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Part 2, Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation
Freedom vs. Constraint
Human Intelligence and its Limits
Exploration, Imperialism, and Conquest
Nature vs. Civilization
Summary
Analysis
Arronax isn’t sure how he reaches the platform; he thinks Ned possibly carries him. The first words he says are in gratitude to Ned and Conseil. Ned says that he wants to use this moment of bonding for them to promise that they will escape together. However, there remains a problem: they don’t know where they are going. They pass Cape Horn, and soon after reach the Falkland Islands. Continuing northward, they find themselves in the middle of the Atlantic. Arronax keenly studies fish he has never had the chance to see up close before. At one point, Conseil is stung by a rayfish, and for the first time in his life cries out for Arronax’s help. Once the vessel arrives in Dutch seas, the crew capture and kill six manatees, saving the meat.
There is an obvious parallel between the vessel’s miraculous return to the surface of the water and the three captives’ plan to escape. In the first case, working to find a way out even though success seemed highly unlikely was crucial, and paid off in the end. However, Arronax does not seem willing to see that the same might be true in the context of their escape attempt.
Themes
