How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Well, we will enter the Atlantic, which is still unknown to us. Ah, friend Ned, are you already tired of our journey under the seas? Are you already blasé about this constantly changing spectacle of submarine marvels? For my part, I would be most upset to come to the end of this voyage which so few men have had the chance to make." (2.4.13)
While Aronnax's top priority is exploration, Ned's is freedom. And doing whatever the heck he wants to do, when he wants to do it. So the two clearly don't see eye-to-eye on this whole leaving-the-Nautilus issue. Ned is the voice of reason to Aronnax's blind scientific passion.
Quote #8
We had arrived at a first plateau, where further surprises awaited me. Here picturesque ruins stood up, bearing the mark of man's hand and not that of the Creator. […]
But Captain Nemo came close to me and stopped me with a sign. Then, picking up a chalky piece of stone, he went up to a rock of black basalt and wrote a single word:
ATLANTIS
What a flash crossed my mind! [...] it was there before my eyes, still bearing irrefutable signs of the catastrophe that struck it. (2.9.48; 57-9)
It's interesting that one of the most amazing sights Aronnax sees on his adventures is a place once inhabited by man—not a place that few men have ever been. Do you think our man Aronnax is more interested in "the natural world" or human nature after all? Do these interests overlap at all?
Quote #9
"Monsieur," I said to Captain Nemo, "the honour of being the first to set foot on this land belongs to you."
"Indeed, monsieur," replied the captain, "it will bring me great joy to be the first man to leave footprints on this Polar ground." (2.14.10-11)
For someone who hates on dictators and despots, Nemo sure is fond of sticking his flag into things. We think leaders who desperately want to claim new lands for themselves are pretty egotistical, if we do say so ourselves.