Topsy-Turvy · Chapter
At the Close of Which J. T. Maston Utters an Epigram explained
J.
What happens
J. T. Maston remains imprisoned, heroically refusing to reveal the location of Barbicane and Nicholl's secret operation. Despite threats of execution and a final interrogation by John Prestice and Mrs. Scorbitt, Maston defiantly gives a lesson in arithmetic. Meanwhile, public panic grows as newspapers discuss Alcide Pierdeux's terrifying hypotheses about the potential global catastrophe from the planned shot. The chapter ends with Maston's steadfastness making him a celebrated figure, though the mob demands his lynching.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Public Anxiety
Maston's refusal to reveal the location fuels public panic, mob violence, and governmental pressure, highlighting the tension between secret scientific endeavors and societal fear.
Progress and Its Consequences
The potential global catastrophe from Barbicane's project—axis shift, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions—illustrates the dangerous side of technological ambition.
Characters to notice
- J. T. Maston
Imprisoned and interrogated for the last time; he refuses to reveal the secret location, utters an epigram about arithmetic, and remains defiant despite threats of hanging.
- Mrs. Evangelina Scorbitt
Accompanies the President of the Commission to Maston's cell; her heart nearly breaks at the threats, but she admires Maston's heroism and does not dare ask him to reveal the secret.
- John Prestice
President of the Inquiry Committee; conducts the final interrogation of Maston, threatening him with capital punishment, but is left puzzled by Maston's mathematical retort.
- Alcide Pierdeux
The French engineer reflects on the possible consequences of the operation, admires Maston's calculations, and hypothesizes about the catastrophic effects of the shot, including volcanoes and ocean displacement.
- President Barbicane
Mentioned as the associate of Maston, secretly continuing the work with Capt. Nicholl at an unknown location.
Key passages
“If you were a little better mathematician you would not say that two and two are four. You simply prove that all mathematicians have been fools until today in affirming that the sum of two numbers is equal to one of their parts; that is, two and two are exactly four.”
Maston quibbles over arithmetic, claiming that 'two and two are four' is not a theorem but a definition, and that his interrogator's math is flawed.
Maston's epigram serves as a defiant and witty retort to the threat of execution, showcasing his unyielding character.
“It is evident that the earth receives daily the recoil of all the blows which are given on its surface. Hundreds of thousands of people amuse themselves daily by sending thousands of projectiles weighing a few kilograms or millions of projectiles weighing a few grams, and even when I walk or jump, or when I stretch out my arm, all this takes place on the surface of our sphere and adds to or checks its motion.”
Pierdeux reasons that every action on Earth already affects its motion, questioning whether Barbicane's giant cannon could produce a meaningful recoil.
This reflection by the French engineer underscores the scientific debate about the feasibility and danger of the project.