See a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea summary and list of characters. Learn the main themes and see notable quotations from this Jules Verne work.
Updated: 11/21/2023
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Summary & Characters
Table of Contents
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Summary
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Characters
- Jules Verne
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Quotations
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the plot summary of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"?
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a tale of three men, Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and Ned, who happen upon a never-before-seen submarine ship, the Nautilus, as they searched for what was thought to be a sea monster wreaking havoc in the oceans. Taken captive aboard the Nautilus by its captain, Nemo, they are given the freedom to explore the boat, but told they will never be released. Aboard the avant-garde watercraft, they explore places never before seen by man, allowing Professor Aronnax, a marine biologist, to study underwater life in a way he never imagined possible. After a harrowing discovery regarding captain Nemo's motive for isolating himself from the human world, the three friends must escape before being going down with the ship.
What is the monster in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?
In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the monster that everyone is after ends up being a submarine. Captain Nemo has decided to escape society and live under under the water in an elaborately created submarine of his own design.
Who are the main characters in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"?
The main characters in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea are Professor Pierre Aronnax; Conseil, his loyal assistant; Commander Farragut of the Abraham Lincoln; Ned Land, master harpooner; and Captain Nemo of the Nautilus. Aside from the main characters, there are several crew members on both the Abraham Lincoln and the Nautilus that make appearances throughout the story.
Is "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" a true story?
Author Jules Verne spent a great deal of time researching maritime engineering, ocean life, exotic fish, and the construction of a steamship to ensure the accuracy of the details within the story. That being said, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is simply a well-constructed work of science fiction.
For what grade level is "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" suited?
While the interest level of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is listed as grades 5-12, the reading level is a bit higher. Verne's story of submarine travel is best suited for grades 8-12.
How did Captain Nemo die?
After sinking a ship belonging to the country responsible for the death of his family, Captain Nemo is frenzied and distraught. For several days they cruise beneath the surface, only coming up for air. Eventually the Nautilus came up off the Norwegian coast and is sucked down by a whirlpool, dragged to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again.
Table of Contents
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Summary
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Characters
- Jules Verne
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Quotations
- Lesson Summary
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne about three men who find themselves aboard the Navy frigate, Abraham Lincoln, hunting a sea monster that they believed to be a giant narwhal. Professor Pierre Aronnax, his loyal servant Conseil, and a master harpooner, Ned Land all find themselves under the order of Commander Farragut as they travel the seas in search of the creature. After finally stumbling upon the beast, Professor Aronnax is thrown from the ship and Conseil jumps in after him. Unable to keep up with the ship as it flees, they find themselves stranded in open water.
After several hours of swimming, they find Ned Land, who had also been thrown from the ship, sitting atop the creature itself, which appears to be not an animal, but a submarine watercraft made of impenetrable metal. After a great deal of commotion, the three men are discovered and taken aboard the ship, where they are locked in a room. Eventually two men pay them a visit, but as they all try to explain their situation, the men do not appear to speak any of their languages. So, without any resolution, they disappear, locking the doors behind them.
A steward comes to serve the men a meal and after eating, they all fall into a deep slumber. When the men wake, they do not know what time of day it is, but they are hungry and unsettled. Finally, the steward returns with another meal along with one of the men who first paid them a visit. He introduces himself as Captain Nemo and tells them that they are aboard his submarine, the Nautilus. He informs the men that, upon hearing their story, he has decided that they will be given the freedom to explore the boat and take advantage of all its wonders, but they will never be released.
Aboard the avant-garde watercraft, the intellectual Professor Aronnax finds himself delighted as they explore places and witness sights never before seen by man, allowing him the opportunity to study underwater specimens in their natural habitat. Conseil is happy to go along with whatever pleases the professor, but Ned becomes restless and disgruntled, looking for any opportunity to escape. Captain Nemo takes them on underwater hunting excursions and pearling, they fight off sharks and even explore the lost city of Atlantis, but after a close call in the Antarctic and an increasingly unsettled captain, the professor agrees that it may be time to cut ties with the Nautilus.
Trouble comes aboard the Nautilus and one of the crew members is lost to a giant squid as they struggle to fight off several of them attacking the ship. After months with no opportunity to escape, Professor Aronnax mentions their desire to leave to the captain, who informs him that he will not allow them to leave and that he should never ask again. They continue to cruise the ocean seemingly without a objective, until one day, they come across a ship belonging to an undisclosed country, that Captain Nemo is determined to sink. He reveals that their conquering of his country took the lives of his entire family and he was seeking rightful revenge. Yet, after the Nautilus skillfully sinks the ship, Captain Nemo's mental state takes a toll and he appears to be on the verge of insanity. The three passengers decide that they must escape and with haste, so at the first opportunity, they exit the submarine and climb into the escape boat just as the Nautilus gets caught in a whirlpool and sucked to the bottom of the ocean, presumably killing all on board.
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There are several notable characters in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea including the following main characters:
- Professor Pierre Aronnax is the protagonist and the narrator of the story. He is a published scientist and professor of marine biology and it is later revealed that he was a practicing physician before joining the museum.
- Conseil is Professor Aronnax's faithful servant who is willing to do anything and go anywhere for his master. He seems to have no mind of his own and is loyal to a fault, including jumping into the sea after the professor is thrown from the Abraham Lincoln.
- Commander Farragut is an officer in the American Navy and commander of the Abraham Lincoln, an incredibly fast frigate that was sent out on a mission to kill the sea monster that was originally thought to be a narwhal of incredible magnitude.
- Ned Land is known as the "prince of harpooners." He is a French Canadian from a family of Quebec fisherman, about 40 years old, over six feet tall, strongly-built and bad-tempered when contradicted.
- Captain Nemo is the secretive and enigmatic captain and engineer behind the submarine vessel known as the Nautilus. He is incredibly wealthy and passionate about the arts which can be seen in his extensive displays of artwork, music, and literature on board the ship. He uses his time on the Nautilus to study marine life and underwater geography, frequently correcting the information in the books on board based on his findings. Displeased with human society, Nemo built the Nautilus as a way to escape the world of man and avenge his family.
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Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, was born in 1828 in Nantes, France as the oldest of five children. He was passionate about travel and far away places, but also equally impassioned by accurate scientific detail and mathematics, which can be seen throughout his stories. He is often referred to as the Father of Science Fiction, combining scientific fact with fictional adventures, laying the groundwork for science fiction to come. Known for romanticizing science, he frequently wrote of futuristic ideas. Verne's earlier works, known as the Voyages extraordinaires are said to be written during his positivist period where he wrote successful science adventure novels.
From 1886 until his death in 1905, he stopped writing stories of exploration and discovery and began writing stories that explored the dangers of technology brought on by arrogant scientists. After his death in 1905, Verne left behind several nearly-completed transcripts that his son, Michel, finished posthumously. Unfortunately, in many cases it has been discovered that rather than editing the stories, Michel rewrote them completely, which has received mixed reactions from scholars.
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"But here it would be killing for killing's sake. I know that is a privilege reserved for mankind, but I do not approve of such murderous pastimes." - This is Captain Nemo's response to Ned wanting to harpoon a whale for sport, regardless of the fact that they do not need the blubber nor the meat. This response is ironic because he then goes on to massacre a pod of sperm whales, claiming that they are "cruel, terrible creatures" worthy of extermination by man. For the first time, a light is cast on Captain Nemo's character and his mercilessness towards enemies when he sees fit.
"I am the law and I am the Judge! I am the oppressed and there is the oppressor." - Captain Nemo says this as Professor Aronnax tries to reason with him and discourage attacking the armored ship. This is where we learn that Captain Nemo took to the sea to seek revenge after his entire family was killed by the army that occupied his country.
"The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite." - Captain Nemo explains his love of the sea as he discusses, with Professor Aronnax, his life below the surface.
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a tale of scientific adventure written by French author, Jules Verne and published in 1870. It is a story of three men, Professor Aronnax, his loyal servant, Conseil, and harpooner Ned Land, who stumble upon the submarine vessel, the Nautilus and its brilliant Captain, Nemo, who created the ship to escape society on land. Over the course of the next several months, the captain takes them on many journeys, including underwater hunting and pearling. They fight off sharks and squids, and visit the lost city of Atlantis and the South Pole.
While Ned becomes restless and craves freedom, Professor Aronnax is happy to spend time aboard the submarine, experiencing marine life in its natural habitat in ways he never imagined. But after Captain Nemo's past comes out and his true intentions are discovered when he sinks an armored ship belonging to the country responsible for the death of his family, the three men agree that escaping the Nautilus is necessary. Captain Nemo's sanity begins to slip and they make it off the submarine in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding the whirlpool that swallowed the Nautilus and all on board.
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Video Transcript
Summary
Written by Jules Verne in 1870, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a book that tells us the story of three accidental visitors to an underwater world hosted by the mysterious Captain Nemo. From their arrival on board the Nautilus, the scholarly Professor Aronnax, loyal Conseil, and adventurous Ned Land are torn between exploring the new wonders of their surroundings and finding a way to escape.
They originally encounter the Nautilus in the Pacific Ocean as part of an expedition to find out what species of undiscovered whale has been damaging world shipping. However, far from encountering a whale that has wrecked world shipping, they soon find themselves on the iron plating of a new kind of vessel, a submarine. From there, the three find themselves below decks, with Arronax an honored guest of the vessel's commander, Captain Nemo.
As the book progresses, the men hunt underwater, fight sharks, encounter Atlantis, and fight off giant squid. However, after sinking a warship belonging to a country that caused the death of his family, Nemo loses control on his sanity. He realizes that despite his best efforts to the contrary, he is just as uncivilized as those who oppressed him in the past. Like those oppressors, he relied on advanced technology to gain the upper hand. In short, Nemo finds out that he's as cruel as his opponents, causing him to go over a psychological cliff. Guiding the submarine into a whirlpool off the coast, the vessel and all aboard seem destined for doom until Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land sneak into a boat and escape the Nautilus.
Primary Characters
The protagonist of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is Professor Aronnax. The story starts with him returning from archaeological digs in Nebraska, as per his role as a specialist at a prominent Paris Museum. It is by accident that he is invited on the expedition to hunt the Nautilus. However, once on board, he is constantly interested in the discoveries that happen every day as a result of his work. It is through his perspective that the book is told.
Conseil is Aronnax's servant. Fiercely loyal to Aronnax, he jumps in the water to the rescue of Aronnax after he falls off the steamer searching for the Nautilus. On the other hand, Ned Land has one goal in mind throughout the book: escape. That said, he does not shy away from the opportunity for unique adventure, such as underwater shark hunting, nor does he deprive the Nautilus of his skills as a whaler and as a warrior against the animal threats to the Nautilus.
The most mysterious character in the book is the captain of the Nautilus, Captain Nemo. Even his name is mysterious, meaning 'nobody' in Latin. Fantastically wealthy, educated beyond even the degrees of Professor Aronnax, and equipped with an engineer's mind, it is through Nemo's drive that the Nautilus is possible. However, he carries a dark secret. He lost his family when his country was occupied by an oppressive state, and has turned his life into a mission to get revenge. However, when he finally gains that revenge, he enters a spiral of misery equaled only by the maelstrom that threatens to engulf the Nautilus.
Quotations From the Book
Verne finds a unique balance in the book, showing Nemo's disgust with modern advancements when those advancements ignore the basic equality of all humans, while still providing enough witty material to keep the reader engaged. This shows the paradox of Verne's own thoughts regarding the new scientific advances of his time. On one hand, he cannot help but be very curious about every discovery, whether it's a new culture in Africa or a new invention like an electric motor. On the other hand, he knows that there are ethical questions about the advancement of new technology and Western political supremacy.
'We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.' - Nemo feels that many Western powers ignore the basic natural laws of humanity. Also, it shows that despite the rapid advances in technology, nature always wins.
'There's an island over there. On that island there are trees. Under those trees there are animals carrying around chops and roast beefs, and I wouldn't mind a bit, sinking my teeth into a little good meat.' - Ned Land's constant plots to escape are only paused by his desire for a meal that doesn't feature seafood. In this, we see Verne's wit, as well as a bit of undisclosed foreshadowing. Ned won't be alone in wanting to eat the animals in question.
Lesson Summary
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was written by Jules Verne in 1870, about the adventures of Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and Ned Land on board the Nautilus. The Nautilus, piloted by the mysterious Captain Nemo, was years ahead of contemporary technology on land. However, Nemo was tortured by the life he had stolen from him on land, and ultimately steered the Nautilus on a course to ruin that led to a quick escape by Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land.
Learning Outcomes
This lesson on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea should have helped you get ready to:
- Sum up Twenty Leagues Under the Sea
- Recognize the primary characters of the book
- Analyze quotations from the book
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Summary & Characters
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