20000 Leagues Under the Seas

20000 Leagues Under the Seas         

by Jules Verne 

      They originally encounter the Nautilus in the Pacific Ocean as part of an expedition to find out what species of undiscovered whale has been damaging world shipping. However, far from encountering a whale that has wrecked world shipping, they soon find themselves on the iron plating of a new kind of vessel, a submarine. From there, the three find themselves below decks, with Arronax an honored guest of the vessel's commander, Captain Nemo.As the book progresses, the men hunt underwater, fight sharks, encounter Atlantis, and fight off giant squid. However, after sinking a warship belonging to a country that caused the death of his family, Nemo loses control on his sanity. He realizes that despite his best efforts to the contrary, he is just as uncivilized as those who oppressed him in the past. Like those oppressors, he relied on advanced technology to gain the upper hand. In short, Nemo finds out that he's as cruel as his opponents, causing him to go over a psychological cliff. Guiding the submarine into a whirlpool off the coast, the vessel and all aboard seem destined for doom until Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land sneak into a boat and escape the Nautilus.