# XVI: Preparations explained — The Giant Raft > Chapter companion for The Giant Raft by Jules Verne. ## What happens Benito and Manoel plan Joam Dacosta's escape from prison, studying the prison's window and bars, and arranging a pirogue with Araújo to take him up the Madeira River into Bolivia. They keep the plan secret from Yaquita and Minha to avoid false hopes, while Manoel visits Judge Jarriquez to check for news from Rio de Janeiro. ## Themes in this chapter ### Justice and Innocence The chapter focuses on the injustice of Joam Dacosta's condemnation and the desperate measures to secure his freedom, highlighting the theme of wrongful conviction. ### Family and Loyalty Benito and Manoel's secret plan to save Joam Dacosta demonstrates their loyalty and familial devotion, while they protect Yaquita and Minha from worry. ### Journey and Transformation The planned escape up the Madeira River represents a journey toward freedom and a new life, symbolizing transformation from condemned convict to fugitive seeking refuge. ## Character check-ins ### Benito Garral Plans the escape with Manoel, studies the prison, and reassures his mother Yaquita. ### Manoel Valdez Assists Benito in planning the escape and visits Judge Jarriquez to check for news. ### Joam Dacosta The condemned prisoner whose escape is being planned; he is not informed of the plan. ### Yaquita Garral Benito's mother, who is reassured by Benito but not told of the escape plan. ### Minha Garral Manoel's fiancée, comforted by Manoel but kept unaware of the escape plan. ### Araújo The pilot who prepares the pirogue and agrees to guide Joam Dacosta up the Madeira River. ## Key lines > On the following day, the 30th of August, Benito and Manoel talked matters over together. They had understood the thought to which the judge had not dared to give utterance in their presence, and were engaged in devising some means by which the condemned man could escape the penalty of the law. The next day, August 30, Benito and Manoel discussed the judge's unspoken suggestion and began planning how to help Joam Dacosta avoid execution. _The young men take action based on the judge's implied advice to arrange an escape._ > It was at the outset agreed between the two young men that the secret should be carefully kept, and that neither Yaquita nor Minha should be informed of preparations, which would probably only give rise to hopes destined never to be realized. They decided to keep the escape plan secret from Yaquita and Minha to avoid raising false hopes. _Secrecy is maintained to protect the women from potential disappointment._ > A hundred paces away from the prison, however, the waste land was crossed by one of those canals which flow through the town into the Rio Negro. This canal afforded an easy way of gaining the river if a pirogue were in waiting for the fugitive. A canal near the prison, leading to the Rio Negro, offered a convenient escape route if a boat was ready. _The canal is identified as a key part of the escape plan._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_giant_raft_se/chapters/xvi-preparations - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_giant_raft_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_giant_raft_se/chapters