History Literature / TwentyThousandLeaguesUndertheSea

--> ''.."The ''Nautilus'' suffered a collision that cracked one of the engine levers, and it struck this man. My chief officer was standing beside him. This man leaped forward to intercept the blow. A brother lays down his life for his brother, a friend for his friend, what could be simpler? That's the law for everyone on board the ''Nautilus".''

-->''”I admit that the nationality of the two strangers is hard to determine. Neither English, French, nor German, that is quite certain. However, I am inclined to think that the commander and his companion were born in low latitudes. There is southern blood in them. But I cannot decide by their appearance whether they are Spaniards, [[InterchangeableAsianCultures Turks, Arabians, or Indians]]"'' [[note]]In ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'', it's revealed Nemo was Indian.[[/note]]

--> "Oh damnation, yes!" Ned Land shot back. "It's superb! I'm furious that I have to admit it. Nobody has ever seen the like. [[ForeShadowing But this sight could cost us dearly]]. And in all honesty, ''I think we're looking at things God never intended for human eyes."''

--> ''.."The ''Nautilus'' suffered a collision that cracked one of the engine levers, and it struck this man. My chief officer was standing beside him. This man leaped forward to intercept the blow. A brother lays down his life for his brother, a friend for his friend, what could be simpler? That's the law for everyone on board the ''Nautilus"''

--> This was said plainly.[[TheUnfettered A flash of anger and disdain kindled in the eyes of the Unknown, and I had a glimpse of a terrible past in the life of this man]]. [[AboveGoodAndEvil Not only had he put himself beyond the pale of human laws, but he had made himself independent of them, free in the strictest acceptation of the word, quite beyond their reach! Who then would dare to pursue him at the bottom of the sea, when, on its surface, he defied all attempts made against him? What vessel could resist the shock of his submarine monitor? What cuirass, however thick, could withstand the blows of his spur? No man could demand from him an account of his actions; God, if he believed in one -- his conscience, if he had one -- were the sole judges to whom he was answerable]].

-->''...After some moments of silence, which not one of us dreamed of breaking, "Gentlemen," said he, in a calm and penetrating voice, "I speak French, English, German, and Latin equally well. I could, therefore, have answered you at our first interview, but I wished to know you first, then to reflect…”''

-->'' "… a language I didn't recognize. It was a sonorous, harmonious, flexible dialect whose vowels seemed to undergo a highly varied accentuation".''

* ConspiracyTheorist: PlayedForLaughs with Ned Land: As a professional fisher, he doesn’t believe in Sea monsters (giant narwhales or octopus), but he believes that his captors [[ImAHumanitarian could be cannibals]], that the language spoken in the ''Nautilus'' is a [[AncientConspiracy conspiracy to let him die of hunger]] (see ConLang) and in ArtificialHuman:

* MistakenNationality: Subverted, The novel emphasizes the mystery of Captain [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nemo]] hiding his nationality. Even when his eyes are black and his skin is pale, Aronnax lampshades that he is not sure invoking InterchangeableAsianCultures

** Originally, the idea of Verne was to make Nemo a polish noble, exiled by the Russian Empire. But at that time Russia was an ally of France, so due to the censorship the editor (Hetzel) rejected the idea. Verne, aggravated by this decision, resorted to not mentioning Nemo's origins.

* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Subverted: Arronax used to practice medecine and is asked to treat a crewman with a massive head wound, but all he can do is confirm that he'll be dead in two hours.

* DumbassHasAPoint: In all of the book, [[IdiotHero Ned Land]] opines Captain Nemo is a despot and the trio of heroes must attempt the GreatEscape as soon as possible. [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] and [[BattleButler Conseil]] are impressed with Nemo and their incredible voyage, and it's not until they see Nemo more villainous actions before they realize Ned was the OnlySaneMan.

* {{Ubermensch}} Captain Nemo is an UnbuiltTrope: A WickedCultured WellIntentionedExtremist who claims to be AboveGoodAndEvil because he has done with the society and is practically above any law of the civilized nations thanks to the power of [[CoolShip his submarine, the]] ''[[CoolShip Nautilus]]''. …However, he is a {{Deconstruction}} of the trope, because the contradiction between his unlimited power and his compassionate nature causes him a VillainousBreakdown. This dialogue between him and Professor Aronnax lampshade it 14 years before ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'':

''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' is a 1869 French adventure novel by Creator/JulesVerne. It scores a solid 5 on MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness and has a strong focus on technology, existentialism, and marine biology.

-->-- '''Ecclesiastes 7:24'''

* TheDividual: Arronax believes that Ned and Conseil together would have made a remarkable naturalist (the former can identify most of the sea creatures they see, the latter can classify them in seconds).

The mysterious narwhal is in fact not a whale, but a high-tech electric submarine known as the ''Nautilus'', owned and designed by the mysterious and eccentric [[NoNameGiven Captain Nemo]]. While refusing to put our heroes ashore, he lets them live, and takes them on a fantastic journey under the seas of the world, showing them the many wonders of the world beneath the waves. Aronnax finds himself torn between his passionate interest in marine biology and his desire for freedom - should he try to escape with his comrades or stay and find out ''why'' Nemo sails around the world?

* {{Expy}}: Captain [[MeaningfulName Nemo]] is an expy for [[Literature/TheOdyssey Odysseus]]: A great sailor, TheCaptain of a ship who commanded a RedShirt crew, that claimed he was “No One”, who fought against beings he cannot defeat (Nemo against TheEmpire, Odysseus against JerkassGods) motivated by YouCantGoHomeAgain.

* MistakenNationality: Subverted, The novel emphasizes the mystery of Captain [[MeaningfulName Nemo]] hiding his nationality. Even when his eyes are black and his skin is pale, Aronnax lampshades that he is not sure invoking InterchangeableAsianCultures

* MeaningfulName: "Nemo" is Latin for "no one".

* NumberOfObjectsTitle: The title refers to the distance the ''Nautilus'' travels horizontally over the course of the book, not the depth it dives to. 20,000 leagues vertically would be impossible, being 80,000 kilometers[[note]]Verne used the metric league, which is 4 km[[/note]], or twice the circumference of the Earth. The [[BlindIdiotTranslation translation is partly to blame]]; a closer translation would be ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the ''''Seas',''''' which is sometimes used in more modern translations.

* DysfunctionJunction: There are only four principal characters in the novel due to the ClosedCircle: [[BattleButler Conseil]] has so much UndyingLoyalty that he considers himself an extension of his employer. [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] practically swims in StockholmSyndrome, Captain Nemo is having a slow VillainousBreakdown, amd [[OnlySaneMan Ned Land]] slowly [[GoMadFromTheIsolation goes mad from the isolation]].

* MilkmanConspiracy: Deconstructed by the ''Nautilus'' crew, a [[StartMyOwn truly new society]] with NGOSuperpower status is composed of… [[OddlySmallOrganization less than sixty persons]]. Less than four years after its creation, their existence has been discovered by TheEmpire, [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror all the Western nations have organized against them and are chasing them implacably]], [[RealityEnsues their numbers dwindle because of this and because of normal accidents on the sea]], and their leader, [[TheCaptain charismatic Captain Nemo]], not only is bitterly conscious that their days are numbered (he plans to use a MessageInABottle so all his sea research could be found), [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity but is slowly breaking down due to using a]] WeaponOfMassDestruction to KickTheDog repeatedly.

* DumbassHasAPoint: In all of the book, [[IdiotHero Ned Land]] opines Captain Nemo is a despot and the PowerTrio must attempt the GreatEscape as soon as possible. [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] and [[BattleButler Conseil]] are impressed with Nemo and their incredible voyage, and it's not until they see Nemo more villainous actions before they realize Ned was the OnlySaneMan.

* EnclosedSpace: Subverted because Nemo let the PowerTrio explore land where an escape would be more dangerous than Nemo's [[SubStory hospitality in the]] ''[[SubStory Nautilus]]''.

* PowerTrio: Conseil (superego), Professor Aronnax (ego), Ned Land (id).

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: When Captain Nemo asks the PowerTrio [[ThePromise to promise]] not trying to see… ''“something they must not see”'', he could not phrase it without sounding sinister and exciting Aronnax' suspicions:

''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' is a French 1869 adventure novel by Creator/JulesVerne. It scores a solid 5 on MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness and has a strong focus on technology, existentialism, and marine biology.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/w2r157_twenty_thousand_leagues_under_the_sea_2985.jpg]]

''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' is an 1869 adventure novel by Creator/JulesVerne. It scores a solid 5 on MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness and has a strong focus on technology, existentialism, and marine biology.

The best-known adaptation of the novel is [[Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea the 1954 live-action Disney film]]. ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', also by Disney, is very inspired by the novel.

The mysterious narwhal is in fact not a whale, but a high-tech electric submarine, owned and designed by the mysterious and eccentric [[NoNameGiven Captain Nemo]]. While refusing to put our heroes ashore, he lets them live, and takes them on a fantastic journey under the seas of the world, showing them the many wonders of the world beneath the waves. Aronnax finds himself torn between his passionate interest in marine biology and his desire for freedom - should he try to escape with his comrades or stay and find out ''why'' Nemo sails around the world?

The book is now out of copyright, and the original French text can be obtained from Project Gutenberg [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5097 here]]. [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2488 This English translation]], done by Verne scholar Frederick Paul Walter, is a modern, highly accurate translation of the book, free of the errors that many other editions of the book have. Alternatively, check out the most common edition [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164 here]]. This translation, done by the Reverend Lewis Page Mercier, is widely considered to be the worst translation of the book; it is riddled with errors and censorship, as well as incorrect numbers (for example, the density of steel is given as .7 to .8 times that of water, while Verne really wrote 7.8 times that of water, which is the correct value). Sadly, it is also the most common translation - check your bookshelves for this version!

Fun fact that people sometimes forget: the title refers to the distance the ''Nautilus'' travels horizontally over the course of the book, not the depth it dives to. 20,000 leagues vertically would be impossible, being 80,000 kilometers[[note]]Verne used the metric league, which is 4 km[[/note]], or twice the circumference of the Earth. The [[BlindIdiotTranslation translation is partly to blame]]; a closer translation would be ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the ''''Seas',''''' which is sometimes used in more modern translations. A ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch with guest host Creator/KelseyGrammer as Nemo [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this misconception.

Fun fact that people sometimes forget: the title refers to the distance the ''Nautilus'' travels horizontally over the course of the book, not the depth it dives to. 20,000 leagues vertically would be impossible, being 80,000 kilometers[[note]]Verne used the metric league, which is 4 km[[/note]], or twice the circumference of the Earth. The [[BlindIdiotTranslation translation is partly to blame]]; a closer translation would be ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the ''''Seas',''''' which is sometimes used in more modern translations. A ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch with guest host Kelsey Grammar as Nemo [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this misconception.

--> "In the name of which sovereign, Captain?"
--> ''"In my own name, sir!"''

--> "Haven't seen or heard a thing!" the Canadian replied. "I haven't even spotted the crew of this boat. By any chance, could they be electric too?"
--> "Electric?"
--> "Oh ye gods, I'm half tempted to believe it!"

--> ''"... Which is tantamount to saying that the air contained in the ''Nautilus'' would be exactly enough for 625 men over twenty–four hours."''
--> ''"625!" Ned repeated.''
--> ''"But rest assured," I added, "that between passengers, seamen, or officers, we don't total one–tenth of that figure."''

The best-known adaptation of the novel is [[Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea the 1954 live-action Disney film]].

* AntiVillain: Nemo. His hatred of the British is perfectly understandable, given his BackStory. However, [[MoralEventHorizon attacking civilians]] for happening to be on a ship flying the wrong colours...

* BrokenPedestal: After spending the novel swimming in StockholmSyndrome for Captain Nemo, Aronnax sees him crossing the MoralEventHorizon in a terrible KickTheDog moment. And yet...

* DysfunctionJunction: There are only four principal characters in the novel due to the ClosedCircle: [[BattleButler Conseil]] has so much UndyingLoyalty that he considers himself an extension of his employer. [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] practically swims in StockholmSyndrome, Captain Nemo has a slow VillainousBreakdown caused by him, a good man, crossing once and again the MoralEventHorizon. [[OnlySaneMan Ned Land]] slowly [[GoMadFromTheIsolation Goes Mad From The Isolation]].
* DumbassHasAPoint: In all of the book, [[IdiotHero Ned Land]] opines Captain Nemo is a despot and the PowerTrio must attempt the GreatEscape as soon as possible. [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] and [[BattleButler Conseil]] are impressed with Nemo and their incredible voyage, and it's not until they see Nemo crossing the MoralEventHorizon before they realize Ned was the OnlySaneMan.

* KickTheDog: Captain Nemo is implied to have destroyed ships with civilians and military crew, but the act of following up an attack with the ''Nautilus'' observing the horrible death of all the unnamed ship's crew ''on purpose, without losing any detail'', is when Nemo crosses the MoralEventHorizon.

* MilkmanConspiracy: Deconstructed by the ''Nautilus'' crew, a [[StartMyOwn truly new society]] with NGOSuperpower status is composed of… [[OddlySmallOrganization less than sixty persons]]. Less than four years after its creation, their existence has been discovered by TheEmpire, [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror all the Western nations have organized against them and are chasing them implacably]], [[RealityEnsues their numbers dwindle because of this and because of normal accidents on the sea]], and their leader, [[TheCaptain charismatic Captain Nemo]], not only is bitterly conscious that their days are numbered (he plans to use a MessageInABottle so all his sea research could be found), [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity but is slowly breaking down due to using a]] WeaponOfMassDestruction to cross the MoralEventHorizon repeatedly.

* {{Satire}}: Very Juvenalian, the novel satirizes [[TheEmpire Imperialism]]: The ''Nautilus'' itself is a parody of TheEmpire - an OddlySmallOrganization that manages to be an NGOSuperpower, their members [[FromMyOwnPersonalGarden only consume sea products]] and [[ConLang speak only their own language]], but we never know any of them; they are nothing more than nameless masses. The only one who matters is Captain Nemo (the Emperor), who [[{{Egopolis}} claims an entire continent in his name]] and constantly crosses the MoralEventHorizon [[AboveGoodAndEvil for no other reason than because he can.]]\\

* SympathyForTheDevil: [[TheProfessor Professor Aronnax]] is fascinated by WickedCultured Captain Nemo and his creation, the ''[[CoolShip Nautilus]]'', for seven months, and he certainly wants to delay the GreatEscape to see more submarine marvels… until he sees Nemo KickTheDog and cross the MoralEventHorizon.

* {{Ubermensch}} Captain Nemo is an UnbuiltTrope: A WickedCultured WellIntentionedExtremist who claims to be AboveGoodAndEvil because he has done with the society and is practically above any law of the civilized nations thanks to the power of [[CoolShip his submarine, the]] ''[[CoolShip Nautilus]]''. …However, he is a {{Deconstruction}} of the trope, because the contradiction between his unlimited power (that let him cross the MoralEventHorizon) and his compassionate nature causes him a VillainousBreakdown. This dialogue between him and Professor Aronnax lampshade it 14 years before ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'':

* VillainousBreakdown: Inverted: after Captain Nemo crosses the MoralEventHorizon for the last time, he breaks down not because his plans aren't working but because he is ''not'' AboveGoodAndEvil. [[spoiler: He also could have voluntarily run the ''Nautilus'' into The Maelstrom (an enormous whirlpool)]].

* {{Omniglot}}: Nemo is fluent in French, English, German, and Latin, and probably far more languages.

The mysterious narwhal is in fact not a whale, but a high-tech electric submarine, owned and designed by the mysterious and eccentric [[NoNameGiven Captain Nemo]]. While refusing to put our heroes ashore, he lets them live, and takes them on a fantastic journey under the seas of the world, showing them the many wonders of the world beneath the waves. Aronnax finds himself torn between his passionate interest in marine biology and his desire for freedom - should he try to escape with his comrades or stay and find out ''why'' Nemo sails around the world, sinking British and American ships?

* RaceLift: As explained in MysteriousIsland, Nemo is [[spoiler:an Indian prince]], but was originally envisioned as being from Poland (which the original illustrations portray him as).

** RealLifeWritesThePlot: Verne himself had been a supporter of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeune_%C3%89cole Jeune École]] - the political advocacy group which aimed to raise French naval power to global dominance by implementing newest inventions into smaller, cheaper vessels to leapfrog the need for untenable monetary investment into a fleet the size of [[BritsWithBattleships the Royal Navy]].