Comparision of Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth
In both the novels, the main characters embarked on a journey. One went around the world and the other to the center to the world. How were they two journeys similar and how were they different? Moreover, what did these journeys symbolize and what was their significance? In the novels the main characters embark on long journeys that take them through various trials and tribulations. The essay will be analyzing how these two distinct journeys are similar and how they are different.
In the journeys, the characters go through a series of events that not only hold significant meaning, but also symbolize the significance of the journeys and their impact on the characters. Therefore, the essay will analyze what the journeys symbolized and their significance on the characters and the overall them of both novels. The Novels Around the world in 80 days and The journey to the center of the earth are written by the famous author Jules Verne. Jules Verne’s novels have been noted for predicting modern times. The two novels are based on different journeys; one is around the world and the other towards the center of the earth.
Journey to the center of the earth sounds more fictional than around the world in 80 days but back in the author’s time even going around the world in 80 days was almost impossible. In both the stories we come across the main characters that are Phileas Fogg (Around the world in 80 days) and Professor Lidenbrock (Journey to the centre of the earth). Phileas Fogg is an English man. He is a very well disciplined, organized personality who has a very regularized life. All of this is evident novel when it says, “He talked very little, and seemed all the more mysterious for his taciturn manner.
His daily habits were quite open to observation; but whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that he had always done before, that the wits of the curious were fairly puzzled. ” He is rich and owns a mansion in a very famous street but no one knew where his money came from. He is the main and in fact the most important character of the story. Professor Lidenbrock is a scientist. He, as well, is organized had a normalized life which is evident in the novel when Axel, his nephew narrates, “Another peculiarity of his was, that he always stepped a yard at a time… . He, as well, is rich and lives in famous street. He is the Protagonist of the story. Thus, one can see here that there are many similarities in both the character. One day Phileas Fogg was playing whist with his usual partners at the reform club. During the game the discussion started on the bank robbery that had recently taken place. One stated that he was not any ordinary robber but he was a gentleman and the detectives had started their work but there was no success. As the game proceeded with the conversation they confer about where could the robber flee.
They argued that the world is big enough and the robber could go anywhere in the world. There Fogg interrupts and says it was once big enough but now it isn’t due to the advancements in transport. And there the argument takes a new turn. Fogg stated that, in 80 days, he could go around the world. The players, then quarreled if he had taken into account everything which could be delays, dangers etc and to which Fogg replied yes. On this, one of them bets four thousand pounds and in reply Fogg bets twenty thousand pounds on the journey. He accepts that challenge and puts himself in a conflicting situation.
Therefore he goes for a journey, not that he wanted to win the wager, but that he wanted to show it is possible. In the second novel, Professor Lidenbrock found a very old book which was in Icelandic language. While he was going through the book a small parchment fell out from it. The parchment was in runic language similar to the book and they could understand what was written in it. He found out that it was written by Arne Saknussemm who was a learned professor of the 16th century . They started figuring out what was written in it and after hard work and deliberation Axel deciphered it.
They secret seemed really terrible to Axel and he knew once his uncle knows about it he would definitely go for the discovery. He thought that he shouldn’t tell his uncle but even if he didn’t tell him he would somehow decode it. He told him the secret by which Lidenbrock was madly amazed and filled with joy. In English the parchment read as follows “Descend into the crater of Yocul of Sneffels, which the shade of Scartaris caresses, before the kalends of July, audacious traveler, and you will reach the centre of the earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm “ Although Axel argues that there are several danger and that how could someone descend into the earth which is filled with molten lava but nothing changed lidenbrocks decision and he leaves for the journey. There are many similarities in the novels. In both the novel we see that they face several delays and difficulties. In Around the world in 80 days, Phileas Fogg along with Passepartout leaves to meet the challenge which is to around the world in 80 days. During the journey they face many delays and difficulties. Detective Fix is from one of them who create difficulties in his journey.
Detective Fox suspects Fogg to be the bank robber of England and follows him throughout the journey. They face a delay when they are going towards Calcutta and the train stops in between and then they had to cross the distance traveling on an elephant. During the travel they plan to save the sacrificial women Auoda and risk their life and time for it. Later storms at the sea delay their journey. They also miss boarding the ship, at another occasion, as Passepartout fails to inform Fogg about it. Fix makes passepartout drunk several times at takes advantage of it. They even get attacked on their way to New York.
Fix arrests Fogg detaining him which delay their trip even more. But at last they were successful and won the challenge. Similarly, In A journey to the center of the earth Professor Lidenbrock along his nephew, Axel leaves to go towards the centre of the earth. They, as well, face obstacles in their journey. When they reach the volcano it was necessary to see the casting shadow which leads to the path. Due to the bad weather they couldn’t see it but later on it became visible. As they descend into the earth they find a place with combustible gas which is very dangerous.
As they proceed they take a wrong turn and they lose the water trail and run out of water and due to this Axel almost dies. At another point Axel gets separated from his uncle and get lost several miles from him. Then later they face large monsters and they are almost eaten by them. Their raft gets struck by a huge fireball as well. After that incident they find a passage marked by Arne Saknussemn but they had blow up the rock to enter in. The blow somehow went huge which made the water rush in the chimney. The molten lava starts filling in and they get ejected out the chimney.
This show the novels were similar in a way that they face difficulties in their journeys. The way in which novels were different is that, one is around the world and the other towards the center of the earth. Fogg went on this journey as a challenge where as Lidenbrock went as discovering was his passion. Fogg was travelling on the earth surface on the other hand Lidenbrock was going under the earth. Hence, it shows the ideas of the two journeys are wide apart. The journeys were symbolic left a significant impact on the main characters as well.
In the beginning of the story one sees Fogg as cold and disciplined man who had not much emotion. But as the story moves along there is significant development in his character. Even after he gets delayed several times because of Passepartout he says nothing to him. He saves Auoda , the sacrificial women, risking his own life. He even forgives detective Fix who creates many difficulties in his journey. This shows that he was large hearted. He later marries Auoda and expresses his love. One never might have thought a person like him cold and disciplined could have fallen in love. Professor Lidenbrock, as well, is organized and disciplined.
Nothing changed Lidenbrock’s decision but when Axel gets hurt and is close to death he almost called off the journey and it is evident when he says ”My dear boy, I had begun to give over all hope–and you can never know what bitter tears of sorrow and regret I have shed. At last, supposing you to be still on the road. ” This shows how this stubborn character could change his mind for the love of his nephew. Hence, One journey proved that due to advancements in transport it was more efficient and faster to travel. The other journey discovered the world under the earth. Owais khan
