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Who was Pierre Aronnax? On what matter did the New York Herald ask Aronnax to give his views?

In the novel, Pierre Aronnax is a French marine biologist, as well as an Assistant Professor at the National History Museum of Paris.


In the early chapters of the book, we learn that the United States government has invited Dr. Aronnax to join the hunting expedition for a supposed sea monster. Meanwhile, the New York Herald has asked Dr. Aronnax to provide his expert opinion about the cause of all the recent shipwrecks. To date, there are two opinions about these tragedies. The first is that the shipwrecks were caused by a giant sea monster of some sort; the second is that a submarine vessel of enormous dimensions was responsible.


Because he has published a highly acclaimed book on the "Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds," Dr. Aronnax is considered an expert on the subject. Compelled by his sense of duty, he proceeds to write an article, arguing for the hypothesis that the shipwrecks were caused by a "sea-unicorn of colossal dimensions."

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