Book Anatomy · Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Viewpoint and narration
14 lenses on viewpoint and narration for Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E13 E14
E1. Person and tense: first or third, past or present. Count
First person, past tense. In the narration, past forms come 2,728 times and present forms 331 times.
E2. Whose viewpoint is each chapter? Both
first person. See the full lens on the book page.
E3. Share of the book told by each viewpoint character. Both
Harry is the sole viewpoint character throughout all 44 chapters. The narrative is entirely first person from his perspective, with no shifts to other characters' minds.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 22, Ch 44
Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. (Ch 1, para 2)
Suddenly halting and turning round, I found that I was alone (Ch 23, para 11)
E4. Narrative distance: close inside a head, or far off? AI
Narrative distance is close and intimate. Harry reports his own thoughts, fears, and sensations directly. The reader is inside his head during moments of terror (chapter 24), wonder (chapter 27), and hunger (chapter 41). Very little external observation.
Chapters: Ch 24, Ch 27, Ch 41
I was literally buried alive; with no other expectation before me but to die in all the slow horrible torture of hunger and thirst (Ch 24, para 2)
do I not see the light of day? do I not hear the whistling of the wind? and can I not distinguish the wash of a great sea (Ch 26, para 38)
Hunger, prolonged, is temporary madness! The brain is at work without its required food (Ch 41, para 2)
E5. Strict viewpoint or head hopping? AI
Strict viewpoint maintained throughout. Harry never enters another character's mind. He reports what others say and do, but interprets their motives only from external signs. No head hopping occurs.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 22, Ch 44
Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. (Ch 1, para 2)
Suddenly halting and turning round, I found that I was alone (Ch 23, para 11)
E6. Is the narrator reliable? Where are the cracks? AI
Harry is largely reliable but doubts his own perceptions. In chapter 36, he questions whether the giant and mastodons were real. In chapter 29, he admits to hallucination. His fear sometimes clouds judgment, but he reports events honestly.
Chapters: Ch 29, Ch 36, Ch 40
Never mind. However unlikely it may be, it might have been a monkey--but a man, a living man, and with him a whole generation of gigantic animals, buried in the entrails of the earth--it was too monstrous to be believed! (Ch 36, para 37)
I looked back, with wonderment, to my own folly. Fully was I aware that, despite his enthusiasm, and the ever-to-be-hated scroll of Saknussemm, my uncle should never have started on his perilous voyage. (Ch 40, para 65)
E7. Frames and tales within tales. AI
No frames or tales within tales. The narrative is a straight first person account of the journey. Chapter 35 contains the Professor's lecture on paleontology, but it is reported by Harry, not embedded as a separate text.
Chapters: Ch 35
E8. Narrator asides and addresses to the reader. Both
0 paragraphs where the narrator seems to speak to the reader or about the telling. (rough estimate from word lists)
Harry addresses the reader directly in the opening: 'Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day.' He reflects on his own folly in chapter 40 and questions his reliability in chapter 36. Occasional asides about his feelings.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 36, Ch 40
Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. (Ch 1, para 2)
Never mind. However unlikely it may be, it might have been a monkey--but a man, a living man, and with him a whole generation of gigantic animals, buried in the entrails of the earth--it was too monstrous to be believed! (Ch 36, para 37)
I looked back, with wonderment, to my own folly. Fully was I aware that, despite his enthusiasm, and the ever-to-be-hated scroll of Saknussemm, my uncle should never have started on his perilous voyage. (Ch 40, para 65)
E9. Documents used: letters, diaries, reports, by type and sender. Both
How often each kind of document is named in the narration. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Document | Mentions |
|---|---|
| will | 35 |
| letter | 13 |
| note | 10 |
| journal | 4 |
| manuscript | 2 |
| report | 1 |
No documents are used. The narrative contains no letters, diaries, or reports. The only text referenced is the runic parchment in chapters 1 to 3, which Harry reads aloud but does not quote in full.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
In Sneffels Yoculis craterem kem delibat umbra Scartaris Julii intra calendas descende, audas viator, et terrestre centrum attinges. Kod feci. Arne Saknussemm (Ch 3, para 59)
E10. What the narrator hides, and where the reader knows more than the lead. AI
Harry hides his initial knowledge of the parchment's meaning from his uncle in chapter 3. The reader knows the secret before the Professor does. Harry also withholds his doubts about the journey's feasibility from his uncle until chapter 4.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 4
Never shall my uncle be made aware of the dread secret. He would be quite capable of undertaking the terrible journey. (Ch 3, para 22)
I do not believe in the dangers and difficulties which you, Henry, seem to multiply; and the only way to learn, is like Arne Saknussemm, to go and see. (Ch 4, para 31)
E11. Free indirect style: where the narrator slips into a character's voice. AI
Free indirect style appears when Harry reports the Professor's thoughts. In chapter 4, Harry conveys the Professor's scientific reasoning in his own voice. In chapter 22, Harry adopts the Professor's tone when discussing calculations.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 22
What appears obscure to you, to me is light. This very phrase shows how particular Saknussemm is in his directions. (Ch 4, para 20)
I do not believe in the dangers and difficulties which you, Henry, seem to multiply; and the only way to learn, is like Arne Saknussemm, to go and see. (Ch 4, para 31)
E12. How thought is shown: tagged, italic or blended. Count
Thought is mostly shown with tags like thought, reflected, wondered.
| Tag | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 65 |
| reflected | 7 |
| wondered | 2 |
| said to himself | 1 |
| said to herself | 0 |
| asked himself | 0 |
| asked herself | 0 |
| told himself | 0 |
E13. What triggers each change of viewpoint? AI
No viewpoint changes occur. Harry remains the sole narrator throughout. The narrative perspective is fixed to his consciousness from chapter 1 to chapter 44.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 44
Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. (Ch 1, para 2)
E14. Hindsight: where an older narrator comments on events. AI
Hindsight commentary appears throughout. Harry reflects on his own folly in chapter 40. The opening line signals hindsight: 'Looking back to all that has occurred.' Chapter 44 provides final reflection on the journey's meaning.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 40, Ch 44
Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. (Ch 1, para 2)
I looked back, with wonderment, to my own folly. Fully was I aware that, despite his enthusiasm, and the ever-to-be-hated scroll of Saknussemm, my uncle should never have started on his perilous voyage. (Ch 40, para 65)
This is the final conclusion of a narrative which will be probably disbelieved even by people who are astonished at nothing (Ch 44, para 2)
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