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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Journey to the Center of the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Discovery
Maturity and Independence
Intuition vs. Evidence
Nature vs. Civilization
Adventure
Summary
Analysis
The study is full of meticulously organized mineral specimens that Axel knows well. Lidenbrock excitedly shows his nephew an old book. Axel humors his uncle, but his interest only becomes genuine when Lidenbrock reveals the book is written in Icelandic runes that must be translated. A piece of parchment falls from the book, and Axel’s narration remarks that the runes inscribed upon it will lead him and Lidenbrock on “the strangest expedition of the nineteenth century.”
While Axel is less single-mindedly devoted to science than Lidenbrock, his excitement in the runes shows that he shares his uncle’s intellectual curiosity. The discovery of the Icelandic runes are the inciting incident that sets in motion the journey that forms the bulk of the plot.
Themes
Literary Devices
Lidenbrock is proficient with languages, but he cannot decipher the runes. Axel takes some pleasure at seeing his uncle as mystified as he is. Martha tells the men that dinner is ready, but Lidenbrock sends Axel to dine alone. Axel and Martha are both surprised by this, since Lidenbrock never misses meals. The dinner is delicious, and Axel decides to eat his uncle’s portion as well as his own. He justifies this as the duty of a “devoted nephew.” He is finishing his meal when Lidenbrock summons Axel back to the study.
Axel and Lidenbrock’s contrasting reactions to the runes speaks to their perspectives on scientific discovery. Axel is interested in the runes, but he easily parts with them to have dinner, highlighting that he values practicality and comfort over discovery. Lidenbrock, on the other hand, disregards practicality entirely to continue decoding the runes. Axel’s justification of eating his uncle’s meal as the act of a “devoted nephew” reveals Axel’s sarcastic wit, indicating that he is more than the put-upon assistant he appears to be.
Themes
