As Jules Verne prolifically produced immensely popular novels, overseas publishers

created several terrible translations and several abridged childrens editions. This led to many
unjustly considering Verne unsuitable for scholarly study. Today, while there have been several
groups that have analyzed Vernes work, the analysis has focused more on the elements of
literature. But, in addition to telling great stories, Verne uses his own particular style to compel
the reader. In The Mysterious Island, Vernes tone alternates between jovial and didactic using
atmospheric diction, a plethora of non-restricting appositives, and myriads of loose sentences to
champion scientific knowledge as the answer to all problems while romanticizing exploration
through extravagant adventures.
The following scene occurred when the characters were weathering a winter storm on the
island:
It was real enjoyment to the settlers when in their room, well lighted with candles, well warmed
with coal, after a good dinner, elder-berry coffee smoking in the cups, the pipes giving forth an
odoriferous smoke, they could hear the storm howling without. Their comfort would have been
complete, if complete comfort could ever exist for those who are far from their fellow-creature,
and without any means of communication with them. They often talked of their country, of the
friends whom they had left, of the grandeur of the American Republic, whose influence could not
but increase; and Cyrus Harding, who had been much mixed up with the affairs of the Union,
greatly interested his auditors by his recitals, his views, and his prognostics.

In the very first sentence, Verne includes five non-restrictive appositives such as well lighted
with candles or after a good dinner. Instead of portraying being stranded on an island as
dreary, the non-restrictive appositives show the reader that the protagonists are fairly well off.
Verne utilizes this particular syntax to convey the jovial tone that the leisurely and romanticized
way in which the characters survive is presented. Verne is also very careful with the diction
found within the first two sentences. Phrases such as well warmed and their comfort [was
almost] complete are used in place of alternatives akin to the fireplace was hot and they were
surviving, to evoke a more homely atmosphere. This allows Verne to emphasize his jovial tone
towards the adventures of his characters. One more aspect from this scene is the complex
structure that makes up the first half of the last sentence (They often talked . . . could not but
increase), which could also stand alone as a loose sentence. In the complex structure, Verne
expounds upon all that the protagonists conversed about. By adding more and more information
to the end of the main clause, Verne shows that the characters have enough free time, and are
comfortable enough on the island, to talk about subjects that could in no way impact them at that
moment. He uses this loose sentence structure to further enforce the jovial spirit in which the
extravagant adventure is romanticized.
Later, the protagonists conversation turns to the current use of coal and how its
consumption will increase until none remains. In response, their leader explicates his own theory
on how humans will find a new fuel source:
Yes, but water decomposed into its primitive elements, replied Cyrus Harding, and
decomposed doubtless, by electricity, which will then have become a powerful and manageable
force, for all great discoveries, by some inexplicable laws, appear to agree and become complete
at the same time. Yes, my friends, I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that
 hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible
source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable. Someday the coal-rooms of
steamers and the tenders of locomotives will, instead of coal, be stored with these two condensed
gases, which will burn in the furnaces with enormous calorific power. There is, therefore,
nothing to fear. As long as the earth is inhabited it will supply the wants of its inhabitants, and
there will be no want of either light or heat as long as the production of the vegetable, mineral or
animal kingdoms do not fail us. I believe, then, that when the deposits of coal are exhausted we
shall heat and warm ourselves with water. Water will be the coal of the future.

Verne includes the non-restrictive appositives which will then have become a powerful and
manageable force and by some inexplicable laws in the already dense first sentence. By
doing this, he succinctly reflects on the future of electricity, the future of the hydrogen fuel cell,
and how many discoveries are conspicuously made at the same time. Concision being key in
scientific papers, the inclusion of the non-restrictive appositives allows Verne to exercise a
didactic tone while displaying the scientific prowess of his characters. In the next sentence,
Verne compares the fuel cell to coal through successive additions to the main clause. The loose
sentence enables him to continue the scientific analysis started by the character which is
indicative of how the protagonists often use a scientific analysis of their available resources to
come up with ways to manufacture more luxuries amenities. This follows the didactic tone
Verne uses when showcasing how scientific prowess is capable of solving any problem. Toward
the middle of the passage, Verne describes the fuels cell as being able to light furnaces with an
enormous calorific power. Calorific is a reference to the caloriea unit of energy used in
thermodynamics. The obvious scientific allusion adds to the didactic atmosphere that Verne
presents in the scene and contributes to his efforts of championing scientific knowledge.
While there may still be those who judge Verne to be unsuited for study, it can be seen
that there is a deeper richness in his work. He is capable of using jovial diction, non-restrictive
appositives, and loose sentences to depict his romanticized view of exploration and, within the
same novel, using didactic diction, non-restrictive appositives, and loose sentences to depict the
way in which he champions scientific knowledge. And while he may endure due to his
extraordinary stories, Verne can also be remembered for the way he uses his style to compel the
reader.