Around the World in Eighty Days (Novel) Questions and answers 12th Class
Around the World in Eighty Days is the novel that is in your 12th Class syllabus for the 4 marks under the section 4 Genre Novel. On this novel you will be asked two questions for 2 marks each. So this article will help you to write the answers of this given questions in the novel Around the World in Eighty Days.
Introduction
Jules Gabriel Verne (1828 to 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. Verne wrote widely popular series of adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne is generally considered a major literary author in France and most of Europe. Verne has been the second most- translated author in the world.
Major Characters
• Phileas Fogg
• Passepartout
• Aouda
• Detective Fix
Minor Characters
• Sir Francis Cromarty
• John Bunsby
• The Reform Club Members
• The Parsee Guide
• Colonel Stamp Proctor
• Mr. Camerfield
• Mr. Mandiboy
• Elder William Hitch
• Mudge • Captain Speedy
Theme Around the World in Eighty Days 12th Class
The novel is full of adventure and the excitement which the readers come across and enjoy from the beginning to the end. Phileas Fogg, the major character in the novel, accepts the challenge to go around the world in eighty days and in accomplishing this feat he goes through various lands and meets with diverse adventures. Thus the novel proceeds at a fast pace and there is always some excitement resulting from the various encounters. The beauty of the novel is that the writer takes the readers through a journey of many hair-raising incidents and exciting, adventurous, thrilling yet beautiful places around the world. The most important feature of this adventure novel is ‘Time’. It illustrates repeatedly that time is fickle, and either works for or against them. In many cases, time foils their plans, when the delays build up and ships and trains leave without them that sometimes land the characters in trouble. In the end, Fogg wins the bet as he gained a day when crossing the International Date Line. The ultimate message is that no one can control time; time will work the way it wants to work, and humans are at its mercy.
Before his journey around the world, Fogg lived a solitary life. He closed himself off to others and cared little about the way he was perceived by other people. By the end of the trip, though, he recognizes the importance of human connections, both in the form of love, with Aouda, and friendship and loyalty, with Passepartout. Above all, this new understanding and appreciation is the greatest thing he has gained from this trip.
Though he has the opportunity to double his fortune, Fogg’s motivation to embark on such a crazy adventure has little to do with the money. Instead, he wants to preserve his honour and prove his worth to the men of the Reform Club, to show that he can do what he sets out to do. Fogg spends nearly all of his money along the way, showing that riches are not what he is truly out for. For Phileas Fogg, honour is more important than money.
Throughout the entire trip, Fogg and his group encounter various obstacles standing in their way. These challenges allow them to use their quick thinking to come up with innovative solutions to even the most complicated of problems, relaying the message that no problem is unsolvable. It is not only Fogg who shows his clever wit in coming up with solutions; Passepartout, too, shows his ingenuity in multiple situations.
Plot
Around the World in Eighty Daysbegins at the Reform Club in England with Phileas Fogg, Thomas Flanagan, Samuel Fallentin, and John Sullivan sitting by a fireplace reading newspapers. We are introduced to Fogg, a very precise man who regularly goes to the Reform Club every evening.
At the Reform Club, Fogg, Flanagan, Fallentin, and Sullivan are talking about a recent bank robbery. This conversation leads to a wager. Fogg is quite sure he can travel around the world in eighty days, while Sullivan doesn’t believe it can be done. Sullivan, Flanagan, and Fallentin think Fogg is not considering the unexpected; all of the men accept the wager for twenty-thousand pounds.
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 (Now Mumbai), Calcutta (Now Kolkata), Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York and finally Liverpool. Fix arrests Fogg at Liverpool and this delays Fogg a bit. 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.
Synopsys of the Extract
As soon as Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout arrive in Liverpool, Fix arrests Fogg. Phileas is thrown in jail. Several hours later, though, Fix learns that another man was responsible for the bank robbery, and he releases Fogg, who orders a special train. However, he arrives in London late, making everyone disappointed.
Phileas and company are now broke, the deadline for the bet has passed, and there’s nothing to do but go home and pout. Phileas locks himself in his room and, for the first time, allows himself to be seriously depressed. Aouda and Passepartout are so worried that they too can’t eat or sleep.
The following evening Fogg apologizes to Aouda for being unable to provide for her comfort as a result of losing the bet. She in turn proposes marriage to him, and he joyfully agrees. Passepartout is sent to engage a clergyman, he runs off to get a reverend to marry Fogg and Aouda the next day (which they all think is Monday). While running to grab the nearest preacher (to marry Phileas and Aouda), Passepartout finds out that it’s actually Sunday, not Monday, like the group has been thinking. By travelling eastward around the world, Phileas Fogg, master calculator and obsessive organizer, has forgotten the time he’s gained by journeying through all those time zones.
He learns that their journey through the time zones had gained them a day and that they are not at all late. Passepartout races home, grabs Phileas by the collar, shoves him into a cab, and deposits him at the club. Phileas presents himself with minutes to spare and effectively wins the bet. He’s rich once more, but more important (as he says to himself), he has won the heart of a “charming” woman.
Questions and Answers Around the World in Eighty Days 12th Class
Q.1 Which one among the following is not a major character of the novel? Justify. (Select the correct one.)
(a) Phileas Fogg (b) Aouda (c) James Strand (d) Jean Passepartout
Answer: (c) James Strand
Q.2 Phileas Fogg is as cool as a cucumber whereas Passepartout is as crazy as a loon. Explain the statement by citing some references from the extract.
Q.3 Detective Fix tried hard but could not fix the charge of robbery on Fogg. Explain the statement from the point of view of Fix.
Q.4 Describe the character sketch of Aouda from Fogg’s point of view.
Click here to learn about the Novel 4.1 To Sir, With Love Questions and Answers
