Character Clues
Character Analysis
Physical Appearance
Our introduction to Michel Ardan consists of a long description of his physical appearance. And Verne isn't even subtle—he describes Ardan as having a "massive, lion-liked head […] covered with thick yellow hair, as with a mane" (18.33). Already, we can see that Ardan's is a courageous dude; he's compared to a lion, for crying out loud. But Verne's not done yet, and he goes on to refer to Ardan's eyes as "wildish and short-sighted" (18.33). These animal-like descriptors make him out to be a fierce character indeed.
These ferocious feline traits are tempered, though, by his "kindly expression" and "high and intellectual forehead" (18.33). By combining a host of animalistic traits with a few that are distinctly human, Verne is portraying Ardan as a complex man with a wholly unique relationship to the world. After just one look, we can already tell that he is far different from the Americans we have met so far.
Speech and Dialogue
We could seriously spend pages listing our favorite Maston quotes. This guy is a machine—no matter what the situation, you can always trust Maston to blurt out the most inappropriate thing possible.
The early Gun Club meetings are dominated by Maston's shouted opinions. When discussing what to do now that the Civil War is over, Maston loudly wonders whether "England […] should belong to the Americans" (1.39), because England had once ruled over them. He does a similar thing later, boldly proclaiming (to the rest of the club's dismay) that "war be declared against Mexico" (11.11)… with literally no justification.
Not everything he says is so twisted, though. One of our favorite moments in the entire novel is Maston's excited suggestion that the Gun Club build a "cannon half a mile long at least" (8.11). It's clear from these examples that Maston has no filter between his brain and his mouth—he says exactly what he feels, whenever he feels it. Although you might disagree with his statements, his fearless honesty is pretty much fact.
Actions
Rick Ross like to call himself "The Boss," but he doesn't have anything on President Barbicane.
First off, Barbicane only hires the best of the best—the "elite […] labourers of every kind" (14.2). That's just smart business. But Barbicane also does right by these guys, offering them "liberal pay and proportionate bonuses" (14.2) for their hard work. These subtle actions give us warm and fuzzy feelings about Barbicane—which is no small feat considering the guy makes guns for a living.
Another illuminating moment comes when Michel Ardan arrives in Tampa. Before this moment, we've only known Barbicane as a cold, stoic figure, but here we see Barbicane so stoked at prospect of launching a man into space that he runs onto the ship, shouting so loudly that he can't even "vainly […] conceal the emotion" (18.30) in his voice. Suddenly, Barbicane makes a lot more sense to us. Although he acts like the coolest customer in town, Barbicane is nothing more than an enthusiastic nerd working on the most exciting science fair project of his life.