Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

I. About the Novel

    This story is about the adventures of Captain Nemo and his crew aboard the submarine, Nautilus. One day ships start sinking, particularly ones dealing with war. Survivors think it is a big whale. A harpoon ship goes out to kill it, but finds out that the whale is actually the Nautilus. The most interesting part of this book was probably the Nautilus itself. It is shaped to look like a fish, with a large metal fin on top used to ram and sink the ships. The camouflage of the boat being shaped like a whale works, up until the part where the Nautilus takes on a few passengers from one of the sinking ships. Another intriguing part of this book was Captain Nemo. He is the kind of character that you neither like nor dislike. I say this, because of some of Nemo’s actions. Captain Nemo hates war, and throughout the book, he uses his submarine to destroy all kinds of war related ships. You would like him for trying to put an end to war, but dislike his method (destroying ships and killing innocent lives).
       This is the story of an Underwater Tour of the World and is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax after he, his servant Conseil, and Canadian whaler Ned Land wash up on their ship. On the Nautilus, the three embark on a journey which has them going all around the world. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-Jules Hetzel's periodical, theMagasin d’Éducation et de Récréation. The deluxe illustrated edition, published by Hetzel in November 1871, included 111 illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou. The book was highly acclaimed when released and still is now; it is regarded as one of the premiere adventure novels and one of Verne's greatest works, along with Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth. The description of Nemo's ship, the Nautilus, was considered ahead of its time, as it accurately describes features on submarines, which at the time were very primitive vessels. Thus, the book has been able to age well because of its scientific theories, unlike some other of Verne's works, like Journey to the Center of the Earth, which are not scientifically accurate and serve more simply as adventure novels.--Submitted by Sana.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas." THE LITERATURE NETWORK. Jalic, 2000-2015. Web. 1 June 2016. http://www.online-literature.com/verne/leaguesunder/.

II. Versions of the Novel in the Mass Media

      

     ①"20.000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954) Trailer

 

      ②20,000 Leagues Under The Sea [DIC Entertainment]

Works Cited （参考文献）

①Bttfportugal. ""20.000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954) Trailer."YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 7 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhyuey4xU3Q>.

②Http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC75AOHMFP5Nk6FDY0XM6ltw. "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea [DIC Entertainment]." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 7 June 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCJyGAWvBIs.

III. About the Author

      The French novelist Jules Verne was the first authentic writer of modern science fiction. The best of his works, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, are characterized by his intelligent foresight into the technical achievements that are within man's grasp.
        Verne's personality was complex. Though capable of bouts of extreme liveliness and given to joking and playing practical jokes, he was basically a shy man, happiest when alone in his study or when sailing the English Channel in a converted fishing boat.

         In 1886 Verne was the victim of a shooting accident, which left him disabled. The man that shot him proved to be a nephew who was suffering from mental instability. This incident served to reinforce Verne's natural tendency toward depression. Although he served on the city council of Amiens two years later, he spent his old age in retirement. In 1902 he became partially blind and he died on March 24, 1905 in Amiens.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Jules Verne Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Advameg, n.d. Web. 1 June 2016. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Tu-We/Verne-Jules.html.

 

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - character

In this story, we can divide characters into two types(major character and minor character).  Major character is the most important in this story, but minor characters are important in this story too!!   

1.Major Characters                                                                                                                         

     Dr. Pierre Aronnax → He is a narrator and he is forty years old. He is a former medical doctor turned scientist and lecturer at the Museum of Paris.

    Conseil → Aronnax’s domestic servant. He is thirty years old. 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.

                                                 

    Captain Nemo → The commander of the Nautilus. He is a mysterious man. He is a brilliant man who was formerly an engineer.                                                                   

2.Minor Characters   

   Captain Anderson → The captain of the Scotia.

   Captain Farragut → The captain of the Abraham Lincoln. His name is taken from Union Civil War admiral, David G. Farragut.

   Sir Samuel Cunard → The name of the well-known Canadian ship-owner of a prestigious British and                                         North American Line.

("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: SETTING / CHARACTER LIST / CONFLICT / PROTAGONIST / ANTAGONIST / CLIMAX by Jules Verne." The Best Notes. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2016. <http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/20000_Leagues_Verne/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_The_Sea_Study_Guide02.html>.)

B. Reaction Point - setting
This mean a background or a place or a time in this story.

 TIME :
   This story is about the second half of 1980.  

 PLACE:　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　This story has many backgrounds. For example, the bottom of the sea , on the ship and island.                         　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

C. Reaction Point - denouement

This means the end of this story. Through the whole this story, this plays a role to settle. This has various kinds including a sad denouement, a nice denouement.

     Dr. Pierre Aronnax and Conseil and Ned Land came back to the house of a Norwegian seaman. Various questions remain for this story, but we cannot answer these questions. However, this seems to be the powerful charm of this story.

D. My General Opinion
This story was written by French author. It is not American!! 
I read this story for the first time and I haven't read stories like this story of Japanese. I was very surprised that the origin of the name which is the attraction of Tokyo Disney Sea "Kaitei Nimann mairu" is from this story. I was very happy, because I like stories about an adventure and I could read this story(about an adventure). 
I want everyone to read this story. I think that everyone like this story.