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Chapter 39
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
Lidenbrock and Axel walk among the bones for another half hour. After traveling a mile, they encounter a forest of extinct flora from the tertiary epoch, which lack color due to the sun’s absence. They venture into the forest and find mastodons. Lidenbrock wants to approach the creatures, and though Axel is wary, Lidenbrock convinces him when he spots a human figure herding the animals. The man is 12 feet tall with a mane of tangled hair. Axel pulls Lidenbrock away, and Lidenbrock follows him. Axel’s narration asserts that their eyes must have deceived them, and that it is “madness” to believe humans live in the subterranean world.
Lidenbrock and Axel continue to make discoveries that challenge contemporary science. They find extinct species surviving in impossible habitats and a giant man that should not be able to survive so far underground. When Axel pulls Lidenbrock away from the giant, he is implicitly deciding that there are some things they should not know. Lidenbrock, for once, agrees to step back from the pursuit of knowledge.
Themes
Lidenbrock and Axel decide to return to the raft, but they are unsure which direction to travel. Axel sees a rusted dagger in the sand. He worries that the weapon belongs to one of the giant men, but Lidenbrock explains that the dagger resembles Icelandic poniards popular in the 16th century, and so was likely dropped by another explorer. This thought excites Lidenbrock. The two men look around the area and find a dark tunnel marked with the initials. “A.S.” Lidenbrock is thrilled to find a new indication of Arne Saknussemm.
The rusted dagger is the men’s first piece of evidence in some time that they are still following Saknussemm’s trail. Lidenbrock’s excitement at finding the dagger suggests that, despite his assurances to Axel, he is also comforted to find tangible evidence that validates their adventure.
Themes
