“The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten” (1). This is the opening sentence in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and as it draws you into this essay, it does so for his timeless novel right from the first line. He is believed to be one of the most skilled scientific and adventure writers of his time, and ours. Jules Verne’s novel has been around for years and years, but how has it been able to last through so many different eras? In this essay, proof will be brought to light as to how this book passed the tests of time. With amazing characterization, excitement and anticipation for any age group and his futuristic ideas, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea easily lasted for centuries, and will for many more to come.
Jules Verne’s skill of dynamic characterization keeps everyone interested in his books, and especially in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. His main characters of Captain Nemo, Professor Aronnax and Ned Land, each with their own personality, make for a remarkable book. Captain Nemo is the mysterious antagonist in the novel. We are first introduced to him after he has locked up Aronnax, Ned Land and Conseil in their room once aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo did finally reveal himself to them, but there were still many mysteries surrounding him, such as being gone for months on end with no one ever seeing him, or “Where did the captain gather this gold from? And what was he going to do with it?” (56). Not knowing where he is or what he is doing gets you to constantly turn the pages to find out more. Captain Nemo is not the only character that gets people of all sorts interested, Professor Aronnax does this as well. He is an intelligent man and readers enjoy hearing the story through his point of view “…I knew by the perpendicularity of the sun’s rays, which