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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn 1866, ships across the world are being rammed by a mysterious creature thought to be a giant narwhal. Pierre Aronnax, a French professor of natural history visiting New York, accepts an invitation to join the US Navy frigate Abraham Lincoln on a mission to hunt down the monster. With him are his faithful servant Conseil and the legendary Canadian harpooner Ned Land. When they finally encounter the creature and attack it, all three men are thrown overboard and discover the truth: the monster is not an animal at all, but an extraordinary submarine vessel called the Nautilus, commanded by the reclusive and brilliant Captain Nemo.
Free Battle of the Books questions for 20,000 Leagues under the Sea
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a captain tell his captives they are "nothing to me but the passengers"?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
When Aronnax asks by what name he should address him, the commander answers, "I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo," and says Aronnax and his companions are nothing to him but the passengers of the Nautilus. He has just told them they are his prisoners of war and will never see their country again.
- First half
In what book do divers walk on the ocean floor wearing rubber suits with leaden soles and copper helmets?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
Before their first walk in the deep, the hunters dress in india-rubber suits weighted with heavy leaden soles and crowned with copper helmets pierced by three thick glass windows. Tanks of compressed air strapped to their backs let them breathe for hours.
- First half
In what book does a stone thrown by an islander shatter a rare left-spiral shell in a servant's hand?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
Aronnax discovers an olive porphyry shell that spirals the wrong way, an extraordinary find for a collector. As he is admiring it with Conseil, a stone thrown by a Papuan islander smashes the precious shell to pieces in the servant's grip.
- Second half
In what book does the captain leap dagger in hand to save a pearl diver from a charging shark?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
When a melanopteron shark attacks an Indian pearl fisherman, Captain Nemo rushes the monster with only a blade, and Ned Land finishes it off with his harpoon.
- Second half
In what book does a midnight walker discover ruined columns and temples of a vanished continent?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
On a midnight walk lit by a submarine volcano, Aronnax sees a ruined town and Captain Nemo writes the word ATLANTIS on a basalt rock.
- Near the end
In what book does a man cry "Adieu, sun! Disappear, thou radiant orb!" after planting a flag?
✓ Answer
20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
Having claimed the South Pole on March 21, 1868, Captain Nemo bids farewell to the sun as it sets for the six-month polar night.
