"Fifteen-year-old captain": a summary. "Fifteen-year-old captain," Jules Verne

The readers of this novel easily remember its brief content. "Fifteen-year-old captain" is written in simple and vivid language. It captures a special enterprising spirit of the XIX century, a century of discovery and invention. Only Jules Verne could do that.

Flight to San Francisco

The great Frenchman wrote about his contemporaries. Judge for yourselves: the schooner-brig "Pilgrim" departs from the New Zealand port of Okleanda on January 29, 1873, and the book itself was published in 1878. Its route, according to the original plan, runs through the Pacific Ocean through the Chilean sea port of Valparaiso and ends in San Francisco.

The vessel belongs to a wealthy man James Weldon. The voyage is a whaler, the vessel is led by experienced captain Gul, under his command five sailors, a young man Dick Send and a Negro cook.

Also on board there are passengers. This is the wife of the owner of the ship - Mrs. Weldon, his five-year-old son Jack, the nanny of the boy - the elderly Negro Nan and, finally, the eccentric entomologist, who belongs to the boy's uncle, whom everyone calls just "Cousin Benedict".

Unexpected fellow travelers

About the troubled, adventurous flight of the "Pilgrim" is further narrated by a brief summary. "Fifteen-year-old captain" from the first chapter brings into the plot intrigue. Five-year-old Jack Welon is the first to notice an overturned ship in the distance and informs about it to others. The ship "Waldeck", wrecked, is doomed. On board - the negroes left by the crew escaped in their hurry in their cabin. They return home, having performed work under the contract on the New Zealand plantation. Their five: the old man Tom with his son Bat, as well as young people Acteon, Hercules and Austin. With them - a large dog Dingo, picked up by the captain of the "Waldeck" somewhere in Africa. And the dog, apparently, knows Negoro, because he shows aggression in his address.

Trouble

Soon the "Pilgrim" is a disaster - five sailors and the captain perish, setting off on a boat for a whale. Further on the strength of the spirit of Dick Senda, the orphan, junior sailor, is evidenced by a brief summary. Fifteen-year-old captain (so many years turned Dick), no doubt, takes command of the ship.

However, his knowledge of navigation is clearly not enough. He can choose the direction of the compass and measure the speed of movement with the help of the lot. How to determine his location, using the stars, he does not know.

The Dark Personality of Negoro

Portuguese Negoro (we learn about this later) is a runaway convict. He is judged by the authorities of his country for the slave trade, but he escaped and wants to get back to Africa to continue to engage in this same criminal business. That's why Negoro settled himself on the sailing ship Pilgrim. The death of the captain and experienced sailors greatly increased the chances of a convict to quickly find himself in Africa. To do this, it was necessary to deceive Dick Senda, sending him instead of Pacific in the Indian Ocean.

Next - on the implementation of the criminal plan tells us a summary. The fifteen-year-old captain is really disoriented. After all, one compass is broken by a criminal, and the second shows the southern direction instead of the northern one. This focus - "domestication of the compass needle" - produced a familiar with the navigation not by hearsay convict Negoroy, laying under the instrument ax. The ship instead of San Francisco is approaching the coast of Angola.

On the whitewashed Angola

"Pilgrim" is thrown by waves on the shore. Negoro secretly hides.

However, Dick Senda is awaiting further trials and challenges. He is met here by Negoro's accomplice, American Harris, who convinces travelers that they were in Bolivia. A classic gang of villainous slavers introduces intrigue into the further narrative (the summary is indicative). "Fifteen-year-old captain" (chapter 2) begins with the fact that as an alleged conductor of deception (the promise of shelter and rest for his brother) lures travelers a hundred miles deep into the African forest. The joint criminal plan of Negoro and Harris is to sell some of the travelers into slavery, and for the relatives of the wealthy Weldon to get a generous ransom of -100,000 dollars. Not far from the place where Harris sent Dick Senda with fellow travelers, a caravan with slaves, led by a friend of Negoro- Alvets, stopped.

Travelers guess about cheating

Scoundrels act in a coordinated manner, they almost succeed in everything (as evidenced by the summary). The fifteen-year-old captain, however, begins to suspect Garris of lying. The travelers led by him (allegedly in the Bolivian selva) are noticed by circumstances that do not at all identify their whereabouts with South America. Approaching the riverbed, they aroused a few resting in the shallows of hippos, as well as giraffes (the latter, due to the fact that they were at a considerable distance, took for ostriches). Once the cousin of Benedikt was nearly stung by a fly reminiscent of a tsetse fly. As an entomologist, he immediately asked the appropriate questions. And the lenses of the scientist's glasses soon turned out to be completely broken, someone stepped on them. After all, even in the absence of experienced trackers among Americans, they quickly oriented and trained in the course of travel. This is their command intellect, and just highlights the summary. "Fifteen-year-old captain" (Jules Verne) gradually brings an imaginary conductor - a liar of Harris, a mistrust to which grows, to the point of no return. He also has to flee, after travelers discover a terrible find associated with the cannibalism of Africa - severed hands.

Captivity

Dick Sand traces Negor and Garris and hears their conversation, testifying to a criminal conspiracy. Realizing themselves as being in danger, they are trying to get out of the forest, but they are followed closely by slavers. Once in the morning, after spending the night in a termite protecting from tropical rain, travelers are captivated by thugs from these two scoundrels thugs from a caravan of slaves. And Hercules manages to escape from these robbers.

About a long hard way captives tells us a brief summary. "Fifteen-year-old captain" (Jules Verne) describes their humiliation and suffering on the way to the notorious slave market in Angola, Kazonda. An elderly black woman, the nanny of the five-year-old Jack, Nan, perishes on the route of this heavy trek. However, several trapped travelers, intended for getting ransom (Mrs. Weldon, her son and cousin Benedict), are transported by Negoro in more comfortable conditions.

Kazunda. Kara the villain

Arrived in Kazundu, the slaves are placed in barracks. Dick Sand is worried about the fate of Mrs. Weldon with her son. They are transported separately and placed in the trading post of the owner of the caravan, Weldon. Having met Garrice at deceit in Kazende, he tries to ask him about it. However, the rascal, having decided to make fun of the guy, deceives him, saying that they are dead. However, he does not expect that he says this to an adult man who has matured in difficult circumstances, as evidenced by a further episode (more precisely, its very brief content). The fifteen-year-old captain snatches Harris's knife and fatally smashes it. Travelers become one more dangerous enemy less.

Negoro wishes execution of Dick Senda

The murder of his companion in dark matters from afar is watched by Negoro. He decides to destroy Dick Senda. To accomplish this, he only has to negotiate with his partner for trafficking in human beings, who are influential in the slave market, Alvec. The fifteen-year-old captain, they decide, will be publicly executed immediately after the sale of the slaves. To implement this plan, Alvets must receive for this execution a formal permit from the ruler of the Angolan tribe of the natives, Muani-Lungu.

The summary of the book "Fifteen-year-old captain" with irony describes the further events on the land of Angolan.

Alvets had experience of settling such cases. He knew the fees that Muani-Lungu would charge for permission to publicly ritual kill. It is enough to present the leader with a punch in an amount equivalent to the amount of blood in the body of the unfortunate victim. Dependent on alcohol native king is a miserable sight. He was an alcoholic at the last stage.

Unseemly death of the leader

Alvets manages, and even at the best price, to sell all black slaves. However, Negoro hopes for even greater earnings than the owner of the caravan (a rich ransom in the amount of a fortune - $ 100,000). Therefore, he also contains Mrs. Weldon, her son Jack, seriously ill with malaria, and their cousin Benedict under 24-hour protection in a separate house.

Negoro also manages to deceive Mrs. Weldon with the news of the alleged death of Dick Senda, to obtain a letter of redemption written by her hand. However, the scoundrels can not immediately initiate the execution of the former jungle.

Tragicomical looks like a further short summary of the story. The fifteen-year-old captain actually receives a delay in execution, but now he is going to destroy not one. Events have acquired a different turn due to ... the joy of the barger Alvez from the profits received. For joy, the slave merchant Alvets decided to bring the Muani-Lungu punch in the most presentable, burning form. However, he did not take into account that he is dealing with a complete alcoholic. When the leader touched the cups with his lips, his body, sped up by years of outpourings, broke out, and the leader burned down in a matter of minutes.

Savages now were not up to the execution of some pale-faced little fellow, because the funeral of the leader was coming! Instead of a separate execution of the former juni "Pilgrim", a mega-penalty was planned for all his wives (except his beloved) and slaves, including Dick.

The real hero is Hercules. The rescue

The above is a summary of the "Fifteen-year-old captain" of the chapters, as you have noticed, falls entirely within the genre of the novel-Robinsonade with a happy ending. It seems that not only circumstances, but nature itself helps our travelers.

The Negro escaped from the slavers Hercules lurks next door to the Alvec faction, waiting for the moment to help his comrades. And then there is an accident that activates his actions. The eccentric cousin Benedict, himself not understanding how, chasing with a net for a butterfly, suddenly finds himself at large. There he meets Hercules, and he has a plan to save his friends. Now the mighty Negro knows where Mrs. Weldon is with her son. The population of Angola is starving because of the flooding of fertile lands by rains. Superstitious people are looking for the cause of trouble in evil witchcraft.

The desperate natives summoned a powerful sorcerer from the neighboring village to "solve the problem." Hercules, having tied the real servant of the cult and disguised himself in his attire, presents himself as a mute magician. He is to the dowager queen (the former beloved wife), without unnecessary words takes her by the hand and leads to the estate of Alvez. Behind him follows a crowd of fanatics, who believe the sorcerers unquestioningly. To the queen he shows the cause of all the misfortunes - a white woman and her son. It becomes clear to everyone: just taking them outside the village and having performed the ritual of killing infidels, the sorcerer will restore fertility to the earth.

Hercules, using the status of sorcerer Mgannga, manages to thus take out in the boat Mrs. Weldon, her son Jack, cousin Benedict and Dick Senda. Alvets, to whom Negoro entrusted to protect the hostages, was powerless before a crowd of fanatics. The travelers are saved.

Fifteen-year-old captain leads friends to freedom

Unfortunately, the Negroes, friends of Hercules, have already been sold and they were taken away by the buyers.

Travelers, hoping to return to America, swim with the flow of the river to the ocean, disguising the boat under a floating island, hiding from the eyes of cannibals. The roar of the waterfall is heard ahead, and Dick Send stops the boat on the left bank. Suddenly, Dingo lunged forward, following the trail. Travelers after the dog came to the dugout, where, unrestrained, lay the remains of the owner of Dingo - Samuel Vernon, treacherously killed by his conductor - Negoro. Next to the body were the last records of a mortally wounded man containing this accusation. Suddenly, the travelers heard the growling of the dog and Negoro's howl, they intertwined in their last fight. The convict fatally wounded the dog with a knife, and the dog tore his throat.

Negoro, in his misfortune, went to the hut to take money from the hiding place. They needed him to go to America for a ransom from Mr. Weldon.

Meeting at home

Then travelers happily reach the coast of the Indian Ocean and on August 25, 1874, they sail to the California coast. Does life-affirming content "Fifteen-year-old captain" J. Verne? Grateful Mr. Weldon adopts Dick Senda, gives him a proper marine education, and he becomes captain on the ship of his named father. An orphan gets a family! Hercules is a member of Mr. Weldon's house as a true friend of the family.

Four blacks, satellites of Hercules, Mr. Weldon manages to be redeemed from slavery, and those (Tom, Bath, Austin and Actaeon) sail in November 1877 in Africa to the hospitable house of the Weldones.

Conclusion

Jules Verne, "Fifteen-year-old captain" ... The summary does not convey the whole charm of this work, it must be re-read in full. The novel can be interpreted in different ways. Like Robinsonade. As an example to young men - be courageous and take responsibility for themselves. As an example of the preservation of human relations in the most difficult situation. Everyone finds something in this novel ... Of course, he is most loved among children and youth. This fascinating book has already been popular for the third century and attracts readers.