# Jules Verne: A Father of Sci-fi



## ModernDayMozart (Feb 27, 2012)

I believe this to be the best Research Essay I personally have ever wrote. I did not exactly write it like I originally intended but I think it came out pretty good! Enjoy! 

*Jules Verne: Father of Science Fiction*​  [FONT=&Verdana]
Jules Verne was no doubt more than just an author; he was also a visionary of his time. He inspired many future writers. Science fiction is now a major genre in our modern culture. Whether you like Science fiction or not it is present in many modern aspects of literature. Science fiction allows the audience to explore ideas of the future and marvel in what could eventually be reality. [/FONT]Jules Verne was a revolutionary thinker among the literary world and helped shape the foundations of what modern science fiction has become today.

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“Jules Verne was born on 8 February 1828 in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France.” (Merriman) Which was a busy port city that exposed him to the coming and going of ships; this could have sparked his imagination and interest for adventure and travel (Merriman). Later Verne attended a boarding school where he began to first write his own short stories and even poetry. “However, upon obtaining his degree in 1850, he was much more interested in theatre, to his father's disappointment” (Merriman). [/FONT]
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Jules Verne also held many other positions in society as well.  Jules Verne started his professional writing career from writing small articles on scientific or historical topics. He wrote these articles in a magazine called “Musee des Familles.” However, this was only to supplement his small income, working for the Paris Stock Market (Evans). Verne did extensive reading, in the National Library of France in Paris, of reference books and scientific magazines; where he came up with most of his short scientific articles (Evans). “In so doing, the young author came to envision the possibility of incorporating all this documentation into a new and innovative type of novel whose narrative format would simultaneously blend fiction with fact” (Evans). [/FONT]
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Verne attempted this new fictional novel just as he had envisioned. However, his novels were rejected numerous times by publishers (Merriman). Regardless of his previous failures, Verne`s novel “Five Weeks In a Balloon” appears in the literary world for the first time in 1863. (Merriman) It was the first novel to be published in the “Extraordinary Adventures” series, and was soon followed by the novel “A Journey to The Center of The Earth” (Merriman). [/FONT]
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“A Journey to The Center of The Earth” is about the adventure Harry, and his uncle, Professor Hardwigg, partake in to explore the mysteries of the center of the earth. It starts with Professor Hardwigg finding a strange parchment that contains a cryptograph in a language called Runic. Harry is the narrator and gives us, the audience, an accurate account of their adventure. After finding the parchment Harry and his uncle decipher the cryptograph with much difficulty. The cryptograph was about an adventure, Arne Saknussemm, who claimed to 
have descended to the center of the earth through an extinct volcano in Iceland (Verne).  [/FONT]
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After deciphering the cryptograph, Professor Hardwigg persuaded Harry into joining him to find out if it was actually true. In Iceland the third and final main character is introduced and goes by the name of Hans. Hans is their Icelandic guild to the Mt. Sneffels, which is the volcano that one must descend down its crater to reach the center of the earth. After doing this the three traverse underground caverns for several days until they come upon a vast ocean and a forest that held many dangers. They come across prehistoric fossils as well as the living animals themselves. They even encounter an early human ancestor herding a flock of Mastodon’s (Verne). “By allowing his travelers to catch a glimpse of a prehistoric shepherd, Verne dramatized the theory of evolution, which then was highly controversial” (Freedman 122).[/FONT]
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“A journey to the Center of the Earthis one of the most popular stories ever written by Jules Verne and also one of the least likely.” (Freedman 120) Verne`s characters and stories reflect his passion for science, “My uncle, Professor Hardwigg, was a very learned man” (Verne) In his story Verne cited actual scientific research and their researchers in many novels including “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” (Evans) In the novel Verne describes several devices the characters use to reach the center of the earth, along with the device`s real life inventors. “A centigrade Thermometer of Eizel, A manometer, A first class- chronometer made by Boissonnas, of Geneva” (Verne). Verne also included a detailed account of how each device functioned and what it was made of. [/FONT]
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However, what is interesting is that Verne goes onto describe a device that would not see the world until later on in history; and its possibly he dreamt it up himself. “Ruhmkorf`s Coil, an instrument for producing currents of induced electricity of great intensity. It consists of a coil of copper wire, insulated by being covered with silk, surroned by another coil of fine wire, also insulated, in which a momentary current is induced when a current is passed through the inner coil from a voltaic battery. When the apparatus is in action, the gas becomes luminous, and produces a white and continued light” (Verne).  “6. Two Ruhmkorf`s coils. Which by means of a current of electricity, would ensure us a very excellent, easily carried, and certain means of obtaining light” (Verne). [/FONT]
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Although, no one had thought of using electricity for a source of light and it was only in laboratories where electricity was experimented with. “When Verne described this device, electricity had not yet emerged from the experimental Laboratory” (Freedman  116). Was this device actually just a 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century flash light?[/FONT]
  We should first step back a minute and examine what exactly is science fiction to better understand how Verne actually created, or at least influenced, the modern genre of science fiction. What is science fiction exactly?  Science fiction is “a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge and speculation in its plot, setting, theme, etc.” (Dictionary.com) With that said Verne was one of the first people to create this genre with his novel “Five Weeks in a Balloon” and “A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and at first was called the “Roman Scientifique” (Evans). 
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All evidence, that one could look for, points to the fact that Verne is very much a Science Fiction writer, even though science fiction did not exist as a genre in the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century. Verne did extensive research about actual scientific theories and wrote about highly advanced technologies that would not be a reality for some decades after he had passed. He wrote about televisions, moon landings, nuclear submarines, video conferencing, newscasts, and even solar sails. Some say he could very well be a prophetic writer but in reality he was a very educated individual and liked to think up practical uses for 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century lab experiments. (National Geographic) [/FONT]
  Jules Verne influenced, and continues to influence science fiction writers. Many famous science fiction writers still use his concept of blending science facts with fictional stories. Science fiction allows us to go on a journey into the world or even space without having to leave the comfort of our own home. In the case of “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” we get to explore scientific concepts in a fascinating way. “By allowing his travelers to catch a glimpse of a prehistoric shepherd, Verne dramatized the theory of evolution, which then was highly controversial” (Freedman  122). 
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All of the concepts Verne invented, can be seen clearly even today in favorite science fiction literature. What was once rejected by publishers before Verne became famous is now a widely common and appreciated genre of its own. For example, “Star Trek” has a very large fan base that is still very active today. Although some elements in the show were entirely made up by its creators, some of the devices used are starting to be invented and used in modern society. “As the name suggests, the inspiration for the Tricorder comes from the fictional device of the same name from the original Star Trek science fiction television series.” (Lifton,  Lapinski and Paradiso). [/FONT]
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Many other famous science fiction writers throughout history followed in Verne`s footsteps, like H.G. Wells, well after his death. Most science fiction stories address the issues of science that even scientists are not quite sure about yet. This was even the case with Verne`s novel that we have been discussing here. “While Verne’s imaginary journey was impossible, his story was based on careful research and reflected the latest scientific knowledge and theories of his time about the evolution of the earth, its plants, and its animals-including man” (Freedman 121). Sometimes those issues reflect fears that we think could happen if we are not careful with technology. This is made apparent in the famous I, Robot, when a robot is given the ability to think freely like a human. The movie explores the idea of a “what-if” scenario that robots, if given too much free will, can overcome humans and even kill us. (imdb.com) [/FONT]

  If we take a look at an actual science fiction story wrote in our time, we can start to draw the conclusion that Verne did indeed influence a genre. Whether that may be indirectly or directly it is still the very apparent in “The Canadian Who Came Almost All the Way Back from the Stars” by Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold. The story holds scientific signifigance in todays present time and tells of a fictional event using this idea. It also is very much like “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” in the sense that it is an adventure that a scientist undertakes based on recent discoveries they had made.
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In “The Canadian Who Came Almost all the Way Back from the Stars” Nick MacInnes, a astrophysicist, disappears after publishing an article about Superluminal Travel. Although, everyone thought Nick was crazy and his article was just as far from being published as it was from the dustbin. “Nick MacInnes, sometime mobile communications billionaire, made a space shot from a privately built and previously unknown launch site on the prairie east of Calgary, found his way into orbit on top of surplus Russian missile hardware, and did something that crashed a significant portion of the world`s electronic infrastructure. At which point, he disappeared in a rainbow-colored flash visible across an entire hemisphere of the planet” (Lake and Nestvold 121).[/FONT]
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Now with Nick disappearance and the acclaimed possession of four nuclear warheads, an NSA agent was sent to investigate the scene and to interview his wife, Kelly MacInnes. The story gets even stranger when Kelly gets a call from her supposedly dead husband and tells her to meet her at the lake where he apparently took off. The lake contained unnatural readings and stumped many scientists. The story is more or less a science fiction mystery that explores how Nick could have actually traveled to Barnard`s Star and if he made it or if he was actually dead. (Lake and Nestvold 121).[/FONT]
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Like Verne`s “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” Lake and Nestvold take their readers on a scientific journey into the unknown. They use facts about the actual distance from the earth to Barnard’s Star and blend modern scientific theories about Faster-Than-Light engines. “Barnard`s Star is slightly less than six light-years from the Sun” (Lake and Nestvold). One could tell they did extensive research based on what they were talking about in the story. They talk about a weird gravitational effect on the lake and high readings of radiation. (Lake and Nestvold). These are all based on the fact of what scientists currently theorize about Superluminal Travel.  “A superluminal phenomenon is a frame of reference traveling with a speed greater than the speed of light” (Rodrigues)[/FONT]
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Science Fiction for the author takes real research and taking those concepts and making an educated geuss to turn what otherwise would only be a half proven theory into a full-fledged fictional story. Only then do things we dream about become a reality in our imagination. People love science fiction because it allows us to imagine a world where you can travel to other planets or use fantastic futuristic devices. [/FONT]
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It is almost impossible to find an actual critic that says “Verne invented what we know as science fiction.” However, after looking at the definition of science fiction and the novels themselves, we can start to see that Verne might have had a major hand in influencing how future authors wrote science fiction literature. He was the first to lay the ground work and those who followed continued to build and contribute to what we now know as science fiction.[/FONT]


*Works Cited*

  2005. Houghton Mifflin Company. 6 December 2011.  <Science | Define Science at Dictionary.com fiction>.

Evans, Arthur B. "Literary Intertexts in Jules  Verne's "Voyages Extraordinaires"." _Science Fiction Studies_  23.2 (1996): 171-187. 8 November 2011.  <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4240502>.

Freedman, Russel. _Jules Verne: Portrait of a  Prophet_. New York: Holiday House, 1965. 5th December 2011.

imdb.com. _I,Robot Plot Summary_. 2004. December  2011.

Lake, Jay and Ruth Nestvold. "The Canadian Who  Came Almost All The Way Back From The Stars." Dozois, Gardner. _The  Year`s Best Science Fiction_. Third Edition. New York: St. Martin`s Griffin,  2005. 119-139.

Lifton, Josh, Michael Lapinski and Joe Paradiso. _mit.edu_.  n.d. MIT Media Lab. 6 December 2011.  <http://web.media.mit.edu/~manas/tricorder.html>.
  Merriman, C. D. _Biography of Jules Verne_.  2007. Jalic Inc. 8 November 2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/verne/>.

National Geographic. _8 Jules Verne Inventions That  Came True_. 8 February 2011. National Geographic Society. 6 December 2011.  <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110208-jules-verne-google-doodle-183rd-birthday-anniversary/#/jules-verne-inventions-nautilus-submarine_32040_600x450.jpg>.

Rodrigues, Waldyr. _Superluminal_. n.d. Wolfram  Research . 6 December 2011.  <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Superluminal.html>.
  Verne, Jules. _A Journey to the Center of the Earth_.  New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1979.


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## ppsage (Feb 27, 2012)

Enjoyed reading this. History and S. F. in one article, doesn't get better.

You might think about giving Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelly a mention. Verne wrote a continuation for a book by Poe and _Frankenstein _or its success, was inspirational to science writers generally.

You won't get any arguement from me, or probably any other officiando, about Verne's importance in this matter, but it would obviously be a bit of a stretch to say any one person invented SciFi. I know you don't say that, but maybe reword that anyway. There are a few other awkward wordings in the text, a couple readings out loud with a blue pencil in your hand might do wonders toward smoothing this out. 

You don't talk about the venue for this writing but unless this form is an academic requirement in some way, I think it might be better to do more paraphrasing of your sources and merely reference them as the basis of the idea. In modern non-fiction written for popular consumption this is typically done with numbered endnotes which reference page numbers when the sources are printed ones, which leaves a much cleaner text. This form also gives you the chance to comment on the research without interrupting the exposition. 

I think perhaps you have counted your centuries the wrong way and when you say 17th (i. e. the 1600's) you mean 19th (i. e. the 1800's.) There are also a few grammar mistakes and hopefully one of our SPAG fairies will help you out there.

I'm glad you posted this, we don't get enough articles which try to go beyond opinion. In appreciation, pp.


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## ModernDayMozart (Feb 27, 2012)

ppsage said:


> Enjoyed reading this. History and S. F. in one article, doesn't get better.
> 
> You might think about giving Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelly a mention. Verne wrote a continuation for a book by Poe and _Frankenstein _or its success, was inspirational to science writers generally.
> 
> ...



Thanks for you comment! I see what you mean where I messed up the centuries. Yes the MLA format was for an academic requirement. I actually planned on making this a longer more drawn out research project for my own interest and that copy would have been submitted here. However, I just have never gotten around to expanding the article from its form as it appears now. If I re do it I think I would change my format to the more traditional Chicago style. 

Also, I didnt know Verne wrote a continuation book off of Frankenstein! I will definitely have to check that out! This is actually more my kind of style so I might upload more in the future.


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## Limburglar (Mar 4, 2012)

Interesting essay.  I would've liked to read some more details, but that's just me being a greedy reader.  Also, it's good that the minor errors were caught before you formally submit a piece.

If Mr. Verne wasn't the inventor of the genre, he certainly was a pioneer.  It seems that he was a sort of Prophet...not with magic and mysticism, but with science and deduction.  During Jules Verne's lifetime, Tesla, Edison, and Westinghouse were devoloping and perfecting the AC and DC methods...so in a sense, magic and science were merged and thus were indistinguishable from eachother.

Verne was able to "stand on the shoulders (of these) giants" and look a little further than his peers.

I wrote a sonnet once about Captain Nemo getting busted for DUI. lol Siriusly


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## ModernDayMozart (Mar 10, 2012)

Limburglar said:


> Interesting essay.  I would've liked to read some more details, but that's just me being a greedy reader.  Also, it's good that the minor errors were caught before you formally submit a piece.
> 
> If Mr. Verne wasn't the inventor of the genre, he certainly was a pioneer.  It seems that he was a sort of Prophet...not with magic and mysticism, but with science and deduction.  During Jules Verne's lifetime, Tesla, Edison, and Westinghouse were devoloping and perfecting the AC and DC methods...so in a sense, magic and science were merged and thus were indistinguishable from eachother.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the comment! Yeah I intended it to be much longer but... I just didnt have time to write all of it. That and I felt like I was running out of things to cover. A quick search about Jules Verne should give you plenty of more details. Some of the essays and websites I cited were longer than my actual essay


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## bazz cargo (Mar 11, 2012)

Hi MDM,
I enjoyed your essay. while I don't agree with all your points you make a cogent argument. 

One small tip for error detection. Take a rule or something that will do just as well and work line by line from the bottom up. It helps to stop the mind filling in details and fooling the critique synapses.

Also turn your spell checker on and treat it with suspicion.

Nice stuff, gave me something to think about.
Bazz


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