Here i'm Sharing my Assignment Of The New Literature : The Theme Of Da vinci Code

Name : Dodiya Meghana j

Roll no : 11

Paper name : The New Literature

Email Id : mdodiya26@gmail.com

Submitted To : Department Of English. 

 To Evaluate my Assignment

Introduction:
 

                     The Da Vinci Code Is A 2003 Mystery-Detective Novel By Dan Brown. It Follows Symbolist Robert Langdon And Cryptologist Sophie Neveu After A Murder In The Louvre Museum In Paris, When They Become Involved In A Battle Between The Priory Of Sion And Opus Dei Over The Possibility Of Jesus Christ Having Been A Companion To Mary Magdalene. The Title Of The Novel Refers, Among Other Things, To The Finding Of The First Murder Victim In The Grand Gallery Of The Louvre, Naked And Posed Similar To Leonardo Da Vinci's Famous Drawing, The Vitruvian Man, With A Cryptic Message Written Beside His Body And A Pentacle Drawn On His Chest In His Own Blood.

                            The Novel Explores An Alternative Religious History, Whose Central Plot Point Is That The Merovingian Kings Of France Were Descended From The Bloodline Of Jesus Christ And Mary Magdalene, Ideas Derived From Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation (1997) And Books By Margaret Starbird. The Book Also Refers To The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail (1982) Though Dan Brown Has Stated That It Was Not Used As Research Material.

# Search For Truth Is Timeless:

                                             The Question Of Whether Christ And Mary Magdalene Were Married Is About As Old As The Christian Church. The Search Of The Truth Is About This Subject Is Timeless And Has Permeated Lore For Thousands Of Years. As The Success Of Dan Brown’s Book Proves, It Is Still A Great Question. The Millions Of Readers Are Interested In The Quest For The Truth On This Subject As Well As The Characters Of The Book. Robert Langdon And Sir Teabing, Two Of The Main Characters, Have Devoted Their Lives To The Quest For The Truth About The Holy Grail. Although Their Motives Become Very Different, The Two Men Have Made The Search For The Holy Grail A Central Point Of Their Lives And Careers.

                       Throughout The Course Of The Book, The Reader Learns, Through Langdon And Teabing About The Historic Quest For Truth Throughout The Ages. They Discuss The Church’s Suppression Of The Truth And The Formation Of The Priory Of Sion To Protect The Truth And Quietly Pass It Down To Generation To Generation. In The End, Langdon And Neveu’s Quest For The Truth Rewarded When Langdon Learns The Location And Truth About The Holy Grail And Sophie Learns The Truth About Her Family And Heritage. However, Teabing’s And Aringarosa’s Quest Goes Un Requited.

Themes:

#The False Conflict Between Faith And Knowledge:

       Dan Brown Refuses To Accept The Idea That Faith In God Is Rooted In Ignorance Of The Truth. The Ignorance That The Church Has Sometimes Advocated Is Embodied In The Character Of Bishop Aringarosa, Who Does Not Think The Church Should Be Involved In Scientific Investigation. According To The Da Vinci Code, The Church Has Also Enforced Ignorance About The Existence Of The Descendants Of Jesus. Although At One Point In The Novel Langdon Says That Perhaps The Secrets Of The Grail Should Be Preserved In Order To Allow People To Keep Their Faith, He Also Thinks That People Who Truly Believe In God Will Be Able To Accept The Idea That The Bible Is Full Of Metaphors, Not Literal Transcripts Of The Truth. People’s Faith, In Other Words, Can Withstand The Truth.

#The Subjectivity Of History:

                  The Da Vinci Code Raises The Question Of Whether History Books Necessarily Tell The Only Truth. The Novel Is Full Of Reinterpretations Of Commonly Told Stories, Such As Those Of Jesus’ Life, The Pentacle, And The Da Vinci Fresco The Last Supper. Brown Provides His Own Explanation Of How The Bible Was Compiled And Of The Missing Gospels. Langdon Even Interprets The Disney Movie The Little Mermaid, Recasting It As An Attempt By Disney To Show The Divine Femininity That Has Been Lost. All Of These Retellings Are Presented As At Least Partly True.

#The Intelligence Of Women:

        Characters In The Da Vinci Code Ignore The Power Of Women At Their Peril. Throughout The Novel Shophie Is Underestimated. She Is Able To Sneak Into The Louvre And Give Langdon A Secret Message, Saving Him From Arrest, Because Fache Does Not Believe Her To Be Capable Of Doing Her Job. Fache Specifically Calls Sophie A “Female Cryptologist” When He Is Expressing His Doubts About Sophie And Langdon’s Ability To Evade Interpol. When Interpreting One Of The Clues Hidden In The Rose Box, Langdon And Teabing Leave Sophie Out, Completely Patronizing Her. When She Is Finally Allowed To See The Clue, She Immediately Understands How To Interpret It. Sophie Saves Langdon From Arrest Countless Times.

           Other Women Are Similarly Underestimated. Sister Sandrine, In The Church Of Saint-Sulpice, Is A Sentry For The Brotherhood, But Silas, Indoctrinated In The Hypermasculine Ways Of Opus Dei, Does Not Consider Her A Threat. And Marie Chauvel, Sophie’s Grandmother, Manages To Live Without Incident Near Rosslyn Chapel For Years, Preserving Her Bloodline Through Sophie’s Brother.

# Christianity V/S Paganism:

                                           A Central Theme To The Da Vinci Code Is The Similarities And Differences And Its Influences Upon Each Other Of Christianity And Paganism. Throughout The Book, The Author Provides A History Of The Influences That Paganism Had On The Early Christian Church And How Those Influences Have Prevailed Throughout History. The Book Also Discusses The Power That Paganism Had Over The Early Christian Church And The Eventual Power That The Christian Church Gained Over Paganism To Force The Suppression Of Many Of The Pagan Practices, Including Goddess Worship And Nature Worship.

   #Power Of The Roman Catholic Church:

                                                      

                                                        Another  Underlying  Theme Throughout The Book Is The Power Of The Vatican And The Roman Catholic Church On The World Wide Stage .Through Their Research, Robert Langdon And Sir Teabing  Have Learned, And Discuss Numerous Times Throughout The Book, How The Church Has Suppressed The Truth About The Mary Magdalene. They Discuss How The Church, Throughout History, Has Suppressed The Truth Through Edicts And Even Violence.

             This Theme Is One That Underlies The Teacher’s Motive For Finding The Grail. He Believes That The Church Had Pressured Sauniere And The Leadership Of The Priory Of Sion To Continue Hiding The Truth About Jesus And Mary Magdalene So He Takes It Upon Himself To Seek To Un Earth The Holy Grail Himself. 

              The Power Of The Church Is Proven When The Vatican Leaders Are Able To Pay The Bishop 20 Million In Vatican Bonds To Keep Him Quite. The Power And Influence Of Catholic Organizations, Such As Opus Dei, Also Shows Case The Power Of The Church.

Cited:

Http://Anerithakar011213.Blogspot.In/2014/03/Major-Themes-In-Da-Vinci-Code.Html

Http://Www.Sparknotes.Com/Lit/Davincicode/Themes.Html