Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas story
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (French: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-Jules Hetzel's fortnightly periodical, the Magasin d'éducation et de récréation. A deluxe octavo edition, published by Hetzel in November 1871, included 111 illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou. The book was widely acclaimed on its release and remains so; it is regarded as one of the premier adventure novels and one of Verne's greatest works, along with Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Its depiction of Captain Nemo's underwater ship, the Nautilus, is regarded as ahead of its time, since it accurately describes many features of today's submarines, which in the 1860s were comparatively primitive vessels.
25 total · 1 choice · 8 major · 16 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| voyage under the sea | choice | The whole story is about a wondrous expedition under the waves Earth's world ocean in a super high-tech submarine. |
| bird in a gilded cage | major | The Nautilus had everything the dedicated naturalist Professor Aronnax could ever want: a vast library that doubled as a smoking room, a lavishly adorned drawing room in which paintings of the great masters hung, glass cases full of specimens from the sea that no naturalist had ever beheld, etc. On top of all that the Nautilus was to Aronnax a dream vessel from which to conduct advanced marine research. |
| human vs. captivity | major | The trio of Professor Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land refused to accept that it was their shared fate to remain on board the Nautilus permanently. Although Aronnax felt conflicted about leaving his underwater prison on account of the unique opportunity it afforded him to conduct advanced marine research. |
| master and servant | major | Professor Aronnax was accompanied by his loyal man-servant, Conseil, throughout the course of the story. |
| misanthropy | major | Captain Nemo sought refuge from terrestrial civilization, which he saw as hopelessly flawed, beneath the waves. Indeed, Aronnax wrote of Nemo that "It was no common misanthropy which had shut Captain Nemo and his companions within the Nautilus, but a hatred, either monstrous or sublime, which time could never weaken." |
| speculative submarine | major | A main novelty of the story is Captain Nemo's super high-tech submarine, the Nautilus. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | It was revealed that Captain Nemo was motivated by a desire to avenge the deaths of his wife and children. |
| the desire to get away from it all | major | Captain Nemo sought refuge from terrestrial civilization, which he saw as hopelessly flawed, beneath the waves. |
| the thirst for knowledge | major | Professor Aronnax toured the ocean depths on a quest for scientific knowledge. Captain Nemo was partially motivated by scientific curiosity. |
| anger | minor | Ned Land had a temper tantrum after being confined to a room together with Aronnax and Conseil for an extended period of time. |