Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Rishabh | Manalapan High School, Grade 9

Rating: *****

This work by Jules Verne called Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is a science fiction based adventure story. It tells a story about a Captain who built a submarine called the Nautilis and travels around under the ocean. He does this in order to escape society because he despises the violence and cruelty that he experienced. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist and the narrator of this story is invited to embark on a journey to find the creature. He is joined by his butler Conseil and becomes friends with harpooner Ned Land while on the ship. After months of searching, the ship finds and attacks the monster, which results in a damaged hull. During all the turmoil, the three characters are flung off the boat and drift in the sea, until they find an advanced submarine that has surfaced. They enter the submarine and are introduced to Captain Nemo, a man who had built the extraordinary submarine to both escape and take revenge upon a cruel and destructive society. He decides to hold the three passengers captive in ensure that his scientific discoveries are not divulged to the outside world. The captives, though surrounded by luxury, cannot tolerate being imprisoned.

Though the story occurs inside a futuristic machine, Verne focuses on the primitive aspects of human nature that are awakened by the creation. The desire for revenge, to inflict cruelty upon those who once hurt us is focused on through the character Nemo. The universal hatred of imprisonment, even in luxurious circumstances is awakened among the captives. This novel shows no matter how technologically advanced humanity becomes, primal desires are always present, and I strongly recommend it.