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Chapter 31
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Around the World in Eighty Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Modernity, Time, and Control
Imperialism
Chance, Adventure, and Human Connection
Honor, Reputation, and Duty
Summary
Analysis
Despite his efforts, Fogg is unable to find another steamer that can take him to Liverpool or London in time to fulfill his wager. Passepartout continues to chastise himself for delaying Fogg, but Fogg does not blame him and remains calm. They decide to stay at a hotel in New York City and Fogg leaves to look at the ships anchored on the Hudson River. There, he meets a Welsh man named Andrew Speedy who owns a trading vessel, the Henrietta, and will be leaving for Bordeaux, France in one hour. Captain Speedy refuses to take them to Liverpool instead, but accepts Fogg’s offer of £8,000 to take them as far as Bordeaux.
Captain Speedy’s willingness to take Fogg and his companions shows the value of taking chances (both with time and money) and forming connections with other people. Whereas steamships, trains, and other highly scheduled forms of mass transportation have been highly unreliable throughout the novel, Fogg ironically has better luck when he puts his faith in people—not machines.
Themes
