Elaine+Lee's+Summer+Reading

__Angels & Demons__ by Dan Brown
(approved) **Essay #1** : Baptism  Noah and the Ark is a very common story people know. After the flood that drowned the whole world, Earth was restored with life and cleansed from sin that stained human life before the flood. The story of Noah conveys the idea of baptism. However, biblical stories aren’t the only literatures that contain baptism. In Dan Brown’s //Angels and Demons//, the antagonist, ironically a high priest, goes through the concept of baptism, which include death, rebirth, and new identity.

Ever since Carlo, the camerlengo and the chamberlain of Vatican City, was young, he was taught that God always has a plan and that the most important promise is the promise with God. When Carlo heard the Pope confess, his world came crashing down. The wretched truth was too much for Carlo to endure any longer, so without listening to the Pope’s explanation, he runs through the hallway into the cold and lonely Necropolis where St. Peter’s tomb laid. There, he cries and prays to God for help. When he believes to have heard the voice of God, Carlo becomes a man full of vengeance convinced he must bring “horror for hope.”

As mentioned before, baptism consists of spiritual death, rebirth, and a new identity—normally the new identity is what saves the character. However, in Carlo’s case, his new identity ultimately destroys him. When people think about baptismal immersion, they typically imagine someone who dived into a river, traveled on sea, or was soaked in the rain. Unlike these ordinary cases, Carlo’s baptism was quite bizarre. Instead of being cleansed by water, Carlo was drenched in his own blood swallowing his innocence. As Thomas Foster says, baptism used ironically hardly ever leads to anything good and that was exactly the case. The process of submersion into water—or in Carlo’s case, blood—means something different every time. Carlo was symbolically baptized drenched in his own blood flowing from the wound he had torn at his own flesh. Here, blood symbolizes taint that consumes Carlo who is reborn as a dark individual. Carlo’s wrath and confusion anguished him to the point where he believed he had to kill the Pope, who was also his mentor, to restore people’s faith. Thomas Foster, also, states that there is always a reason for a character’s survival—indeed, there is. Dan Brown used Carlo’s survival from the agony of betrayal and confusion to prove a point: even the most faithful and judicious man can go bad. Adding on, just before the spiritual baptism, Carlo was a mess—physically and mentally. He had torn his flesh causing blood to drip down, and felt vulnerable in the dark in front of St. Peter’s tomb. This, just like Foster mentions, indicates that Carlo was ready to accept the spiritual baptism. So what does Carlo do with this brand new life? He believes hope would prevail if the people experience horror. Thus, he decides to kill the Pope and the four high cardinals and bring an explosive antimatter substance into Vatican City, pretending that the ancient group of the “enlightened” ones, the //Illuminati//, is behind it all.

The quote “But from madness had come the light” (532) shows the readers the distinct stages of baptism—death, rebirth, and new identity. “Madness” was Carlo’s condition before he accepted baptism, then while drenched in his blood he is baptized into a new individual full of vengeance.

 **Essay #2** : It's all Greek to me  Myth, orally passed down stories from the twelfth through eighth century B.C., is a treasure trove of unimaginable tales. These tales consist of universal characters and themes, such as hope and fear, and strength and weakness. Themes like these connect us to people of other times and places, which is the reason many twentieth century authors—authors such as Dan Brown—derive their stories from myths. In Dan Brown’s //Angels and Demons//, the themes myths convey reappear frequently, reminding us of the significance of how the universe works.

Desperate to rescue the Vatican from an explosive time bomb, Langdon and Vittoria hunt through Bernini’s sculptures all around Vatican. Vittoria, being the one to create the antimatter for scientific development, feels piercing guilt when the bomb goes off.

Foster mentions how authors often use characters to portray certain themes—indeed, they do. Characters from //Angels and Demons// reflect characters from //The Odyssey//, //The Iliad//, and many other mythical stories by showing corresponding significance. The Trojan War started because of a single woman—the Queen of Sparta, Helen. Men of Sparta and Troy had to pay the price of Helen’s act. Here, Vittoria—or more specifically Vittoria’s antimatter—corresponds with Helen. Just how men plunged in epic struggle over Helen, men in //Angels and Demons// greatly suffered from the antimatter Vittoria created—here, they don’t literally struggle over the Vittoria, but over Vittoria’s creation. The explosive antimatter put Langdon, the church, and Vatican City in grave danger. Achilles, a crucial character from //The Iliad//, is also illustrated in Brown’s novel as Robert Langdon. The common significance these characters show is the small weakness a man can have. As mighty as Achilles was, he still had a weak spot—the heal. And although Langdon is extremely bright, he has a very bad case of claustrophobia. Adding on, Hector’s need to protect his family is portrayed through Carlo, who finds the need to protect the church by restoring people’s faith. The recurring concept, underworld, is also depicted through several scenes in the novel. For example, when Langdon plummets toward earth—specifically a river—he ultimately faces the underworld, the fear of dying. Carlo also encounters the underworld when he drags his painstaking body to the Necropolis—which is literally located “under ground”. There, Carlo realizes his biggest fear has prevailed, the fall of faith.

The quote “And now he had been destroyed by //her// creation” clearly illustrates Vittoria’s guilt for creating chaos in Vatican City and the substance that destroys Langdon; this corresponds to Helen feeling guilty for causing the Trojan War. Other than Vittoria and Helen, there are more pairs of characters that show connections. The corresponding themes reflect what humans and the universe are composed of—hope and fear, and strength and weakness.  **Essay #3** : Violence  There are many forms of violence: punching, kicking, shooting, stabbing, poisoning, and bombing. But have you ever thought of drilling a man into ground with only the head popping out, crushing his jaws open, and stuffing dirt down his jaw to suffocate (Suffocating from a handful of dirt stuffed down your crushed jaw)? Puncturing someone’s lungs? Or slowly burning someone hanging on cables under a blazing inferno? Dan Brown uses these barbaric ways of murder in //Angels and Demons//, not only to develop the plot, but also to show literary resemblance.

Desperate to catch the Hassassin, Robert and Vittoria rush into the church, //Santa Maria della Vittoria//. The horrific image—a naked man, hoisted by suspended cables to the point his limbs might tear apart, hovering in midair in a form of crucifix— paralyzes their bodies. The ambigram “Fire” emblazoned into the chest of the cardinal made perfect sense. The Hassassin successfully murdered the third cardinal, just the way he planned.

As mentioned before, violence in literature doesn’t simply reflect a character’s anger or fear; it means more. There are numerous scenes involving violence in //Angels and Demons//; however, there is one scene in particular that captured my mind. The image of the third cardinal, hovering in midair tied to suspended cables that nearly tore his limbs apart, doesn’t simply say “The Hassassin is vicious and vengeful.” The specific way the Hassassin murdered the cardinal depicts the image of Christ crucified on the cross. This shows the Hassassin’s mockery of Christianity. The location of this murderous incident, a church, also reflects degradation and irony. //If your god exists, where is he now? Why has he forsaken you?// is the point the Hassassin tries to make. Plus, the ambigram, //Fire//, branded on the cardinal’s chest is not merely a weapon but a tool that resembles the //Illuminati//’s acuity. Other than the third cardinal, the three other cardinals were all branded—with the word //Earth, Air,// and //Water//—as well. The Hassassin’s vengeful intentions are clearly shown since four members of the //Illuminati// were branded with a cross on their chests. In addition to its profound meaning and resemblance, the way the cardinals were murdered is also simply an eerie plot development. When developing plots, connections between stories are crucial. Brown creates vivid correspondence between the murders of the four cardinals and the four //Illuminati// members, which ultimately enhanced the plot.

The quote “he knew this must be hell because he was looking at the brand on his chest upside down…and yet, as if by the devil’s magic, the word made perfect sense” (371) creates images of hell in our heads. The brand on the cardinal’s chest and the torturous fire underneath symbolize hell which clearly resembles the Hassassin’s vengeful intention, the //Illuminati//’s acuity, and mockery of Christianity.

 **Essay #4** : Symbolism When talking about books with a handful of symbols, //Angels and Demons// by Dan Brown is probably one of the first novels that instantly pop into people’s minds. In fact, //Angels and Demons// is about a world-renowned Harvard symbologist searching through Bernini’s sculptures—finding significant symbols and resemblances—to save Vatican City from a deadly substance, the antimatter. In Langdon’s mind-boggling adventure to find Bernini’s covert sculptures and solve the sealed crypts, the //Illuminati// symbols—//Earth, Air, Fire,// and //Water//—appear, once again, emphasizing the significance of symbols. More importantly it contains profound symbolism.

Carlo, full of vengeance, hires the Hassassin under the name Janus. Over the phone, Janus claims the brotherhood of //Illuminati// has transpired and will now revenge its brothers’ murders by the Catholic Church. The Hassassin was instructed to murder the cardinals in public, ultimately to prove the God has forsaken even strongest believers. Given the instructions, the Hassassin kidnaps four high cardinals and murders them one by one in an hour interval (starting from 8 P.M.). The Hassassin also viciously murders Leonardo Vetra, a scientist who invented the explosive antimatter with his daughter, Vittoria Vetra, steals the substance and hides it in the covert //Church of Illumination//.

As Foster says, symbolism doesn’t always derive from objects or images. Actions can be symbolic as well. The actions Janus—or Carlo—take symbolize horror. Toward the end of the book, Carlo admits he had killed the Pope and he was behind all of the treacherous murders—symbolically, the horror. However, he states his intentions were purely for the benefit of the church. He shouts out how the Pope’s broken vow would have made people lose their faith in God. As people’s faith was raised when Christ saved them from horror, Carlo intended to restore Vatican’s faith by creating horror. So how and when does Carlo “restore” people’s faith? Carlo pretends to find the antimatter, when actually he knew where it was all along, and takes it up in a helicopter. He jumps out of the plan, leaving the ticking bomb behind. This pompous bravado symbolizes hope. By miraculously saving Vatican from the antimatter, Carlo expects to restore people’s faith in God again. Carlo’s acts symbolize //horror// and //hope//; however, on a larger scale, his scheme symbolizes ignorance; even the most seemingly righteous people can be utterly ignorant, for Carlo refused to hear the Pope’s explanation, the truth about his vow and relationship with Carlo.

The quote “Burn a church and the community rises up, holding hands, singing hymns of defiance as they rebuild.”(536) means fear brings people to God. “Burn a church,” meaning terrorizing people, will make Vatican realize—“community rises up”—and “rebuild” their faith.   **Essay #5**: Christ Figure Dan Brown’s //Angels and Demons// is a very controversial novel; its topic is about the disputes between science and Christianity. The novel frequently mentions Christianity directly and indirectly. Many times, indirect references of Christianity are shown by figures of Christ. There are two figures of Christ in particular—ironically, the protagonist and the antagonists.

After finding the hidden antimatter on St. Peter’s tomb, Carlo rides the helicopter he summoned as planned before. Originally planned to do this alone and as a bravado, Carlo takes the antimatter with him to get as far away from Vatican City as possible. However, Langdon rides the helicopter with him saying that Carlo should drive while he drops the antimatter. Carlo reluctantly takes Langdon with him. When the helicopter reached a decent altitude, far enough that the explosion wouldn’t harm Vatican City, Landon suggests to finally drop the bomb, but instead Carlo locked the antimatter in a cargo box inside the helicopter and jumped off with the last parachute. Langdon, feeling confused and betrayed, jumps off the helicopter as his last resort. People in Vatican City are surprised when they see Carlo on the uppermost level of the basilica next to the huge statues of Christ and his apostles. On the other hand, Langdon plummets toward earth and lands in a river where a doctor finds him floating. Once Langdon is cured by the doctor, he finds out that Carlo was behind everything and goes to basilica to warn the cardinals. While Carlo was getting ready to see the cardinals—expecting to be awarded with the position of the Pope—Langdon miraculously appears in front of the cardinals and Vittoria.

Carlo resembles Christ in the way his intentions were similar to Christ’s. The intentions of their acts were to put people’s faith in God again. As Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for people’s sins, Carlo rode the helicopter to sacrifice himself for the safety of Vatican City—although it was just part of his plan. The state Carlo was in was also similar to Christ’s. His clothes were utterly torn into pieces; his chest was branded with the sixth //Illuminati// brand and scarred. In addition, until Carlo’s vengeful intentions were revealed, he had a very humble and modest impression just like Christ had. Langdon, the other Christ figure, resembles Christ in the way that he was the one to actually save the day. Langdon was morally closer to Christ figure than Carlo. He may not have believed in God and had any intentions to restore faith in people, but he definitely put his life on the line for Vatican City when he rode the helicopter. He, too, like Christ, miraculously came back to warn everybody about Carlo’s scheme, which brought the Church back to justice. Ironically, Carlo was simply a poser of Christ, and Langdon, who does not have faith in God was the actual Christ figure.

According to Foster, the reason why authors use Christ figures is to deepen the sense of a character’s sacrifice. The quote “Fly! He heard himself screaming. Now! I’m here to help you! Langdon looked down at the canister and felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw the numbers.” (495) vividly describes Langdon’s voluntary self-sacrificing act that reflects eagerness and desperation.

 Hey Daniel! I’ll start off with the positive feedbacks. By reading your essay, I can tell you truly understood the section in //How to Read Literature like a Professor.// You successfully proved you understood the section by clearly stating the thesis. One reason I envy your style of writing is because you don’t add any useless junk. It’s very concise and straight to the point. Unfortunately, I have a habit of writing down all my jumbled thoughts—including useless junks. Since your essay is straight-to-the-point and concise, it is extremely easy for readers to follow. However, maybe because of your conciseness, you forgot to mention the connection between freedom and Billy accepting whatever he had trouble accepting. Another minor flaw is that some of your sentences are a bit awkward—don’t worry; I have the exact same problem. For example, “After he figures this out, his accepting the time-travel also gets easier for him” is a bit awkward. “his accepting the time” could probably be phrased better. Other than that, your essay reflected your understanding of the section and your book in a clear and concise way. -Elaine- Daniel Lee's Essay #2:Flight
 * Comment #1**

Hey Lyds! First off, I’d like to compliment how your essay is concise yet covers the area it needs. Since my problem is rambling off on my essay, I envy people who write concisely. Anyways, back to the feedbacks. Despite the fact that I didn’t read this particular section of //How to Read Literature like a Professor//, I was able to grasp the concept very easily because YOU clearly understood it. I can tell you know the correspondence between the section and your novel. I also like how you ventured to use new words, which also appropriately fit into context—you sound a bit more knowledgeable yet not pretentious. Your word choices seem appropriate; however, I notice you have a tendency to use the same words over and over, such as “inevitable,” and “sudden.” It’s only a minor flaw, but it still sounds a bit redundant. Other than that, I don’t have anything particularly negative to talk about. Nice work! -Elaine- Lydia Ahn's Essay #1: Heart diseas
 * Comment #2**