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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Around the World in Eighty Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Modernity, Time, and Control
Imperialism
Chance, Adventure, and Human Connection
Honor, Reputation, and Duty
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, Fogg is surprised when Passepartout does not appear to answer his bell. Detective Fix informs him that he and Aouda missed the Carnatic, the ship having left earlier than its original departure time after its repairs were completed. The next steamer will not arrive for another week, so to Fix’s dismay, Fogg begins to solicit sailors around the harbor to take him to Yokohama.
Fogg’s surprise at Passepartout’s absence implies that he has established himself as a dutiful, reliable servant despite the short time he has been employed by Fogg. Fogg, who claims to be in control of everything, was not able to foresee this particular obstacle in his journey.
Themes
Fogg catches the attention of a pilot-boat owner named John Bunsby and offers him £200 if he can get them to Yokohama before the American steamer from there to San Francisco has departed. The pilot tells him that they are better off catching the steamer in Shanghai where it begins, so Fogg agrees to be taken there instead. He tries, unsuccessfully, to find Passepartout (who is still unconscious in the tavern) before they leave.
Despite Fogg’s efforts to plan ahead, the Carnatic’s early departure shows that he is at the mercy of both time and the modern machines he relies upon. As with the guide and Kiouni in India, Fogg is forced to branch out and place his trust in another human being when technology fails him.
Themes
