Tuesday, August 28, 2012

"Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is awaitin' for me." Song Lyrics

In 1866, there are a number of sightings of an unexplained object in the ocean.
Some of these sightings are far apart from one another. However, when no other explanation is given, some fear that it might be a sea monster.

An expedition is set with U.S. Naval frigate Abraham Lincoln, under Captain Farragut. They are firm in their resolve to find this monster.

Professor Pierre Aronnax of the Museum of Paris had written articles about this phenomenon of a possible sea monster and he is asked to join the others, as is Canadian harpooner, Ned Land.

Once they are out to sea and have traveled far in search for this monster, something is sighted and Ned, Pierre and Pierre's man, Conseil take a small boat from the Abraham Lincoln. Ned tries to harpoon the item but their small boat is overturned and the men are picked up by the submarine, the Nautilus, under Captain Nemo.

They are kept captive as the Nautilus travels the world. They are anxious to go free and Nemo has constant proclamations of where they are and Pierre tells the reader things that are important from these things from history, such as a sunken ship that had riches in it.

The style of writing is dry and without much emotional comment. I found the writing to be so different from today that it was challenging to get into the story line and become involved with the story.

In addition, some of the findings of Jules Verne are impossible to accept, such as the 20,000 leagues that the submarine is said to go under the sea, and this is more than the circumference of the earth.  However, it was interesting to read this to view where literature and adventure fiction has come in the last one hundred years.

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