abstract illustration of two people journeying around the world on trains, boats, and hot air balloons

Around the World in Eighty Days

by Jules Verne

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Student Question

Where did Phileas Fogg from "Around the World in Eighty Days" live?

Quick answer:

Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, resides in London, England. His life there is marked by his involvement in The Reform Club, where he initially accepts the challenge to travel around the world. Although his journey takes him across various countries, his permanent home is in London. However, during his global adventure, one might consider his "home" to be the trains and steamships he travels on.

Expert Answers

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Phileas Fogg is the protagonist of Jules Verne’s famous novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

Fogg begins the story living in London, England. As he is living a relatively banal existence, Fogg’s only source of relative excitement is his participation in The Reform Club, which is where he gets the idea to traverse the globe, in a wager with other club members. One could argue, however, that for the majority of the novel, London is not Fogg’s home. Instead, "home" might be the various trains and steamships Fogg travels upon across the globe in countries including Hong Kong and India.

The simple answer, then, is that Fogg permanently resides in London. The more complicated version asserts that Fogg lives in no one fixed place because of his global voyage.

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