Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Main Characters:

Professor Pierre Aronnax-Assistant Professor in Museum of Natural History in Paris; narrator of his adventures on the Nautilus; frenchman

Counseil- Monsieur Aronnax"'"s 30 year old servant, '"' a true, devoted Flemish boy'"' who accompanied Arronax in all his travels

Ned Land- Canadian harpooner about 40 years old who joined Aronnax and Counseil on the '"'Abraham Lincoln'"' in search of the mysterious marine monster threatening the seas

Captain Nemo- captain, builder and engineer of the Nautilus submarine

Secondary Characters:

Commander Farragut- U.S. commander of the frigate '"'Abraham Lincoln'"'

Captain Nemo"'"s crew- speak an unknown language, able-bodied men that serve Captain Nemo on the Nautilus

Papuans- savages on the Island of Gilboa that attempt to attack and board the Nautilus

Dumont d"'"Urville- Arannax talks about this famous French explorer who was commander of the Astrolabe; Captain Nemo compares himself to this great sailor

Part I

Chapter 1- A Shifting Reef:

Merchants, sailors and captains from all over the world report seeing '"'an enormous thing, a long object, spindle shaped, occasionally phosphorescent, and infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale.'"' Debates rage over whether this mysterious monster was an extraordinary, cetaceous (of or relating to dolphin or whales) creature or a supernatural phenomenon. A couple of ships (Moravian & Scotia) were struck by this '"'monster'"' piercing the ships"'" bottom. As other shipwrecks occurred, the public blamed them all on the '"'monster'"' and demanded that the seas be rid of the menace.

Chapter 2- Pro and Con

Many hypotheses were formed to explain what produced the triangular shaped hole in the Scotia"'"s bottom, but the two prevailing theories were that it was either a '"'monster of colossal strength or a submarine vessel of enormous motive power.'"' Since all the major countries denied any knowledge of construction for a new submarine, Professor Aronnax concluded that it must be a member of the narwhal family, or common sea unicorn. Due to his expertise in the field and publication of his book '"'Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds'"', Aronnax was asked by J.B. Hobson, U.S. Secretary of Marine to join the expedition on the frigate '"'Abraham Lincoln'"' to hunt down this great narwhal.

Chapter 3- I Form My Resolution

Although fatigued from a recent journey, Professor Aronnax, accompanied by his servant Counseil, accepts the invitation to join the expedition. Commander Farragut, captain of the '"'Abraham Lincoln'"' is anxious to set off in search of the creature and they being their voyage full steam ahead.

Chapter 4- Ned Land

Captain Farragut mentioned a $2000 reward for whoever should first sight the monster. Consequently, the entire crew was alert and attentive with a shared goal of finding and harpooning the creature. On board the crew, was Ned Land, '"'the prince of harpooners'"' who took a liking to Monsieur Aronnax. Unlike Aronnax, Ned did not believe that it was possible for a whale, cetacean or sea unicorn to cause the extensive damage of the Scotia.

Chapter 5- At a Venture

'"'The voyage of the Abraham Lincoln was for a long time marked by no special incident.'"' The crew became restless and Commander Farragut asked for 3 more days to locate the sea creature before giving up and returning home. On the last day, Ned Land spots the '"'creature.'"'

Chapter 6- At Full Steam

The '"'Abraham Lincoln'"' begins its chase of the creature reaching top speeds but cannot gain on its prey. The '"'creature'"' stops and they are able to get a hundred feet from the burning light it