Journey to the Centre of the Earth short summary & analysis

Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne

Journey to the Centre of the Earth Analysis

Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of Jules Verne 's best science fiction and adventure books. Even though there was not enough information and resources on oceans, space and the sky at that time, with his brilliant imagination, he could predict many natural phenomena and created a masterpiece. You’ll find yourself going from one adventure to another. Journey to the Center of the Earth is a great book that you’ll devour it until the very last page of the book.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth Short Summary

Axel, the protagonist of the story in the Journey to the Center of the Earth, is a young man living with his uncle. His uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, lives in an old village in Hamburg. Apart from being an academic, he is also a curious and ambitious scientist. He is keen on books. Liedenbrock also has a goddaughter. Liedenbrock starts an adorable family by adopting his goddaughter, Gertrud. He also has a domestic worker named Marta who lives with them. Axel loves Gertrud, Liedenbrock’s goddaughter. Gertrud loves him too, but they are afraid of their uncle’s response to their love for each other. But Axel is determined to open up his uncle and tell him that he is in love with Gertrud and wants to marry her.

One day Liedenbrock happens to find a book written in runic alphabet. He reads it, but each line of this mysterious book seems like a kind of password to him. The more he reads, the more intelligible it gets and eventually he finds a password in the scrolls of the book. This is a password belonging to Arne Saknussenum, the Icelandic scientist, and he is the only person who has gone to the center of the earth. These are written in the book:

‘Go down into the crater of Snefells Yokul before the last day of June, when the shadow of Scartaris falls across it. Your courageous voyager, then you will be at the center of the earth, like I already did.

After he decodes the meaning of the words, the professor decides to set off on the journey with his tools, a compass and an axe. Axel is very upset about leaving Gertrud behind, but he doesn’t want to break his uncle’s heart. He puts off their marriage after his returning. After all preparations are made, Axel and Professor set off on their journey towards Iceland. Everything starts with this journey. When they arrive in Iceland, they take Hans, a native, with them and they start their adventure to reach the center of the earth. They run into a lot of difficulties on the way. First, they reach to the caves and stay in them longer than they think. After some time, they run out of water, but at the point of death they find a groundwater body and narrowly escape death. Sometimes they keep going by walking sometimes they drift with the current of water. One day Axel lost his way in a cave. After three days of searching, they find him wounded. When they reach at the end of the caves, they reach the sea. But now they have to cross the sea and get to the other side. Hans builds a raft and uses their blanket as sail. They come across winds, storms, whales, and sharks on their way but at the end of it they reach to an island after a whole lot of adventures. But when they arrive at the shore, they realize that this is the shore they leave in the first place. They only go full circle. They stay there for two days, and in this period the professor finds a password. There is also a craggy road they can use. He realizes they need to use that road to reach the center of the earth. They dynamite the cave and tons of water floods through them. Axel, Hans, and the professor are captured by the flood and go with the flow for hours. After that they suddenly find themselves in a tunnel and the water here is getting warmer and warmer. After a while it begins to boil. As the water boils, the lava erupts, and they realize that they are in a volcano. The end is very close. If the lava does not spray them out immediately, they will burn to die. After a while, the lava erupts and all three find themselves on the earth again. They couldn’t reach to the center of the earth, but the different methods they've used in this journey will lead to the next generation and their technology. After they get a second breath, they return home. Axel was afraid of not seeing Gertrud again, but being in her arms is now the center of his world.

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