Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation
Freedom vs. Constraint
Human Intelligence and its Limits
Exploration, Imperialism, and Conquest
Nature vs. Civilization
Summary
Analysis
On June 30, the Abraham Lincoln makes contact with some American whalers, one of whom—the captain of a ship called the Monroe—asks Ned to help the crew of his ship hunt a whale. Ned ends up killing not one but two whales, and this creates confidence that if the Abraham Lincoln ever finds the monster, it has no hope of surviving a clash with Ned. The ship continues sailing south around Latin America, and on July 6 it reaches Cape Horn before moving north around the other side of the continent, now in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission gets off to a successful start, but because the crew of the Abraham Lincoln still has no idea what they are facing, it is hard to say for sure whether Ned’s skills as a harpooner will be enough when (or if) they finally encounter the monster.
Themes
Motivated by the $2,000 prize, the sailors keep a close eye on the water, as does Arronax, even though he is not particularly interested in the money. Every time someone thinks they might see something, a great rush of excitement washes over the ship, only to subside into disappointment shortly after. By the end of July, the ship crosses the equator, and at this point the ship heads west, deeper into the Pacific. The ship spends three months there, scouring every inch of the ocean, and over time those on board become despondent. Eventually, Farragut announces that if the monster is still not found after three days, they will have to abandon the mission.
The fact that Arronax is completely unmotivated by money serves as yet another reminder that being a scientist isn’t just a job to him, but is rather the very essence of who he is. The problem with this, of course, is that the disappointment may be too much to bear if the mission is unsuccessful.
Themes
On the final night of the expedition, Arronax and Conseil stand looking out at the water, and Arronax laments that the whole effort was “a silly business after all.” Conseil agrees, pointing out that they’ve wasted a great deal of time by not heading immediately to France. However, just at that moment Ned Land shouts that the object of their search is in sight.
This passage underscores the importance of remaining hopeful despite all odds. Whereas Arronax is often preoccupied with rationality and the scientific likelihood of different phenomena, moments like this demonstrate that the natural world is not always predictable or analyzable.
Themes
