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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Journey to the Center of the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Discovery
Maturity and Independence
Intuition vs. Evidence
Nature vs. Civilization
Adventure
Summary
Analysis
Now that the men have found the entry to Saknussemm’s pathway, the “real journey” is about to begin, and Axel must decide if he is willing to undertake it. He wants to argue with Lidenbrock again, but he stays quiet because Hans accepted the mission so calmly. Axel looks down the chimney, and the depth immediately disorients him.
As Axel is growing into his own man, he looks for models of manhood around him. Hans presents a version of manhood that is silent, strong, and stoic, and Axel tries to imitate that. The vertigo he feels looking down the chimney is a reminder of the physical toll this journey to the center of the earth will take on the adventurers.
Themes
Lidenbrock secures a rope and lowers it down the hole for the men to climb. He splits the fragile elements of the luggage into three bags, and each man straps one to his back. He tosses the rest of the luggage down into the abyss. The men descend the rope in silence. Axel is terrified that the rope will give way. He pays no attention to the composition of the rocks they pass, but Lidenbrock notes the types of rocks and remarks that they support his hypothesis that traveling to the center of the earth is possible.
Lidenbrock cares more about the scientific implications of the journey than the logistics of carrying it out, but he still acknowledges the importance of distributing the luggage. While Axel is entirely focused on surviving the climb down, Lidenbrock is still on the lookout for evidence to support his theory about the center of the earth.
Themes
The men reach the bottom of the shaft. They decide to make camp for the night before looking for passage onward in the morning. As Axel lies down to sleep, he looks up the shaft and sees a single star through the shaft’s entrance. The distance makes the star look dim.
The men have finally started their journey downward. The single star that Axel glimpses is a remnant of the world he is leaving behind. That the star already looks dim foreshadows that after undertaking this journey, nothing will look the same to Axel again—not even the stars.
Themes
