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Chapters 17–20

Summary: Chapter 17: A Trip From Singapore to Hong Kong

Passepartout grows more suspicious of Detective Fix the more he reflects on seeing him on their steamer, the Rangoon. He decides that Fix must be a spy sent by the Reform Club and vows to protect Fogg. He doesn’t tell Fogg, though, for fear of insulting him. It is now October 31, and the ship is making a pit stop in Singapore. Fogg has less than two months to return to London. Fogg is pleased, though, that the Rangoon is a half day ahead of schedule. This means he has a good chance of making the steamer from Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan, and remaining on schedule. Fogg decides, uncharacteristically, to take a leisurely carriage ride through Singapore with Aouda. While they are gone, Fix corners Passepartout. Fix calls out Fogg, saying he doesn’t believe that he’s actually trying to go around the world in eighty days. Passepartout, deeply offended, is now even more convinced Fix is a spy. Fix catches on and worries if Passepartout has caught on to who he is.

Summary: Chapter 18: Arrival at Hong Kong

A terrible storm hits while Fogg, Passepartout, and Aouda are on their way to Hong Kong. Their ship, the Rangoon, arrives into port an entire day late. Fogg rushes to find out when the next ship to Yokohama, Japan, is. A captain explains that the ship Carnatic was set to sail for Yokohama the day before but won’t be leaving until tomorrow because one of its boilers broke. Fogg, encouraged by this miraculous stroke of luck, calculates that he is still twenty-four hours behind schedule but will likely make up the time later. With sixteen hours to spare, Fogg runs around Hong Kong looking for Aouda’s cousin, Jeejeeh. He learns that Jeejeeh has moved from Hong Kong to Europe. Fogg has no choice but to take Aouda with him. Aouda feels secretly pleased because she has fallen in love with Fogg.

Summary: Chapter 19: Detective Fix Gets Passepartout Into a “Fix”

Passepartout runs into Detective Fix on his way to the port to buy tickets for the Carnatic. Passepartout, no longer surprised to run into Fix, makes a joke that he must be going to Yokohama, too. While buying tickets, they learn that the Carnatic is going to leave that evening instead of the morning. Passepartout is on his way to tell Fogg the news when Fix distracts him by luring him for a drink at the tavern, which is actually an opium den. The men talk, and Fix worriedly asks Passepartout if he has realized who Fix is. Passepartout says he has, but Fix doesn’t realize that Passepartout thinks he’s a man from the Reform Club sent to delay Fogg. Fix asks for Passepartout’s help delaying Fogg, saying he’ll share some of the reward for capturing him with him. Passepartout, deeply offended, says he’ll not help the men at the Reform Club. Confused and frustrated, Fix blurts out that he’s in fact a police officer who believes Fogg is using the trip as a ruse to avoid being caught for a bank robbery right before Fogg left. Fix asks Passepartout to help him delay Fogg until the warrant for his arrest arrives, but Passepartout vehemently refuses, citing Fogg’s honor and his own loyalty to Fogg. Fix slips Passepartout opium while Passepartout is drunk, and he passes out. Fogg is with Aouda, unaware of the Carnatic’s earlier schedule.

Summary: Chapter 20: Fix Comes Face to Face with Fogg

Fogg, still unaware of the Carnatic’s changed timetable, is out with Aouda, shopping for a new wardrobe for her that will better suit their travels through America and Europe. They find it strange that Passepartout has not shown up to meet them at the hotel or the dock the next morning. Detective Fix introduces himself to Fogg and Aouda at the dock, claiming he is looking for Passepartout. Fogg, persistent to find another solution after learning he’s missed the Carnatic, finds John Bunsby, a captain of the ship Tankadere. Bunsby says he can only take them to Shanghai, China. From there, they can take a steamer to Yokohama. Fogg agrees and purchases tickets for the group, including Fix. Fogg calls upon the Hong Kong police station and the French consulate looking for Passepartout but is unsuccessful.

Analysis: Chapters 17–20

In this section of the story, readers begin to see a developing theme emerge: Just as Andrew Stuart predicted at the Reform Club, even the best-laid plans are not immune to mishaps and delays. Modern transportation, for all of its promises, is still no match for the changing tides of fortune and chance, or nature for that matter. This truth first becomes apparent when Fogg discovers that, despite what’s been reported, not all the rail track has been laid in India and he must rely on an elephant to cross from Kholby to Allahabad. Such a scenario proves that what is said about the world and reality can be two very different things. Now, the sea is proving to be a real foil to Fogg as well, rivaling even the antagonism of Detective Fix.

The ocean vacillates between favoring and challenging Fogg. Fogg gains momentum when the winds are high and the waters are calm, but he loses when there are storms. He sails into Singapore half a day early but loses a day when a storm hits, landing him in Hong Kong a day late. This gain-loss cycle is the way both fortune and nature work and emphasizes that nature, like luck, is always unpredictable. Fogg already knows this intimately; after all, he spends his days playing whist, a game of risk and chance, with his fellow Reform Club members. He is also extremely prudent and strategic and has already taken these factors into account.

Nature also plays an interesting role as a contrast to the advances of modern technology in the novel. The forces of nature at both land and sea are a reminder that modern transportation might never achieve perfect control over nature. This dynamic foreshadows Fogg’s own “perfect control” over his own nature, which is beginning to be dismantled by the presence of Aouda. Before meeting Aouda, Fogg preferred to stay in his cabin during downtime between transportation transfers, but now, he’s out taking leisurely carriage rides with Aouda. Fogg is beginning to change as a result of his journey.

Passepartout, too, is changing. After Detective Fix repeatedly corners him, he grows suspicious of who Fix is and what his intentions are. He decides that Fix must be a spy sent from the Reform Club to make sure Fogg isn’t cheating on his bet. This belief sparks an even deeper sense of loyalty in Passepartout and a deeper sense of pride. At this point, Fogg has gained a lot of respect from the members of his party through his actions. He often gifts people with money and rewards, he is polite and calm even under pressure, and he is chauffeuring Aouda across the world to keep her safe. When Fix asks Passepartout to betray Fogg, Passepartout rises even more sharply to the occasion and vows to protect Fogg no matter what. Both Fogg and Passepartout are developing their character through their experiences on their adventure.

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