Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne Book Review

Though helping people does not require traversing a country, Michael Strogoff is a book written in 1876 by Jules Verne that shows incomparable courage and motivation, as the main character, Michael Strogoff, travels across Russia to deliver a message to the Grand Duke to help defeat the Tartars. One important quote which demonstrates the theme is, ‘“Whatever the danger may be, I know of someone who will not land!” He alluded to Michael Strogoff.’ This quote shows the persistence Michael Strogoff shows throughout the story, and how he is driven at the fastest possible speed by his important task. Michael Strogoff consistently shows the importance of having the courage and motivation to persevere in accomplishing a goal. The three major examples that show this are when Michael is imprisoned in Omsk, and when Michael is captured a second time. The third occurs as Michael is on the Siberian River, which catches on fire. 

The first example shows mental persistence. Even though Michael suffers from a lot of mental torture, he is still able to keep himself together, not losing any determination or courage. Michael is imprisoned after being found in Omsk. Michael’s mother reveals his identity and as a result, he is blinded as a punishment, yet he refuses to stop his journey. Michael lets himself get taken to the next town where he is released and frees Nadia and his mother and continues with his journey, showing that he is still able to think clearly. A quote that demonstrates his courage is, “The most docile and patient of all of them was Michael Strogoff. He allowed himself to be led for they were leading him where he wished to go and under conditions of safety which he could not have found on the road from Kolyvan to Tomsk.” This proves that Michael has determination by grudgingly walking several hundred miles. He still, despite being tortured, found courage and motivation to go on. Michael is still emotionally comfortable in the worst situation he could imagine; being emotionally comfortable in any situation is a major part of having mental persistence, which shows he is not giving up his courage. Another quote demonstrating the theme is, “The adverse chances are numerous on this side of Tomsk while beyond I feel have passed the most advanced tartar posts to the East. Still, three days of patience and may God aid me!” This quote shows Michael is extremely patient despite having two walk days on end and still able to tolerate days of suffering without getting emotionally unbalanced which is a characteristic of someone who is mentally tenacious.  

The next major example shows Michael's courage allowing him to persevere through dangerous situations, like falling off a cliff and getting tossed to the ground. Michael’s determination and focus on his goal is so great he does not even speak a single word to the soldiers. Michael is found on the road near the Khan’s camp and scouts find him and kill his horse and driver. He is subjected to brutal punishments for the entertainment of the tartar soldiers and survives multiple life-threatening occasions, showing that he will not give up on his task. A quote in this section is, “Who would have been surprised had he, in his present situation, lost all hope and courage? Nothing of the sort, however; his lips muttered no other words than these: ‘I will get there!’” Michael is showing that all hope is not lost; no matter how hopeless the situation, showing that he has extreme mental tenacity to keep going on. His mental tenacity is coming from his unshakable determination, which allows him to find optimism in every situation. This quote is supporting the fact that Michael will not give up on his journey, and that suffering punishment is better than letting thousands die. He recovers quickly from any situation and keeps clinging on to the fraction of hope he still has. This quote contrasts Michael with a normal person, showing his mental persistence is far greater than any other humans, which is why he completed his task. Another qoute which shows micahel’s determination is, “He suffered collisions and falls, which might have been extremely dangerous. Michael did not complain. Not a murmur escaped him. When his horse fell, he waited until it got up.” Michael is showing physical persistence by not complaining about the hardships which he endures. His courage and willpower are greater than any other person’s, for he is driven on his journey because of his important task, and the outcome will be far more worth any hardships faced along the way. Likewise, he is not showing any anger towards his captors and keeps himself emotionally stable and calm, which means he is not panicking and making irrational choices. His rationality is coming from his determination because irrationality could be a distraction to Michael’s goal. This is important because acting irrationally could lead to the failure of Michael’s task. Michael also shows compassion towards his horse and does not take his anger out on it, which shows he can realize his torture is the fault of the soldiers, not his horse. He is being mentally sound and shows he does not have the slightest bit of anger.  

In the final example, extreme courage and physical resilience is shown. Michael finds a raft going to Irkutsk and joined his companions Jolivet and Blount. Halfway to the city, the two reporters realize the river has been filled with oil, which the Tartars light on fire. When the raft stopped, it was stated Michael set his teeth, strained his ears, and was more ready than ever because his objective was so close. The significance of this is that Michael did not give up and made it through the soldiers and into the city, for if he failed, the price would be enormous. This shows how set-minded he is on his task of helping others, and how he realizes the consequences of failing. Michael’s set-mindedness is a product of his determination of reaching the city, and he is determined because he believes it is guaranteed he must deliver his message to the duke. At the beginning of the book, Michael was described as a man with a frame of iron, but with a heart of gold. Michael is living up to this by putting his life on the line to save the lives of an innocent city. This is demonstrated in the passage, “For a man who hopes soon to accomplish his mission, Michael was singularly calm. Even in the gravest conjunctures, his energy had never abandoned him.” Michael is not showing any fear or nervousness, the two biggest emotions that affect his energy. He shows he is mentally resilient by having his emotions in control, and this resilience is coming from his determination to aid the city, for if Michael is distracted, his task will be unfinished. The most significant quote is, “Would it not be prudent, in the face of this new danger, to land on one of the banks and stay there? ‘At any rate,’ said Alcide, ‘whatever the danger may be, I know someone who will not land!’ He alluded to Michael Strogoff.” This is one of the best quotes since it represents Michael throughout the story. The landing symbolizes Michael giving up and the many banks are all the instances Michael kept going though he could have easily given up. However, Michael has not given up, for it said he has a will of iron, which means he will not stop unless he is killed. Michael knows that risking his life is better than him giving up letting thousands of people die. Michael can risk his life because of the same courage he used to start his task, and thus cannot be deterred by any physical or mental obstacles in his way. 

Though helping others may not take as much effort as Michael Strogoff did, it is still important that courage and determination is crucial while completing such an important goal. The three examples mentioned are only a few times Michael could have given up, but instead, he decided to go at his fastest speed because of his crucial task. Michael's not giving up saved an entire city, but in truth, if anyone is helping people, it will require the same courage presented throughout the book by Michael Strogoff.