George Challenger
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A year ago when I told you these monsters are not extinct, you jeered at me. Tonight you will not jeer, for I have brought back a living proof of my statement!
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— George Challenger's speech upon his return to London (The Lost World [1925]) |
George Challenger is a fictional scientist and explorer. One of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characters, he appeared in the 1912 novel The Lost World, its sequels, and various film adaptations, the first of which was a 1925 film of the same name. As in the novel, Challenger in the film is a notorious professor, accused of lying by the press and the scientific community. Wanting to prove that a plateau with surviving prehistoric animals really existed, Challenger organized an expedition from London to South America and confirmed his words.
Personality
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Queer combination, old Challenger. One of the greatest minds in London, with the temper of a gorilla.
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— John Roxton talks about George Challenger (The Lost World [1925]) |
George Challenger is an experienced zoologist and explorer, skilled in the use of firearms. His home at 11 Enmore Park, Kensington, West, London, is filled with books and a model sailing ship, hinting at his love of exploration. Unafraid to venture into remote places like the plateaus deep in the Amazon jungle, Challenger maintains his physical fitness. He's strong and capable of lifting his wife onto a cabinet taller than him.
Challenger is a hot-tempered man, likely due to the ridicule of students and the press, who accuse him of lying. He hates the London press so much that he tries to beat up reporters who try to interview him, even if there are plenty of witnesses. His wife and friend John Roxton try to influence him, keeping him from outbursts of anger. Not particularly concerned with his reputation, Challenger is rude in communication and poorly groomed. Roxton's authority played a role in reconciling Challenger and Edward Malone, and Challenger also appreciated that Malone didn't file a police complaint against him after the fight. However, for a while, the professor remained unfriendly toward the reporter. He showed him the missing Maple White's diary only with Roskton's approval, and agreed to funding from the Record-Journal only after Paula White's request.
History
- The Lost World (1925)
The Lost World
In the early twentieth century, George Challenger obtained the diary of Maple White, who had visited South America and observed relict prehistoric fauna on a remote plateau. Claiming that dinosaurs, ancient mammals, and other animals thought extinct still existed, the professor became the subject of ridicule in London. Deeply offended, Challenger decided to organize an expedition to the plateau, which he announced at a meeting at the museum. Professor Summerlee, hunter John Roxton, and reporter Edward Malone expressed a desire to go with him. Malone twice incurred the wrath of Challenger, who hated the press, but they soon reconciled. Together with Paula White, the daughter of the missing Maple White, and the servant Austin, they set off for the shores of Brazil.
In the Amazon jungle, Challenger personally approved the joining of a local resident, Zambo, and his pet monkey, Jocko, on the expedition. Navigating rivers into the heart of the jungle, they eventually found the plateau where Maple White had disappeared. Further confirmation came when a giant Pteranodon appeared, devouring a captured Toxodon on a butte. Later, having climbed this butte, Challenger was the first to cross over a fallen tree to the plateau. Finding themselves in a lost world, the expedition members immediately spotted a lone Brontosaurus, which, searching for lush vegetation, had pushed a log into a chasm. Challenger, Malone, White, Roxton, and Summerlee found themselves cut off from the outside world.
After spending the night in the jungle by the fire, the expedition members encountered Allosauruses and an Apeman and the next day moved to a cave, near which Challenger built a catapult from palm trees and loaded it with rock. Despite the dangerous situation, Challenger was jubilant and did not miss the opportunity to observe the huge dinosaurs. Together with Summerlee, they went after a Brontosaurus, which they witnessed being attacked by an Allosaurus and falling off a plateau into a river. Shortly afterward, the volcano erupted. Herds of dinosaurs fled from the lava flow and the burning forest, but Challenger and Summerlee avoided them and escaped the disaster. In the morning, everyone had hope for salvation, as Roxton discovered a through cave leading through the plateau to the outside world. Using the rope ladder they raised thanks to Jocko, everyone safely descended down to Austin and Zambo, where they also discovered a live Brontosaurus, which, after falling, the river washed up on the swampy shore.
Returning to Britain, Challenger hastily convened a new meeting at the museum, where he announced that a live Brontosaurus would soon be delivered to London on a special ship. However, Malone interrupted his enthusiastic speech with the news that a sauropod had escaped from the ship and was now roaming the city streets, wreaking havoc. Challenger, along with a crowd of people, rushed to search for the dinosaur, but found it already on the ruined Tower Bridge, from which the Brontosaurus had fallen into the Thames and floated out to sea.
Gallery
The Lost World
Trivia
- In the 1925 film, the expedition members knew in advance that they would find Allosauruses on the plateau, but, as in Conan Doyle's novel, it was Challenger who realized that they were looking at an Allosaurus when the theropod appeared near the camp.
References
This is a list of references for George Challenger. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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