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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Around the World in Eighty Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Modernity, Time, and Control
Imperialism
Chance, Adventure, and Human Connection
Honor, Reputation, and Duty
Summary
Analysis
Fogg, Passepartout, and Detective Fix travel to Bombay on the Mongolia. Fogg has no desire to spend time on the deck, and instead eats four meals per day in the cabin and plays games of whist with the other passengers. Fix continues to strategically gain Passepartout’s trust by buying him drinks and engaging him in conversation.
When the Mongolia stops in Aden, Yemen to fill up on coal, Fogg only briefly disembarks to have his passport stamped, while Passepartout goes off to sightsee and mingle with the city’s diverse population. The steamer then goes on to Bombay and arrives ahead of schedule on October 20th, a time gain of two days which Fogg records in his itinerary.
Unlike Fogg, Passepartout is drawn to the unfamiliarity of new places. He values travel not because he is looking to gain anything specific out of it, but because it opens up unforeseen possibilities.
Themes
