Angels & Demons Book Project

Book Project #1

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

1. Literary Term Option 10- Provide the passage with the best piece of dialogue. Explain what makes this dialogue so powerful.

            The best piece of dialogue is the conversation between Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra on the plane to Rome when they are just getting to know each other. They are racing against time to try to stop the Illuminati, a secret brotherhoodthat has placed a bomb somewhere in the Vatican. During their conversation, Langdon and Vittoria discuss her upbringing as the adopted daughter of a Catholic priest and scientist, as well as his view of religion as a religious symbologist and professor at Harvard University. The following is part of theirconversation:

“'You had a question.'

'Yes. As a scientist and the daughter of a Catholic priest, what do you think of religion?'

            Vittoria paused, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes. 'Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has meaning. That we are grateful for the power that created us.'

            Langdon was intrigued. 'So you’re saying that whether you are a Christian or a Muslim simply depends on where you were born?'

            'Isn’t it obvious? Look at the diffusion of religion around the globe.'

            'So faith is random?'

'Hardly. Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca, some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves.'

Langdon wished his students could express themselves so clearly. He wished he could express himself so clearly. 'And God?' he asked. 'Do you believe in God?'

Vittoria was silent for a long time. 'Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to.'

How’s that for concise, he thought” (Brown 138-139).

            This dialogue is obviously powerful and contains a very controversial subject. The idea of science and religion working together is not usually considered. We usually hear about the differences between the two. Simply put, many people either believe in evolution or Adam and Eve. There isn’t a whole lot in-between, but I love this conversation. It made me really think in-depth about the world and faith, including my own beliefs.

            Religion is a hard topic to explain. Vittoria is suggesting that religion is one. As she says, it is universal. Most everyone believes in God or has a religion. A lot of people keep the faith that they were raised in and grew up in since it is familiar to them. According to Vittoria, we all believe in the same concept: there is some greater force that created us. That force or power for many of us is God, Allah, Yahweh. The roots of faith all stem out from this greater power that created us. We are in constant search for how and why we came to be.

Langdon is both shocked and impressed with Vittoria’s response. He studies symbols and religions, but he never would have spoken those words. He wishes he could think so clearly like Vittoria. She is so sure that religion and science go together because she has the evidence. Her father was a priest and scientist, and together they found the connection between the two. Langdon on the other hand is very unsure of what to believe.

            Not only does this passage relate to the characters in the book, but also to our own lives. It made me consider the religions of the world. Are they really all that different? We all have the same central belief; we all have different ways of expressing that belief.

            I also love Vittoria’s response to Langdon’s question about God. I can relate to it. Most people question their faith at some point, and it is never fully clear to us. We are unsure of some things, just like Langdon. We don’t understand everything. We also have trouble taking it all in. There’s so much that goes unexplained, and we question certain things that happen in our lives, especially during times of tragedy. Still, there is a void throughout life that is filled with God and religion, prayer and worship. We live day to day not fully understanding everything, yet we are okay with that, and we are grateful. Like Vittoria said, we are not meant to understand.

2. Writing Option 1
a) Provide at least two passages that show the author's best writing skills, places where the writer exhibits voice and a unique style, places where the writer uses rhythm, repetition, and/or brushstrokes to make the writing flow, places where the writer uses figurative language to create mental pictures. Each passage should be at least 80 words.
b) List the skills that the author showed in this writing.
c) Using your ideas, imitate, as closely as possible, at least four sentences of your favorite passage.

Both of the passages that I chose occur close to the beginning of the book and establish a setting. I think settings are very important to the way the reader perceives the action. My favorite parts of books are when we see the world for the first time through fresh eyes. Writers have editors because they know that fresh eyes see everything clearly and pick up on the smallest things. Langdon observes every little detail of each place and stores it in the back of his mind.

The beginning of a book is the part when the author brings the world he has created to life. This is why I usually love the first book of a series the most. Take Harry Potter for example. We as readers experience the magic of Harry’s world for the first time when he discovers it himself in the first book. We see this place through Harry’s eyes. It is magical and grand and unimaginable.

Authors have a way of pulling us in through the setting. In Angels & Demons, I am able to see the world through Langdon’s eyes. There’s just something about seeing a place for the first time. Some of our greatest memories come from first encounters and first impressions. You might always remember your first day of kindergarten or high school. These have a special way of sticking with us throughout life.

a) Passage 1:

“The Glass Cathedral, Langdon mused, gazing upward toward heaven.

Overhead, the bluish glass roof shimmered in the afternoon sun, casting rays of geometric patterns in the air and giving the room a sense of grandeur. Angular shadows fell like veins across the white tiled walls and down to the marble floors. The air smelled clean, sterile. A handful of scientists moved briskly about, their footsteps echoing in the resonant space.

'This way, please, Mr. Langdon.' His voice sounded almost computerized. His accent was rigid and precise, like his stern features. Kohler coughed and wiped his mouth on a white handkerchief as he fixed his dead gray eyes on Langdon. 'Please hurry.' His wheelchair seemed to leap across the tiled floor” (Brown 24-25).

b)         I love Langdon’s description of the CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) building as he sees it for the first time. He is in awe. He has only heard of this place, never imagined actually being there in person. This passage appeals to all the senses: sight, smell, and sound. Dan Brown used imagery to help us picture this scene as it unfolds on the pages. I immediately get a mental picture of this place in my head. The author uses a lot of figurative language, comparisons, and grammar tools to make this a memorable passage.

Although this is towards the beginning of the book, I think it is important. It sets up the scene and Langdon’s view of the world. He is amazed, and this place begs for his attention. He notices everything at first glance. I love the description of the light and the shadows it casts. I can easily picture that. They aren’t just any type of shadows. They are geometric shapes because of the shaping of the roof. I picture a place like a museum or a mall that has a lot of windows on the ceiling. The space seems clean and elegant. I picture everything being white and fresh, but also empty. Even Kohler’s handkerchief is white. The building almost seems like a doctor’s office or dentist’s office with its sterile smell and look.

The author uses many brushstrokes and grammar tools that contribute to the image. These include participial phrases such as “gazing upward toward heaven,” “casting rays of geometric patterns in the air,” and “giving the room a sense of grandeur.” All three give an extra quality to the writing that helps it flow smoothly. They help the reader visualize the space. The author also uses the absolute phrase “their footsteps echoing in the resonant space” to help the reader hear the scene. Put all of them together and (boom!) you have a mental image.

There are also many times when the author draws comparisons by using similes. This sentence in particular captured my attention: “Angular shadows fell like veins across the white tiled walls and down to the marble floors.” The shadows fell like veins. Veins are thin and delicate. They are jumbled together and almost look web-like. That’s how I picture the shadows, delicate and tangled into different shapes. This just adds an extra detail to my mental image. Another simile is used to describe Kohler. It is “His voice sounded almost computerized. His accent was rigid and precise, like his stern features.” If he has a “computerized” voice, I think of it being plain and robotic. The way the author connects Kohler’s voice to his features is important. Kohler both sounds robotic, and looks rigid and stern. It draws back to the geometric lines cast by the shadows. Everything at this place is perfect and in order. It is all mathematic in structure, and it seems to be a little intimidating.

a) Passage 2:

            “Rome from the air is a labyrinth-an indecipherable maze of ancient roadways winding around buildings, fountains, and crumbling ruins.

            The Vatican chopper stayed low in the sky as it sliced northwest through the permanent smog layer coughed up by the congestion below. Langdon gazed down at the mopeds, sight-seeing buses, and armies of miniature Fiat sedans buzzing around rotaries in all directions. Koyaanisqatsi, he thought, recalling the Hopi term for 'life out of balance.'

Vittoria sat in silent determination in the seat beside him.

The chopper banked hard.

His stomach dropping, Langdon gazed farther into the distance. His eyes found the crumbling ruins of the Roman Coliseum. The Coliseum, Langdon had always thought, was one of history’s greatest ironies. Now a dignified symbol for the rise of human culture and civilization, the stadium had been built to host centuries of barbaric events” (Brown 148).

b)         This passage’s description lets me envision the city of Rome from above. Although I’ve never been flying above Rome, now I feel as though I have.

I love the figurative language used in this passage. The author started off by giving us an amazing visual to set up the scene. Rome from above is like a maze. It’s amaze of buildings, roads, cars, and people.

This passage uses a lot of personification. One example is the chopper “slicing” through the smog. I get a vision that the blades are literally cutting the grayish fog in the sky, breaking it up as they spin around and around. I immediately hear the familiar sound of a helicopter. In the same line, the author describes the smog as being “coughed up by the congestion below.” It sounds funny to think that all the traffic is coughing the smog into the sky, but I know what the author means by this. He’s pointing out how busy Rome is at this time, and how the city is affected. We don’t quite know why yet, and it may be a bit of foreshadowing, but we soon learn that the conclave is taking place. Rome is swamped with people from all over the world, people whose lives depend on Langdon and Vittoria finding the bomb. From above, the city below is crazy. It’s just a mixture of buses, mopeds, cars, and people. This makes Langdon andVittoria’s job that much more difficult.

Also, we may think of the coliseum when we envision Rome. Langdon addresses this too. He discusses what the coliseum used to be used for compared to what it symbolizes today. It’s ironic that it was once a place of death and punishment, and now it’s a place that symbolizes the human civilization and life. The old and new couldn’t be more opposite.

I absolutely loved the word choice in this passage. The words brought the image to life and captured all the senses. Some of my favorite word choices are “indecipherable maze,” “sliced,” and “coughed up.” All three aided in my vision of the city from above. I also loved the fact that the author summed up the whole scene in one word: Koyaanisqatsi, meaning “life out of balance.” The image is one big mess and rush. It is most definitely out of balance.

c) Using your ideas, imitate, as closely as possible, at least four sentences of your favorite passage.

“His stomach dropping, Langdon gazed farther into the distance. His eyes found the crumbling ruins of the Roman Coliseum. The Coliseum, Langdon had always thought, was one of history’s greatest ironies. Now a dignified symbol for the rise of human culture and civilization, the stadium had been built to host centuries of barbaric events” (Brown 148).

Her feet swaying back and forth, Ella looked down to the drop below. Her eyes shut the terrifying scene out of her mind. A roller coaster, Ella was reminding herself, is one of the most exhilarating experiences. A fun thrill for only a couple minutes, a roller coaster is not meant to scare but amuse those who ride it.