he really is. Aronnax plans to return to France.

SHORT SUMMARY (Synopsis)

The story opens in the year 1866. Everyone in Europe and America is talking about a mysterious creature that has been sinking ships. Finally, the United States government decides to intervene and commissions the Abraham Lincoln to capture and identify the creature. On board the ship are Pierre Aronnax, a renowned scientist along with his manservant, Conseil, and Ned Land the king of harpooners.

The Abraham Lincoln is attacked by the creature. Aronnax, Conseil and Land go overboard. The three men find themselves on top of the mysterious creature, which is actually a submarine vessel. They are taken on board and placed in a cell.

The men meet Captain Nemo, the commander of the vessel, known as the Nautilus. He tells them they can stay on board the ship and enjoy freedom as long as they return to the cell if asked. They are never to leave the vessel again. Ned Land says he will not promise that he will not try to escape.

Captain Nemo treats the men, especially Aronnax, very well. They are clothed and fed and may wander around the vessel at their leisure. Aronnax is thrilled by Nemo’s vast library. The men spend their time observing sea life through observation windows. Aronnax studies and writes about everything he sees. On a voyage to the South Pole, the Nautilus becomes stuck in the ice. Everyone must take turns trying to break a hole in the ice so the vessel can get through. The ship almost runs out of its oxygen supply and the men grow tired and light headed. However, they escape just in time.

Another time, the vessel sails through an area heavily populated by giant squid, when a giant squid gets stuck in the propeller of the submarine. The men and the crew must fight off the squid with axes because they cannot be killed with bullets. While fighting, a crewmember is killed by a squid. Nemo is moved to tears.

The rising action of the story begins with Nemo’s attack on a warship. Aronnax does not know to which nation the warship belongs, but he is horrified when Captain Nemo sinks it. The men decide they must escape at all costs.

One night, while off the coast of Norway, Aronnax, Conseil and Land plan a rash escape. To their dismay they realize they are heading toward a giant whirlpool--one that no ship has ever survived. Amazingly, in only a small dinghy they emerge safely. They awake in the hut of a fisherman. At the conclusion of the story, Aronnax is awaiting his return to France and rewriting his memoirs of his journey under the sea.

Theme

man versus nature/revege

MOOD

The mood, or atmosphere of a book, is the general feeling of the story. This is usually portrayed through word choice, description, and characterization. This story is primarily mysterious and dark. The mystery results from the author’s preoccupation with Captain Nemo’s identity. The entire plot is based on the voyages of the Nautilus - of which we know neither its purpose, its destination, nor its intentions. We do not know the language spoken by the crew. We do not know Nemo’s background. We do not know where Nemo goes when he disappears. We do not know what drives Nemo. The darkness of the story is present from the very beginning: before we know what this mysterious object is, we know that it destroys ships and kills innocent people. Although Nemo is often kind and engaging, he is subject to abrupt and sudden outbursts of rage.

SUMMARY NOTES ch.1-5 In these opening chapters, we are introduced to three of the four main characters: Pierre Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land. We also find the premise on which the conflict of the story is based--the men are seeking to destroy that which is destroying humanity. Later, when they are on board the Nautilus this conflict will change slightly to man (humanity) versus machine (the Nautilus).

Pierre Aronnax is a classic pedant. He is consumed by scholarship, almost to the extent that he does not relate to the real world. He continuously, throughout the book, makes obscure references to classical philosophers and scientists. These references rarely advance the plot, except to develop the characterization of Aronnax.

Ned Land is quite opposite of Aronnax. He is gruff and unrefined. He is described as “American,” although he is really from Canada. It is clear that Aronnax is extremely biased to French culture. Furthermore, he seems to think of American culture as unrefined.

Land and Aronnax are foils of one another in these opening chapters; that is, they are characters who, in their differences, illuminate the characteristics of the other. In the case of Aronnax and Land, Aronnax relies too much on theoretical evidence (another example of his pedantic nature) where Land relies too much on empirical evidence (he only believes what he experiences). In his official report on the situation with the monster, Aronnax offers various reasons why it is possible that a giant narwhal may exist. However, he concludes his report by saying that despite what has been “glimpsed, seen, felt, and experienced” there may be nothing in the sea at all. He says he added this statement because he was a coward and afraid of what the scientific community might think of him. This reasoning exemplifies Aronnax’s personality: he is unable to rely on his senses, or on “real life” experience. He must be able to reason everything scientifically. He is more inclined to believe science than his own experience.

Verne calls the ship that tries to catch the creature, the Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States from 1861-1865, presided over the American Civil War and is credited with preserving the Union. He was assassinated in April, 1865--one year before the book begins. The captain of the Abraham Lincoln, Farragut, is named for a Union admiral, David Farragut. Farrugut was credited with saying “Damn the torpedoes--full speed ahead!!!” This statement may be construed as brave or insane, and Farragut can be seen in the same light. The actions of the Abraham Lincoln, which appear rash and arrogant may be yet another classification of the United States (similar to Ned Land, the gruff “American”). In the 19th century the United States was an emerging nation, that was quickly gaining in economic and military might; yet, it was not always a match for its European neighbors across the Atlantic. Many Europeans scoffed at the young nation and its belief in manifest destiny of the 1840s (the belief that God wanted the United States to reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific).

This section strongly develops the air of mystery that pervades the novel. The men are placed in a dark cell, no one seems to speak their language, and they have no idea what is happening. While the men inhabit the Nautilus they are slowly stripped of their national identity. They live among a foreign language that they do not understand, in a vessel that inhabits no nation, and they are subject to a new set of laws--Nemo’s laws.

ch.11-15 Another important aspect of this section is Ned Land’s reference to cannibalism. This is a reoccurring fear he will have. Literally, he is afraid his fellow man will eat him alive. The symbolism of Land’s name should not be forgotten. Unlike Aronnax, he can only survive on the tangible--he is not please to sit and consider theoretical ideas or philosophy. He is, in every sense, a creature of the land. The land is what Nemo has tried to escape, because he has a deep hatred for his fellow man. Perhaps Land and Nemo are correct to fear their fellow man will eat them alive, both literally and figuratively.

ch.6-10 This section also develops the characters of the men. Ned Land continues to be easily angered and demanding (the gruff American); Aronnax continues to be refined and concerned with protocol (note the French word for arrogance is the same as the English-strikingly similar to Aronnax); Conseil continues to serve (note the French word for counsel is conseil-- although Conseil is said to never counsel, he almost always does, with permission of course). This section allows for a closer look at Captain Nemo; yet, the reader still knows very little about him. While he decorates the vessel lavishly, his own room is bare and austere. It is possible that he is punishing himself for something. His room may be interpreted as a symbol of the Captain himself: his exterior (the extravagantly decorated ship) is commanding and intimidating--his interior (his room) is hollow, and lonely.

This section also illuminates how the Nautilus functions. Captain Nemo has harnessed scientific discovery and breakthroughs to create this incredible vessel. The reader must recall the horror this ship has already caused, and the many lives that have been lost because of it. As the book continues it becomes apparent that the ship also has done many good things and is of immense value to humanity when properly used. This is another reoccurring theme in the novel: science’s potential for disaster. This novel was written in 1870 in the midst of widespread scientific discovery and advancement. This advancement was accompanied with the underlying fear of the unknown. The mysterious mood of the novel is seen in the marvels the men encounter that were previously unknown. They are truly in uncharted waters.

ch.16-20 The beginning of this section presents some of the many unexplainable and inconsistent aspects of this tale. The men become weightless in their frog suits when they enter the water--this is a true scientific fact. However, in the beginning of the story Aronnax and Conseil were “weighted” down by their clothing. Aronnax talks of how the sunlight shone on the ocean floor--- how is this possible? Where does the out breathing tube on the diving apparatus go? Where are the bathrooms on the Nautilus--where does the waste go?

Nemo continues to act strangely, and is not seen by the narrator for weeks. Mysterious things continue to occur. The men witness a sunken ship with dead passengers on board. The Nautilus circles the ship. The reader must consider the possibility that the vessel is responsible for this attack, as it has attacked many other ships.

ch.21-24 In this section Aronnax, Conseil and Land encounter savages. In the 19th century, savages were people who did not live in what many Europeans (and many people of European descent) believed was a civilized manner. This meant that the people did not wear Western clothes, or live in the same types of houses as westerners, or follow the same social protocol.

In these chapters we experience a new and evil side of Nemo. He drugs the men into sleep. It is apparent from the dead crew member that something horrible has happened. However, we also see Nemo cry at the man’s death. Nemo is an excellent example of a round character. He is multifaceted. His many sides include capacity for compassion, malice, sorrow, and joy. At the conclusion of Part II, the reader should be aware that the Nautilus and Nemo are involved in something very sinister. At the conclusion of this section there is a definite break in the relationship between Nemo and Aronnax. Aronnax previously believed in the possibility that Nemo was a misunderstood scientist. He revered Nemo’s genius. After the incident in which he was drugged and a man died, Aronnax is convinced that Nemo has an evil underlying purpose of revenge. The next section begins with an air of fear and uncertainty. The captain of this mysterious vessel cannot be trusted.