Around The World In 80 Days-Form 3

SYNOPSIS

The story begins at England. We are introduced to Fogg, a very precise man who regularly goes to the Reform Club every evening. At one such visit to the club to play cards, he gets into a conversation with his fellow card players as to whether it is possible to go around the world in eighty days. He believes that it is and is challenged to complete the adventure. This is the beginning of the entire plot and from then on we see how Fogg goes around the world and we witness the amazing adventures that he has with his companions. The main plot is based on Fogg’s travels, while other such plots merely support the central theme Fix, the detective follows Fogg all over. He believes that Fogg is the bank robber who has robbed a great sum from the bank of England. He puts obstacles in Fogg’s path just so that he can arrest him whenever he gets the warrant from England. The suspicion that Fogg might be a clever gentleman robber is the sub-theme of the book and the author makes the reader also suspicious. Passepartout too wonders whether his master might be a robber though in his heart he has ample trust in Fogg’s integrity.

The plot moves ahead with Fogg striving through various obstacles to reach London in time. He goes through Brindisi, Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York and finally Liverpool. Fix arrests Fogg at Liverpool and this delays our hero. He thinks that he has missed the deadline and hasn’t reached London in time when in reality he reached a full day earlier. Thus Fogg wins the wager and in the course of his travels, finds himself a worthy charming, beautiful wife too.

PLOT

 Exposition -Phileas Fogg believes that it is possible to travel around the world in 80 days. He is willing to bet £20,000 in a wager against his friend, Andrew Stuart. Fogg wants to prove that it is indeed possible to do so. He starts his journey with his butler, Jean Passerpartout, and £20,000 cash.

Rising Action - Fogg faces several obstacles along his journey. detective Fix suspects him of robbing the Bank of England. The railway line from Bombay to Calcutta turns out to be incomplete and he has to ride an elephant to get to the next station. Foggs rescues Aouda from the bandits.

Conflict - Passerpartout discovers Detective Fix’s intentions to arrest Phileas Fogg while in Hong Kong but he does not inform Fogg about it. Instead, he agrees to cooperate with Detective Fix while on-board the General Grant. In Liverpool, Fogg is arrested.

Climax - When Passerpartout meets with the Reverend to arrange for Phileas Fogg and Aouda’s wedding, he discovers that Phileas Fogg has not lost the wager yet as that it is still 21 Dec,1867 and not 22 Dec. Phileas Fogg and Passerpartout the rush to the Reform Club with only minutes to spare. meaanwhile, Fogg’s friends already expect him to lose the wager.

Falling Action - Phileas Fogg wins the wager and also the heart of Aouda. He does not lose all his fortune. as he initially feared, even though he spent a lot of money along the journey in order to travel around the world in 80 days.

Resolution - Phileas Fogg and Aouda get married two days later. Passerpartout continues on as their butler.

 CHARACTER LIST

Major Characters

 Phileas Fogg

·       The hero and chief protagonist in the novel.

·       He is introduced to us as a 40-year-old Englishman.

·       He is very particular about how things are done in the household.

·       A tall man with dark hair and serious face.

·       A wealthy man.

·       A regular at the Reform Club where he eats most of his meals.

·       He is challenged by a fellow gambler to go around the world in eighty days and he takes up the challenge.

·       His rationality, calmness, generosity and self-control impress the readers.

·       Character traits – disciplined and meticulous, practical, generous, caring, brave, patient and calm, kind, confident

Jean Passepartout

·       He appears in the initial stage of the novel itself, as the new butler of Mr. Fogg.

·       He is 30 years old.

·       He is looking for a solid routine and orderly life.

·       He is an honest as well as a funny French man, who is loyal to his master and yet gets into situations that hinder his master’s plans to travel around the world.

·       Passepartout endears himself to the reader with his warmth, his sense of humor and his ability to act bravely as well as comically.

·       Character traits – eager and enthusiastic, efficient, protective of his master, quick thinking, appreciative of his travels, trustworthy, kind, honest, ignorant of local laws, funny and comical

Detective Fix

·       He is a detective sent by the Bank of England to look for the bank robber.

·       He is a short man with small eyes and bushy eyebrows.

·       There is a major bank robbery in England around the same time that Fogg leaves for his journey round the world.

·       Detective Fix is one of the many other detectives who seek to find the culprit so they can get a percentage of the stolen money as an award.

·       He comes to the wrong conclusion that Fogg is the bank robber and is merely pretending to go around the world when his real purpose is to flee the law.

·       Character traits – observant, curious, persistent, suspicious, deceitful, apologetic

Minor Characters

Aouda

·       Aouda is a Parsee Indian princess who is orphaned at an early age.

·       She is the daughter of wealthy merchant in Bombay

·       Her family is killed by the bandits.

·       She is a young and pretty girl who is captured by the bandits.

·       Her cousin, Jeejah Jeejeeboy, is in Holland.

·       She is rescued by Fogg’s group – Phileas Fogg, Jean Passepartout, Ali and Sir Francis from being killed by the bandits.

·       Character traits – grateful and appreciative, caring, protective of her friends, concerned, sincere

Sir Francis Cromaty

·       He is a tall and fair man

·       He is 50 years old.

·       He is a general in the British army stationed in Benares, India

·       He meets Phileas Fogg on board the Mongolia and joins him on the train journey to Calcutta

·       He thinks that Fogg is mad to attempt to travel around the world in 80 days

·       He is brave and he takes part in the rescue of Aouda from the bandits

Ali the Guide

·       He is the elephant handler and guide for the journey to Allahabad

·       he is cautious as he avoids the bandits throughtout the journey to Allahabad

·       He is brave and he takes part in the rescue of Aouda from the bandits

·       He is appreciative of Phileas Fogg’s gesture of giving him Kiouni, the elephant

Colonel Proctor

·       He is brave and determined to get the train cross the damaged bridge at high speed, a mile away from Medicine Bow

·       He fights the outlaws as they try to rob the train passengers

Minor Characters (less important)

James Foster

·       He had been a servant of Fogg’s, but Fogg had fired him because he had committed the minor offence of bringing the shaving water at the wrong temperature.

Diplomat Stephenson

·       He waits along with detective Fix for the boat Mongolia to arrive at Suez.

·       Daily, he would see English ships pass through the canal.

·       The detective tells the consul that they must try and detain Fogg here, but the consul cannot do that lawfully and so doesn’t.

·       Phileas Fogg’s Partners at the Reform Club

The engineer, Andrew Stuart – challenges Fogg to go around the world in eighty days.

John Sullivan & Samuel Fallentin – newspaper owner. Samuel Fallentin is confident that Phileas Fogg will win the bet.

The landowner, Thomas Flanagan

Ralph Gauthier – a Bank of England employee. He is confident that the bank detectives will catch the robber. He is sceptical that any man could travel around the world in 80 days

-  are Fogg’s partners at the Reform club where he plays card with.

Captain John Bunsby

·       He is the master of the boat Tankadere, on which Fogg, Fix and Aouda travel.

·       He is skillful in making sure the boats sails fast enough to catch up with the Carnatic

William Batulcar

·       He is the manager of an acrobatic troupe of buffoons at Yokohama before leaving for America.

·       He is kind to give Passepartout  a job with this troupe in order to be able to leave for America with them.

Mudge

·       the owner of a sled with sails

·       helps to take Phileas Fogg and his companions to Omaha after being left behind by the train

The Bandits

·       They killed Aouda’s family and kidnapped her

·       They carry giant sabers and sharp swords while guarding Aouda

·       They are violent and cruel

The Outlaws

·       There are about 100 men who attack the train

·       They are armed with guns and wear handkerchiefs over their faces

·       They rob the train and escape when the soldiers arrive

·       They kidnap Passepartout and other train passengers when they escape

SETTING

Physical setting

Fogg’s house in London	The Suez Canal	Elephant journey to Allahabad	Elephant journey to Allahabad
Hong Kong	The train journey across America	The Reform Club	Bombay
Bombay	Calcutta	Yokohama	Liverpool

Time setting

-  The different time zones that Phileas Fogg passes through on his journey enables him to gain a day by the time he arrives in Liverpool.

-  This is due to the International date Line (IDL), an imaginary line located on the 180º line of longitude that passes through the Pacific ocean which separates two consecutive calendar days.

-  As Fogg travels east from Yokohama, Japan towards San Francisco in the United States of America, he gains an additional day which enables him to win the wager even though he has lost some time in Liverpool when he is arrested by Detective Fix on the charges of the bank robbery.

Social setting

-  Victorian era – a long period of prosperity for the British people – economic and industrial  progress while its colonies stretched across the world.

-  The time when advances in printing and communication enabled news and important events to be available to the public ( the wager started when they read about an article about world travel in 80 days)

-  English society – upper class, middle class and the working class. Phileas Fogg is in the upper class society ( evidence – personal butler, member of Reform Club, house in upper class neighbourhood – he has no worries about his finances and work)

THEMES/MESSAGES – evidence

·      Hope and optimism are important to achieve our goals / ambitions or when facing life challenges

·       Patience and persistent –incomplete train track, Passerpartout’s arrest, miss the ship – does not give up – overcoming them

·       Punctuality – time management – 80 days schedule , the train departs on time, Andrew Speedy departs at 9 a.m, Fogg’s late arrival; causes him to miss the China voyage to Liverpool

·       Kindness and concern for others is very important – rescuing Aouda from the bandits, refuses payment from Det.Fix, look for Passerpartout and leave money for him to be found.

·       Generosity – Fogg gives Ali the elphant , pays capt. Andrew Speedy the price of two ships when he takes over Henrietta.

·       Being truthful. – Passerpartout is honest when Det.Fix tells him about Fogg’s journey around the world , Aouda telling Fogg about her family, her feelings ( not being truthful causes problems – Passerpartout not telling Fogg that Det. Fix wants to arrest him)

·       Trust  – Fogg trusts Passerpartout even though he only starts works hours before – askes Passerpartout to care for his money -  Passerpartout trusts that Fogg is not the bank robber when he defends his master against Det.Fix.

·       Courage   – rescuing Aouda is very risky , Passerpatout stops the train from crashing , Fogg rescuing his butler