By Carter James
Rebound
To spring back on or as if on collision or impact with another body.
To recover from setbacks or frustration.
Pay attention to that second definition as you read this article.
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Around the World in 80 Days is a book about Phileas Fogg’s journey around the world. In the book, Fogg makes a 20,000 pound bet that he can travel around the world in 80 days or less. During his journey, he meets many new faces, such as Passepartout, Detective Fix, and Aouda. He also has many setbacks during his journey that could cause Fogg to lose his own bet.
In one part of the book, Passepartout and Fogg separate. This is because Passepartout is drugged by Fix, and also because he and Fogg boarded separate ships. Luckily, they reunite in Yokohama.
In another part of the book, Fogg and his company board a train in America. Said train is then attacked by a band of Sioux Indians, who then kidnap a few of the passengers, including Passepartout. After Fogg rescues them, they see that their train has departed without them. Then, they end up finding a train in Omaha while traveling over the snow there.
These are both examples of getting into setbacks, but then recovering from them. Near the end of the book, Fogg thinks that they are late because of the setbacks he encountered during his journey, but Passepartout gives Fogg the good news: Fogg won the bet because he arrived a day early.
Remember that second definition at the beginning of the article? Now you know why it’s there. Fogg encounters many setbacks throughout the story, but in the end, he recovered from these setbacks, and he made it around the world in 80 days. That is why this story is an example of the word “Rebound”.