It had been a while since I last read Journey to the Center of the Earth, and I am afraid I had forgotten quite a few details. I've been reading a lot of Steampunk recently, and many of the authors cite Verne's books as inspiration. Also, my son has recently discovered this film of the same title and hoped Journey to the Center of the Earth could be one of our next read-alouds. (Considering we had some trouble with Around the World in Eighty Days vocabulary-wise, I think we may hold off just a little longer.) So, for my fist Classics Challenge Book, a classic set somewhere I realistically will never visit in my lifetime, I chose to re-read Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Original Title: Voyage au centre de la Terre
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: September 29, 2009
First Publication Date: 1864
Description:
Originally published in 1864, this Jules Verne classic has wowed generations of readers with its portrayal of an imaginary odyssey into a subterranean wonderland. When Axel deciphers an old parchment describing a secret passage through a volcano to the center of the earth, nothing will stop his eccentric Uncle Lidenbrock from setting out at once. With silent Hans as guide, the two men encounter natural hazards, prehistoric beasts, and other curiosities on their perilous, astonishing, terrifying trek through the underworld.
Review:
Re-reading Journey to the Center of the Earth reminded me of all the reasons I love Verne. The contrast between the exactitude in his descriptions of geography, geology, society and people and the soaring nature of his imaginings just leaves me in awe. I love reading Verne with an atlas or a map. (In a perfect world, it would be on one of those huge full-wall sized affairs done in a Mercator or Robinson Projection with black ink on a yellowing paper; with Africa as tall as my waist, Eastern Euopean countries big enough to really see, and a beautifully elaborate compass rose in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I would follow the journey with little metal pins connected by bright red thread.) He is so precise about each step of his journey that I always feel as if he truly does want me to follow along behind him -as if he is telling me the way - until at last I come to the place where the pins on the map stop and Verne's world begins.
Verne is the same with science as he is with geography. He really knew his stuff for his time. I know that Journey is sometimes accused of not ageing as well as his other novels. There have been so many advances made in the field of geology that much of what he wrote was just flat wrong, but I think that sells Verne a little short. As with all his other books - with their inventions, machines and sciences so very far ahead of their time - he had the bravery to say, "this is what we know to be true, but what if this were possible?!" He then proceeded to lay out a logical way in which all he knew to be true could be wrong. At the same time he kept the fantasy elements firmly grounded in scientific principles that absolutely had to be true; and I respect him for that as well. (I actually got my son's dinosaur encyclopedia - with it's illustrated strati of geologic layers - to follow along with as they descended. Verne's accuracy is just amazing.)
What I probably most admire Verne for, though, is his ability to craft characters that leap from the page. He reminds me of Jane Austen in this way; he gives form to people you know, or almost know. After a while, you can see the look on a characters face or anticipate a reaction without Verne describing it because you know the character. It's your neighbor, your professor, your aunt, your brother. You've seen that face before, you've heard that laugh, you've gotten that reaction. Verne was a keen observer in all things and, lucky for us, was able to capture what he saw with words.
So, with that in mind I decided to make the February Prompt about Characters a little more difficult and wrote it about Axel/Harry - the narrator and, therefore, the character whom Verne described the least.
What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them.
From the get-go Harry is far more concerned about his comfort - especially his food - than he is in any sort of pursuit of knowledge. In his own words, "to me soup was more interesting than soda, an omelette more tempting than arithmetic, and a artichoke of ten times more value than any amount of asbestos." He is selfish in that affable sort of way that doesn't really infringe on anyone around him, mostly because - despite the fact that he is quite intelligent - he feels himself just enough inferior and indebted to his uncle to not go against him. He is the last person who would ever choose to go on the adventure that awaits him. I picture him as being a little portly (due to his love of food and primarily sedentary scholarly pursuits) but not too much so, because he does love a good walk and is a little vain. Maybe a little like one of these guys:
How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them?
I don't think that Harry really does change in essentials. He has his moments where his surroundings or experiences are just to amazing to not be awed; or where his curiosity gets the better of him, his intelligence is fully engaged, and he cannot help but be excited by it all. I think he will always be a little more worried about his dinner than his dissertation and able to stretch his intelligence a little more than he ever actually will. He is smart and loyal and, I believe, truly loves his uncle and Gretchen. He is as I said a bit selfish, and more than a bit pompous and ethnocentric (as I believe most people of his class at that time probably were.) He is absolutely believable (in fact, I am pretty sure that I have attended more than one lecture from his likeness.) I think I would probably really enjoy having dinner or hanging out with him at a club (in the 19th century meaning of the word!) discussing science or the classics (that is, if he would talk to me as a woman about such things.) However, I don't think I would want him for a travel companion!
