Journey to the center of the earth: Blog 4

Book: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Number of Pages: 350

Journey to the center of the earth: Blog 4

Blog question:

Blog #4:  What are some of the themes being woven throughout the plot line of the novel? Is it enjoyable to each of you?

Grammie: Some of the themes of the novel so far: They are trying to survive the elements of the “under world”, going through the caverns, beating starvation and beating dehydration.

Me: Another theme in the book that I think Jules Verne is trying to express to us is that the journey that these three people are taking, is no ordinary journey, it is, the journey to the unknown parts of the world, to mankind. 

Grammie: Yes, it is now, especially, the last for chapters. I’m getting excited; I want to keep reading on.

             Movie cover:                       Book Cover:                    Authors portrait:

  

Summary:

          In the beginnings of the 4 chapters I have read, Axle, professor Liedenbrock, and Hans have made it so mysterious underground cavern. It wasn’t just any old cavern, this one, was filled with water. It was an underground ocean. It was as big as the Mediterranean see. In order to get to where they wanted to go (the center of the earth) they had to follow the path that they were given in the directions. As the saw the vast ocean in front of them, that wasn’t the only spectacular thing in the cavern, behind them, there were 80-foot mushrooms, giant trees and huge grass! From my perspective, it looks like either the closer they get to the center, the more they shrink, or, the closer they get to the center, the bigger everything gets.

They had to make the raft to get across the ocean with something, so they decided to use ½-mummified wood from the ash of the volcano. Meaning that they wouldn’t sink because it was only ½ stone. They couldn’t find any other way to make a raft so they had to use what they could find. They used vines to sew the trees together in order to keep them steady and together. They used a piece of sheet from there sleeping bags to make a sail, and Hans used a big stick and a piece of rubber to use as a rudder to help them steer the boat. With there newly and “sturdy” raft they were on their way!

While they were traveling on the vast and never ending waters of the “New Mediterranean Sea” they encounter many problems, like Axle almost falling over bored because he had a bad dream, they encountered two huge ‘beasts’ in the water fighting, (“Yes, it is so. The first of these hideous monsters had the snout of a porpoise, the head of a lizard, the teeth of a crocodile; and it is that had deceiver us. It is the most fearful of all antediluvian reptile, the world–renowned Ichthyosaurus or great fish lizard.” Pg. 202. “The other is a monstrous serpent, concealed under the hard vaulted shell of the turtle, the terrible enemy of its fearful rival, the Plesiosaurus, or sea crocodile.” Pg. 202.) and last but definitely not least, they landed on an island that had a huge geezer on it, which they thought would be a pit stop to renew their raft, but would really just be a recipe for disaster.