Da Vinci Code Write-up

Da Vinci Code
Author:
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is no stranger to the best seller list, because all of his novels have made it to the list. Other achievements include top 100 influential people, and appearances on popular channels such as CNN. He grew up with a wealthy family, and his dad was a math teacher while his mom was a musician. As a kid he was torn between science and religion as his viewpoint. Brown is a big history buff, and so this is why the inspiration for all of his novels are related to unknown things in history. His wife is also a history buff, and they often do research together. His books often take a long time to write, as much of it is research and he trying to get his facts straight. The books also often include codes, and picture puzzles that he has some friends help create. Dan is just in the beginning of his career he will continue to make more intriguing thriller novels.
Analysis:
Your whole life is a lie people are telling you one thing, and doing the exact opposite. A hidden agenda trying to use anything they can to accomplish their goals, without you finding out what that goal is. Conspiracy is an idea that Dan Brown plays with in the novel Da Vinci Code. Most of conspiracy theories we know are fake, because such a big business or government can’t really have that many lies, however some were proven true. You can’t lie to everyone and expect to get away with it, and accomplish your hidden agenda. Free will is a powerful thing and anyone can think anything they want, and practice ways of life that they think are right. Certain things are only controversial if they contradict your morals. Different places, and different people have different morals, and beliefs. What may sound sacred to you, could be disgusting or unintelligent to another. A quote from the book explains that you can’t take things too literally, or the meaning is lost,” Every faith in the world is based on fabrication... Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school... Should we wave a flag and tell the Buddhists that we have proof the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom? Or that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin birth? Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.” Faith trust, and honesty play a big part in everyday life. A life of lies is no life at all, and if you think about it will money and power really matter when the day is done?

Historical Movement:
Contemporary Conspiracy
People think that large organizations such as the government are keeping certain secrets from the public. Most of these theories are definitely not true, but it raises questions that make you look deeper into things. Old cults and ideas are revived and given new life. Authors and people try to research to find things that fit their theories. These theories could be caused by paranoia, or just strong dislike for the group. In the Da Vinci Code he does not hate the group, but is just interested in exploring the possibilities of their existence. Brown writes to invoke interest in the reader, and to make you want to keep reading on to figure out what the story is really about. Using proven facts and evidence you cannot deny create a semi-realistic setting that can at the end of the story almost convince you that it is real.
Theme:
Comedy
As the book starts out Robert Langdon is just presenting his symbology class, when he gets a phone call. He is told about a murder that has taken place. The man was Jacques Sanuiere, and he was the curator of the Louvre museum in France. Originally they were sending him there to be framed for the murder, but Sophie the man’s granddaughter tells him of the plan. Langdon had planned to go there to meet the man, and discuss the symbology hidden in some of the artwork. A cryptic code awaits him on the floor, and it is his job to decrypt it with the help of Sophie who is also a cryptologist. They escape from the Louvre just as the police are about to get them, and they follow the clues. The chase leads them across Paris and to many different monuments, and tributes to science. Riddles, and puzzle await them, and all the time they are being watched by the very people that killed the curator. They think they solved the code, and the Teacher, who is the leader of the Opus Dei cult, strikes. Langdon threatens to break the cryptex forever washing away the secret of the Holy Grail, and he does it. The teacher didn’t know that he had already solved it, and the police come and arrest him. All of the clues contained in the cryptex send them to the obvious location. There they meet the then alone Sophie’s grandmother. Langdon then realizes he had the wrong location, and finally figures out it is at the Louvre, but decides the secret should still be kept.

Quotes:
“The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven…The Bible is the product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.”

“Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen . . . Understandably, His life was recorded by thousands of followers across the land . . . More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them . . . The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.”

“Legend tells us the Holy Grail is a chalice - a cup. But the Grail's description as a chalice is actually an allegory to protect the true nature of the Holy Grail…The Grail is literally the ancient symbol for womanhood and the Holy Grail represents the sacred feminine and the goddess, which of course has now been lost, virtually eliminated by the Church.”

“The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record.”

“Every faith in the world is based on fabrication... Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school... Should we wave a flag and tell the Buddhists that we have proof the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom? Or that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin birth? Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.”

“History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?'”