Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-9

Reading Check

1. When is the mysterious “creature” first spotted?

2. Who takes over the narrative in Part 1, Chapter 2?

3. Whom does Aronnax call the “soul” of the Abraham Lincoln?

4. After they see the electric light coming from the object they have spotted, what improbable conclusion does Farragut come to about the object?

5. What motto is engraved into the utensils aboard the submarine?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When it first appears, what kinds of speculation surround the mysterious “creature” roaming the ocean?

2. How does Aronnax’s behavior when he is asked to join the expedition demonstrate a self-confidence that borders on arrogance?

3. How does Verne use Farragut’s character to increase conflict and tension as they wait to spot the “creature”?

4. After the collision with the mysterious object, what do Conseil’s actions demonstrate about his character?

5. How do Ned’s actions aboard the submarine demonstrate his quick temper?

Paired Resources

NOAA Timeline of Ocean Exploration

• This timeline succinctly notes significant milestones in oceanic exploration during the 19th century and beyond.
• This resource connects to the theme of Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery.
• What important developments in oceanic exploration took place in the decades just prior to the novel’s setting? Which may have inspired Verne to choose the ocean as a setting for a novel? Which developments do you see reflected in the novel’s plot so far?

“The Great American Sea Serpent”

• This entry from the Library of Congress’s blog details the historic interest in sea monsters that peaked in the 19th century.
• This resource can be discussed regarding the theme of Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery.
• Which characters in the novel seem to represent then-popular ideas about sea monsters? What attitude does the novel itself seem to take toward the idea of sea monsters—is Aronnax’s tone meant to express the novel’s perspective, or is the reader meant to view Aronnax’s narration with some skepticism?

“The Vehicular Utopias of Jules Verne”

• In this article, Arthur B. Evans analyzes the significance of the vehicles that take center stage in many Verne novels, including the Nautilus in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to plot spoilers, length, and complexity)
• This resource relates to the themes of Nature Versus Technology, Liberty Versus Imprisonment, and Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery.

Audiobook Version

• This playlist contains an unabridged chapter-by-chapter reading of the novel’s 1911 translation by Charles F. Horne.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 10-23

Reading Check

1. What does Nemo use to power the ship’s electricity?

2. After the men do not see Nemo for several days, for what activity does Nemo invite them to join him?

3. What creature is Aronnax nearly attacked by when he falls asleep in the submarine forest?

4. What holiday goes without recognition aboard the Nautilus, causing Ned disappointment?

5. When Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil fall asleep so quickly after being confined to the cabin, what does Aronnax suspect must be true?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What conditions does Nemo place on Aronnax’s, Ned’s, and Conseil’s being aboard the submarine, and what reasons does he give for these conditions?

2. How is Ned’s attitude toward the Nautilus temporarily reconciled with Aronnax’s when the ship’s windows are uncovered?

3. On the day after their journey through the submarine forest, what vision for the future does Nemo reveal to Aronnax, and what hint is the reader given about why he imagines the future this way?

4. What is the implied reason that Nemo feels safe allowing the men to go ashore in Papua New Guinea?

5. After the night when the men are confined to their cabin, what evidence does Aronnax see that Nemo cares deeply for his crew?

Paired Resources

“Thoughts in Jail”

• This 19th century poem by American suffragette Katharine Rolston Fisher shares her thoughts after being jailed for political protest.
• Shared themes include Liberty Versus Imprisonment.
• In the poem’s second stanza, what point does Fisher make about the imprisonment of women both inside and outside of official jail cells? How do you think this might contribute to the determination of the women in the poem’s concluding image? How would you compare the situation of the women in this poem with the situation of the men aboard the Nautilus? In the context of the 19th century, how might gender impact perspectives on imprisonment?

Navigating Narrative—Nemo's Encounter in the Torres Strait 2012

• This linocut by Australian artist Brian Robinson, a member of the Aboriginal Maluyligal, Wuthathi, and Dayak peoples, illustrates the encounter between Aronnax’s hunting party and the Papua New Guineans.
• This resource relates to the theme of Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery.
• How does this linocut shift the viewer’s understanding of the encounter between Aronnax’s group and the Papua New Guineans from a 19th century French perspective to a contemporary Aboriginal perspective? Why might Robinson have titled the piece as he did? How would you describe the text’s perspective on this encounter? How can readers connect the text’s larger thematic concern with Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery?

“Between Jules Verne and Walt Disney: Brains, Brawn, and Masculine Desire in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”

• James W. Maertens’s article in Science Fiction Studies explores the ways in which Verne’s novel tries to define masculinity and how the Disney reimagining of Verne’s novel creates inaccurate characterizations that subvert Verne’s intentions. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to plot spoilers, length, and complexity)
• This resource relates to the themes of Liberty Versus Imprisonment, The Perils of Vengeance, and Friendship.

PART 2, CHAPTERS 1-11

Reading Check

1. What creature does Nemo announce the group will be armed to hunt when they explore the pearl fisheries along the Bank of Manaar?

2. What Biblical story do Nemo and Aronnax discuss when they sail along the Arabian Coast?

3. What creature does Ned kill that Aronnax estimates must weigh close to 10,000 pounds?

4. What ruins does Nemo take Aronnax to see on a nighttime submarine walk?

5. Where is the Nautilus when it has to stay submerged because of the thick carpet of seaweed?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What insight into Nemo’s personality and motivations does Aronnax have that Conseil’s analysis of the man misses?

2. What information about Nemo does Aronnax learn from the incident when the pearl diver is attacked?

3. As the Nautilus nears the coast of Greece, what disagreement do Aronnax and Ned have?

4. When they are in Vigo Bay, what does Aronnax learn about the source of Nemo’s wealth?

5. Why is Ned frustrated during the group’s exploration of the volcano?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 12-23

Reading Check

1. What destination does Nemo announce that causes Aronnax to wonder if Nemo is entirely sane?

2. Where do Ned and Conseil find the oxygen that saves Aronnax’s life?

3. What kind of creature is a “poulp”?

4. What is the name of the sunken ship the Nautilus encounters south of Ireland?

5. After Nemo sinks the other ship and looks at the portrait of the woman and children, what does he do?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When the Nautilus encounters the pod of sperm whales, what does Nemo do that deepens Ned’s disgust for the man?

2. What accident traps the Nautilus in the ice?

3. What point does Aronnax make about killing the manatees near the Amazon coastline?

4. When Aronnax goes to ask Nemo for his and his companions’ freedom, what is Nemo writing, and what are Nemo’s plans for this manuscript?

5. As far as Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned know, what happens to the Nautilus and Captain Nemo at the end of the story?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

• This novel is in some ways a sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues. It relates the story of a group of castaways struggling to survive on a Pacific island and the mysterious force that periodically steps in to rescue them from peril.
• Shared themes include Liberty Versus Imprisonment; Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery; and Friendship.
• Shared topics include early science fiction/fantasy, travel and adventure, and isolation.
• The Mysterious Island on SuperSummary

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

• Another novel in Verne’s Voyages Extraordinaires series, Journey to the Center of the Earth tells the story of teenager Axel Lidenbrock, who is reluctantly dragged along on his Uncle Otto’s quest to follow a mysterious passage to the center of the Earth.
• Shared themes include Nature Versus Technology; Liberty Versus Imprisonment; Innovation, Exploration, and Discovery; and Friendship.
• Shared topics include early science fiction/fantasy, travel and adventure, isolation, and the quest for scientific understanding.
• Journey to the Center of the Earth on SuperSummary