All officers on the USS Lincoln supported their superiors' views. On the ship, you can often hear them discussing, discussing, arguing and calculating the chances of encountering sea monsters. They are always looking at the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. More than one person rushed to the topmast boom and volunteered to watch. In any other situation, he would have been filled with complaints about such drudgery. As long as the sun has not set, sailors are always crowded around the mast. Although the deck is so hot that the soles of their feet are painful, they still put their feet up to rest there. However, at this time, the Lincoln's bow had not yet touched the frightening waters of the Pacific Ocean.
As for all the sailors on the Lincoln, they just hoped to encounter the narwhal, hook it, drag it aboard, and chop it into pieces. They stared intently at the ocean. Moreover, Captain Farragut had promised that any midshipman or sailor, bosun or officer who discovered a narwhal would receive a $2,000 bonus. I leave it to the blasphemer to imagine how the eyes of the Lincoln scanned the ocean.
As for me, of course I am not willing to lag behind. I will not leave my daily observation work to others. There are many reasons why this ship should be named "Argos". Gong Saiyi was the only one on the ship who was different. He was very indifferent to the issues that we paid close attention to with great enthusiasm, which was in obvious contrast to the high enthusiasm of the whole ship.
After reading---------------Verne's writing of "ocean novels" is related to his own conditions. He himself was born in Nantes, a city on the Atlantic Ocean, in 1828. He grew up living next to big shipowners. He did not leave his hometown until he was twenty years old and went to Paris to develop, so he had a special affection for the ocean. He has owned three boats. In July 1868, when Verne purchased the "Saint Michel", he was just in time to write "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". Part of the manuscript was written on the waters of Normandy, Brittany and the English Channel. In a letter to his publisher Etzel (1814-1886), he lamented that sea voyages "provide rich nourishment to the imagination"! The right time, right place, and right people, it is no wonder that Verne regarded George Sand's faith as a treasure. Not only did he treasure it for a long time, but he also immediately devoted himself to writing it, which lasted three years. He wrote it very carefully, for fear of ruining such a good subject.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was first published in serial form from March 20, 1869 to June 20, 1870, in Ezell in 1864. Meet readers in the "Education and Entertainment" magazine founded. Ezell played an indispensable role in nineteenth-century French literature. He met Verne in 1862. After the publication of the magazine "Education and Entertainment", he asked Verne to write for the literary edition. Start serializing novels. The first part of this book was published on November 28, 1869, and the second part on June 13, 1870. The first edition sold 50,000 copies. Considering the internal and external troubles in France at that time (the Franco-Prussian War, the Paris Commune), it can be said that "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" was welcomed by readers from the beginning.
So why are novels so popular?
First of all, because the author led the readers on a breathtaking underwater journey. The length unit "li" in the novel is the ancient mile in French history. The length varies according to different provinces. It is also divided into ancient Yili, ancient continental mile and ancient sea mile. Professor Aronnax uses ancient land miles in the book. One ancient land mile is approximately equal to four kilometers. Therefore, 20,000 miles under the sea is 80,000 kilometers that can circle the earth twice. The Nautilus departed from the Sea of ??Japan, entered the Pacific Ocean, Oceania, and then reached the Indian Ocean, passed through the Red Sea and the Arabian Tunnel, and reached the Mediterranean Sea. The submarine passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, along the coast of Africa, and headed straight for the Antarctic region. Then it went north along the coast of Latin America, followed the warm current to the North Sea, and finally disappeared into the large whirlpool on the west coast of Norway. During the nearly ten-month journey to the bottom of the sea, the Nautilus traveled at an average speed of twelve kilometers per hour, allowing readers to follow Captain Nemo and his "guests" to enjoy the ever-changing strange landscapes and various creatures on the bottom of the sea.
Standing on the threshold of the times, he saw the tremendous power of the combination of man and machine. Machine became an extension of human spirit and physical strength, and became a tool to conquer nature and benefit mankind. He wrote "scientific novels" poetically, with a strong romanticism under the rational appearance, thus infecting readers.
After entering the 20th century, critics have enriched their evaluation of the characters in the novel. Some people think that "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a "male novel" because the story mainly takes place between Aronnax and Gong. It unfolds between four men: Sai, Ned Land and Captain Nemo; some people find that it is a "misogynist" novel, and female images can only be seen in the miserable photos of dead bodies and dead people in shipwrecks; Some people also see symbols of male sexual organs in the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's cigars. The submarine's being trapped on an iceberg and its passage through the Arabian Tunnel all have metaphors for sexual activities. Therefore, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is called a subconscious novel. ... Although these interpretations by scholars are not lacking in novelty, they are also somewhat far-fetched. Even the author himself may not have such original intention. For countless readers, what remains deeply in their minds is undoubtedly Captain Nemo, who is extremely intelligent, infinitely rich, gentle, and enjoys absolute authority; he is "cut off from human relations" and "not bound by the norms of human society at all." , a fighter who single-handedly opposes the order of human society, and is an avenging angel who claims "I am the law and justice" to act on behalf of heaven. There were some twists and turns in handling the image of Nemo. At first, Verne planned to write Nemo as a Pole who participated in the uprising against the Tsar and was executed by his family, so he specifically attacked Russian ships to take revenge. However, the publisher Ezel had good business relations with Russia. Considering the future sales of the book in Russia, he suggested that Nemo be written as a hero against slavery. However, Verne refused to comply. As a result, both parties compromised and concealed the character's life experience. This mysterious atmosphere actually increased the depth of the character's image. Therefore, Captain Nemo, with his arms folded on his chest and silently facing the sea, became a character with a unique character. A literary figure of universal significance. Verne used contrasting techniques in character treatment: Captain Nemo is in the dark, while other characters are in the light. Captain Nemo’s character and life experience are mysterious and unpredictable, while Aronnax, Gong Saiyi and Ned Land were both extremely transparent. Aronnax is a typical scholar who values ??knowledge above all else and sacrifices freedom in order to explore the mysteries of science. Gong Saiyi is a typical servant, loyal to his master; the whaler Ned Land is a representative of the common people, thinking about two things all day long: food and escape. Different personalities rub and collide in the sealed space of the Nautilus, which becomes the internal driving force for plot development. ·