Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Journey to the Center of the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Discovery
Maturity and Independence
Intuition vs. Evidence
Nature vs. Civilization
Adventure
Summary
Analysis
When Axel wakes, his face is wet with tears and his blind wandering has left him bloody. He anticipates death “with satisfaction,” but a loud noise breaks the silence. The noise is followed by voices. Axel cries out, and, after a long pause, Lidenbrock calls out to him. Hearing his uncle rekindles Axel’s hope, and he tells his uncle that they should measure how long sound takes to travel between them to determine their distance. They do this and discover that Lidenbrock and Hans are four miles below Axel. Axel hurries to join his companions, but he moves too quickly downward and falls down a vertical gallery.
As he lies alone in the dark, Axel’s constant fear and anxiety shifts into an acceptance of death. When he hears his uncle, Axel leaps into action and takes the lead in deciding how they should find each other. Lidenbrock agrees to follow Axel’s plan, highlighting how Axel’s near-death experience has emboldened him and changed the men’s power dynamics.
Themes
