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The Coral Kingdom

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne · Episode 3 of 7

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne was first published in 1870. This episode draws from chapters 17–25 of the original work. Verne's novel is a founding work of science fiction and a landmark of adventure literature, combining speculative technology, marine biology, and moral complexity. Captain Nemo remains one of literature's most enigmatic figures: a man of genius and charity who has also exiled himself from humanity, capable of sublime generosity and terrible vengeance. This text reflects its era in its depiction of Indigenous peoples and colonial attitudes; a few period terms have been modernised. The episode is worth the reader's time because it deepens the central mystery of Nemo's character—his simultaneous hatred of oppression and his own retreat into isolation—and because it stages one of the novel's most vivid and morally charged action sequences, the rescue of the pearl diver, which forces the question: can a man who has rejected humanity still be called humane?

Band

Silver · First-year university levelTypical starting range: adult

Length

long · about 1609 words in 5 sections · 1 picture

Source

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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