Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days Essay -- Around World 80 Da

Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days Jules Verne’s 19th century novel about the travels of the â€Å"eclectic† Phileas Fogg at first seems a quick read, an adventurous tale written in a light-hearted vernacular. Yet a close reading of passages, such as the paragraph at the beginning of chapter two, reveals more complex, latent themes amidst the pages of such â€Å"mass† fiction. An analysis of one passage in particular1 [1] suggests that this classic novel has little to do with travel, adventure and love, but rather that it makes a statement about the human condition. Fogg’s famous eighty-day challenge seems only a vessel, a means of transportation, to mask and guide his own inward journey. Verne’s earliest portrayals of Fogg reveal some of his peculiarities: an unnatural fixation on following routing and being on time, as well as meticulous attention for detail.2 [2] Yet Fogg’s apparent obsession with exactitude denies him any hint of individuality. According to Verne, Fogg is â€Å"so exact that he [is] never in a hurry†, â€Å"[makes] no superfluous gestures†, and â€Å"[is] never seen to be moved or agitated†.3 [3] He meticulously reads two papers each day without comment, avoids both confrontation and agreement, and is at once mysterious and predictable. Phileas Fogg seems, therefore, to exist in such a state of mediocrity and liminality, lacking defining or distinctive characteristics, that prior to accepting the challenge, he would fade from the reader’s view. Verne’s poetic prose further highlight Fogg’s early banality: â€Å"Phileas Fogg was indeed exactitude personified, and this was betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet†¦ the limbs themselves are expressive of the passions.† (Verne 14) .. ...ons do not match on a word-for-word basis. This is the passage as it appears in my versions: â€Å"Phileas Fogg was indeed exactitude personified, and this was betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet; for in men, as well as in animals, the limbs themselves are expression of the passions. He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and was economical in both steps and his motions. He never took one step too many, and always went to his destination by the shortest way; he made no superfluous gestures, and was never seen to be moved or agitated. He was the most deliberate person in the world, yet always arrived on time. He lived alone, and so to speak, outside of every social relation; and as he knew that in this world there must be friction, and since friction slows things down, he never rubbed against anybody.† (Verne 14-15)