Long Island
Long Island, the elongated island off the coast of New York, appears in the narrative as a threshold between the familiar world of human civilization and the final, violent convulsions of Captain Nemo's secret war. It is the last identifiable piece of land that Professor Aronnax and his companions see before their imprisonment on the Nautilus reaches its catastrophic climax. The island's proximity to New York, the great American metropolis, underscores the tantalizing nearness of freedom and the crushing impossibility of reaching it, given the Nautilus's speed and Nemo's determination.
Geographical and Narrative Context
Long Island is situated off the coast of New York, a region that, for Ned Land, represents the ultimate goal of escape. The Canadian harpooner, whose patience has worn thin after months of captivity, sees the American shore as his only hope. When the Nautilus cruises abreast of Long Island, a few miles from the narrows to Upper New York Bay, the opportunity for escape seems almost tangible. However, the weather turns foul, and a hurricane of immense power begins to build, dashing any immediate plans for flight. The storm that erupts on May 13 is one of the most violent the Nautilus has ever faced, and it forces the submersible to seek refuge in the depths, carrying Aronnax and his companions further from the longed-for coast.
The Storm and the Shift in Course
The hurricane that strikes near Long Island is a pivotal event. Captain Nemo, in a rare display of recklessness, chooses to remain on the surface and brave the storm rather than immediately submerge. The storm's fury is so great that it throws the Nautilus about like a toy, and Aronnax witnesses the captain courting death by lightning. After the storm passes, the Nautilus is thrown back to the east, away from the American coast. This shift in course crushes Ned Land's hopes, as the ship now heads toward the open Atlantic rather than toward a port where escape might be possible. The storm effectively seals the fate of the warship that the Nautilus will soon encounter, as it drives the submersible into the path of its intended victim.
The Final Approach and the Sinking of the Warship
After the storm, the Nautilus continues its journey, eventually arriving at a specific location in the Atlantic: latitude 47° 24' and longitude 17° 28'. This is the site where the French warship Avenger sank in 1794. It is here that Captain Nemo, having identified an approaching warship as his enemy, prepares for his final act of vengeance. The Nautilus submerges and rests on the seafloor next to the wreck of the Avenger, a moment of profound historical and personal significance for Nemo. He then rises to the surface and, after a brief exchange of cannon fire, rams the warship below its waterline, sinking it with all hands. This act of mass execution is the culmination of Nemo's long-nurtured hatred, and it takes place in the waters off the coast of Europe, far from the American shores that Ned Land had so desperately sought.
Significance as a Boundary
Long Island, therefore, functions as a narrative boundary. It is the last point at which the protagonists could have reasonably hoped to rejoin the world of men. Its appearance marks the end of any realistic chance for a peaceful escape. After the storm pushes the Nautilus away from Long Island, the narrative accelerates toward its violent and tragic conclusion. The island is a symbol of the freedom that is forever denied to Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land, and its disappearance over the horizon signals their final, irrevocable separation from the society they once knew.
