Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea begins in 1866, when ships of several nations see a mysterious sea monster in the water. The United States government assembles a team in New York to find and kill the monster. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist and the narrator, is invited to join, as is Canadian whaler and weapons expert Ned Land and Aronnax’s servant, Conseil. They board a Navy frigate and travel to Cape Horn, where they encounter the beast, believed by some to be a giant Narwhal. However, the beast attacks the ship and breaks its rudder, causing the three men to be hurled into the water. They grab the creature’s body, and are shocked to find that it is not a creature at all, but a highly advanced submarine. They are captured and taken inside, where they meet the commander, the eccentric Captain Nemo. Now aboard the submarine, named the Nautilus, they learn it was built in secret by Nemo and roams the seas free from any Government law. Nemo, motivated by both a thirst for knowledge and disgust for organized civilization, has designed it to be electrically powered and uses it for advanced marine biology research. Although he is glad to have a fellow scientist like Aronnax on board, he never plans on letting them leave to preserve his secrets. Aronnax and Conseil are excited for the adventure, but the blue-collar Ned Land is desperate to escape.

1030L Lexile