BOOK REPORT
Michaela Zarzewsky
Twenty Thousand Lleagues Under the Sea Jules Verne
* A summary of the plot
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.
During their time on the Nautilus, the men experience many exciting adventures. They hunt in underwater forests, visit an island with angry natives, visit the lost city of Atlantis, and fish for giant pearls. However, there are also many distressing events coupled with the erratic behavior of Captain Nemo. One night the men are asked to return to their cell. They are given sleeping pills and awake the next morning very confused. Nemo asks Aronnax to look at a crewman who has been severely injured. The man later dies and they bury him in an underground cemetery, where many other crewmen have been laid to rest.
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.
* The main characters of the story
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 AbrahamLincoln 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.
* My opinion on the book
in adition when i started to do the book report i sterted to understand much better the plot of the story.
The book was thrilling, exciting and interesting and that is what made me want to read more and more of it.