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Story Structure . Spoiler Alert!
The novel is about a journey. One that takes place under the sea and over the course of 20,000 leagues.
One nautical league is the equivalent of 3 miles. The journey then is 60,000 miles long (for reference sake, the U.S. is about 3,000 miles coast to coast).
The story is told from a first-person perspective, the narrator being its protagonist, Professor Aronnax. He's a French professor who'd been studying in the United States, while some disturbances arose at sea. These disturbances begin everything. The Professor splits his narrative into two halves.
The First Half
He opens with an account of the fascination that took the world by storm in the mid-1870s, as some sea monster of hideous proportions began attacking ships. Everyone has an opinion, but no one knows for sure what the creature is.
Amidst all the excitement, Professor Aronnax is invited aboard a U.S. military ship commissioned to hunt the creature down in Pacific waters. He readily accepts, only to find himself thrown overboard when the ship encounters the foul beast.
Along with two others, he finds himself rescued by the Nautilus, a submarine floating placidly upon the ocean's surface. They enter its chambers and meet those on board.
Here you learn that the beast is no beast at all. Rather, it's an electric submarine called the Nautilus. It's managed by the mysterious Captain Nemo, whose origins are completely unknown. Captain Nemo explains that they're free to roam about the Nautilus, but they are sworn to it as prisoners for the rest of their lives.
From here, the exploration commences.
They begin in the Pacific, wind their through Polynesian waters, and eventually cross into the Indian Ocean. Book one closes here.
The Second Half
The journey continues as they push into the Indian Ocean. From there, they travel into the Red Sea and cross through an underground tunnel into the Mediterranean Sea.
A few character developments take place here. First, it's revealed that Captain Nemo recovers treasure from sunken ships. Yet, instead of hoarding it, he uses it to support struggling and oppressed people above the surface. He's a freedom fighter, of sorts.
Also, Ned Land, one of the Professor's fellow prisoners, begins to grow increasingly erratic. He cannot stand being trapped aboard the ship, and the wonders of the ocean do nothing to mitigate his anxieties.
The Professor desires to finish his oceanic studies aboard the Nautilus and is willing to trade his freedom to do so, at least for the time being. Ned Land is not. And they are committed to each other. Constantly, Ned Land scans their circumstances for an opportunity to escape.
As the journey continues, they travel into the Atlantic Ocean, sailing to the south pole, discovering it for the very first time. After some difficulties and a close call, they return to the Atlantic Ocean. Here the scuffle ensues between the crew of the Nautilus and a crew of giant octopi (this is where the false branding comes from). It's a pretty wild scene.
Then, they move up through the western side of the Atlantic, eventually crossing over between the UK and continental Europe. Here, Nemo sinks a warship from an unknown country.
Afterward, he descends into fury and madness. And it's revealed that he formerly had a wife and children. It appears their loss led him to this strange lifestyle beneath the sea.
At this moment, Ned Land attempts to escape and the professor joins him, along with his assistant Conseil. They soon realize they're caught in a massive whirlpool. They are cast from the submarine into the dark waters but wake to find themselves alive and on land.
The narrative ends here with Nemo’s fate and the Nautilus’s, a complete and utter mystery.
In the next article, we’ll begin interpreting the novel.
Until then, enjoy you’re reading!
-Trevor
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