The Da Vinci Code - Final Reflection

It is a bit awkward to move straight from introducing the author and characters to writing my final reflection. I just couldn't put the book down, and I finished so fast I didn't have time to write any reflections beforehand. The book was completely astonishing. Although I already saw the film based on the novel, the book had significant differences. Written with more detail and suspense, I felt like sinking through the book while I was reading it. Eventually, Robert and Sophie won. They found out the secret of the Holy Grail and all other mysteries they encountered throughout the story. Just like Angels and Demons & The Digital Fortress, The Da Vinci Code was a thrilling novel with intricate ties and knots within the plot.

Something I felt as I was reading the story was worldwide conflict related to religion and the significant role of religion in history. Although there may be some parts within the novel that have errors and misproved facts, a lot of the information seemed pretty convincing. The way Dan Brown related Leonardo Da Vinci's work to Christianity and other secret brotherhoods was very interesting to me. Everything did seem a bit complicated, and I did have to go over some parts of the novel a couple of times, the facts he gave and the information he taught was simply surprising. I never knew of such historical records and happenings.

However, I do understand that many people oppose this novel. Some scholars completely disagree that such an organization as the Priory of Sion existed, and other historians are also disapproving about the many information Dan Brown gave in his novel. Overall, the people that disagree the most with this novel are Christians worldwide, since they believe Dan Brown was trying his best to argue with Christianity and crush it into pieces by stating negative facts about the history of the Catholic Church. In some countries, the government even banned the movie version from coming into public theaters because of these controversies.

Overall, I'm not that unhappy about this novel, since no matter how much false information Brown may have given, I enjoyed reading the book and it definitely did its job as a fictional novel. The purpose of the writing was not to inform but to entertain readers, and I think it served its purpose well enough.

Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden

Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden

I am a man who walks aloneAnd when Im walking a dark roadAt night or strolling through the parkWhen the light begins to changeI sometimes feel a little strangeA little anxious when its darkFear of the dark, fear of the darkI have a constant fear that someones always nearFear of the dark, fear of the darkI have a phobia that someones allways thereHave you run your fingers down the wallAnd have you felt your neck skin crawlWhen youre searching for the light? Sometimes when youre scared to take a lookAt the corner of the roomYouve sensed that somethings watching youHave you ever been alone at nightThought you heard footsteps behindAnd turned around and no ones there? And as you quicken up your paceYou find it hard to look againBecause youre sure theres someone thereWatching horror films the night beforeDebating wiches and folkloreThe unkown troubles on your mindMaybe your mind is playing tricksYou sense and suddenly eyes fixOn dancing shadows from behindFear of the dark, fear of the darkI have a constant fear that someones always nearFear of the dark, fear of the darkI have a phobia that someones allways thereWhen Im walking a dark roadI am a man who walkes alone

* This song is related to the theme of "The Colomber" because throughout his life, Stefano is constantly afraid of the Colomber. He feels like the Colomber is always out there waiting to kill him, and he lets the fear drive him crazy.

Indirect Characterization

He walked along the hallway, whistling, while everyone else was tired from the lack of sleep. He greeted everyone he saw with a smile and even said Hi to the people he didn't know. Everyone stared at him as if he were mad, but he didn't think so. He was overjoyed because of an incident that happened last night. When he stepped into his first class, he first sighted a sweet-looking girl who also seemed in a good mood. He came up to her and stroked her hair, whispering 'good morning' into her ears. She grinned and whispered back. Overwhelmed by his new girlfriend, he felt as if he owned the whole world. He sat next to her, holding her hand softly, as if she were a fragile doll.

The Da Vinci Code - Characters

* For this post, I want to focus on the main characters in The Da Vinci Code.

Robert Langdon - Protagonist. He is a symbology professor at Harvard University, and is highly knowledgeable about symbology and religion. He is very successful and is well known for his books. He is a gentleman, being very respectful to others. In addition, he is known to be a very attractive man. He is afraid of enclosed places like elevators and he like solving puzzles.

Sophie Neveu - Protagonist. She is a French cryptologist that gets to know Robert Langdon because of her grandfather's murder. She is very intelligent and excellent at solving puzzles, having been trained since she was young by her grandfather, Jacques Sauniere. She plays an important role in solving the case of Sauniere's murder with Robert Langdon.

Bezu Fache - He is a captain of the French Judicial Police, and he takes part in the crime scence of Sauniere's murder. He thinks Robert Landgon is the killer, and he tries his best to chase down Langdon to arrest him. He is bad at controlling his temper, and somewhat stubborn in trying to make things the way he wants them.

Jacques Sauniere - Sophie's grandfather. He is a curator at the Louvre museum in Paris, and his death at the Louvre starts the story. He is the head of the Priory of Sion, a secret society. He is extremely passionate about Leonardo Da Vinci's work. He raised Sophie and taught her to solve various puzzles.

Silas - He is the murderer of Jacques Sauniere, and the murder was under the order of Opus Dei. He is an albino with a very harsh youth, which is the reason for his devotion to his religion. After killing Sauniere, he continues to chase Robert and Sophie to find out about the secret of the Grail, under his leader's orders.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

The book I chose for my independent reading is Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I chose it because Dan Brown is my favorite author for various reasons. I read his books Angels & Demons and Digital Fortress. They were both phenomenal. Dan Brown's novels are highly based on scientific research and reasoning. They make readers squeeze their brains to try and find out what will happen next, and you just can't put the book down. For Digital Fortress, I couldn't help but look at the back of the book because I was so curious about the ending. Brown's books are mainly about controversial topics, like religion and science. I heard that many people opposed The Da Vinci Code because of religious issues, but I am still pretty into it. It was also made into a movie, and I already saw it. I do know what happens throughout the story, and I know the ending already, but I'm still thrilled to read it. Only by reading the first few chapters, I figured that the novel will be something completely different from the film, despite the same exact plot. I'm looking forward to reading through the novel and be as attracted to the story as I was with Dan Brown's other books.