Journey To The Center Of The Earth

“It was on Sunday, the 24th of May, 1863, that my uncle, Professor Lidenbrock, came rushing suddenly back to his little house in the old part of Hamburg, No. 19 Königstrasse.”

The opening of the novel sets the tone for the rest of the story. Exact names, terms, numbers, facts, and measurements are essential to the plot as they establish both a sense of reality and verisimilitude. Science is based on truth, so adding scientific elements to a story would make it easier to believe. 

“‘Here he comes. I’ll be off, Mr. Axel; you must make him listen to reason.’

And forthwith she effected a safe retreat to her culinary laboratory.

I was left alone, but not feeling equal to the task of making the most irascible of professors listen to reason, was about to escape to my own little room upstairs […]” 

This excerpt introduces the two main protagonists and reveals much about their personalities. The Professor, Otto, seems to be feared, or at least dreaded, by the rest of his household. Both the housekeeper and his nephew prefer to avoid him rather than inquire about the reason for his early return. Furthermore, Axel describes himself as “not feeling equal to the task” and is clearly someone who dislikes confrontations. Finally, the word choice of describing the kitchen as a laboratory adds an amusing twist and highlights the scientific nature of the entire narrative. 

“A sort of hallucination cam over me. I felt stifled, as if from want of air, and involuntarily began to fan myself with the sheet of paper. The back and front of it alternately met my eye, and as it waved rapidly to and for I fancied I could see on the back some perfectly legible Latin words, amongst others craterem and terrestre.”

This quote describes the first of many daydreams, hallucinations, and visions that Axel experiences throughout the narrative. They are juxtaposed with Otto’s hard-fact-based approach to knowledge. However, is it not the Professor’s obsession with facts that solves the riddle, but Axel’s ability to connect with his irrational and intuitive side.