Introduction
For many years we have been searching for when the human race came into existence. In addition there are scientific stories as well as a lot many religious and mythical stories which describe our existence. And probably most of the people use to believe in religious stories rather than scientific. We all are in the trap of 'religion' and to escape from this is not an easy task. Perhaps religion is for morality, humanity and for the sake of betterment of not only the human race but for all lives and creatures on the Earth. But the narration by the people makes it more terrible, with the passing of time people are hungry for bloodshed for the sake of religion.
Our mind is culturally so shaped we can't see beyond 'our religion' and culture. We are now at this point where one can not speak anything rational against religion or God(any god). But in some religions people are taking liberty and trying to deconstruct the very idea of God and religion, though they are not really free to speak anything wrong about their god. Now the question is through which medium we can deconstruct or break some narratives ? And the one possible answer is - through literature. Here is one text which tries to deconstruct the story of Jesus Christ and try to make a different narration. Well one can not say the text is a truth, perhaps it can be a truth but there is less evidence to prove it. And the text is by American Author Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code.
This particular blog is designed as an academic task given by Prof. Dilip Barad, the head of the department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar. You can click here to know more about the given task.
About the author and text
Dan Brown is an American writer, born on 22 June, 1964. He is best known for his thriller fiction and mysterious novels. His best known works are following under…
Robert Langdon novels Angels & Demons (2000)
The Da Vinci Code (2003)
The Lost Symbol (2009)
Inferno (2013)
Origin (2017)
Zhenwu Zhu and Aiping Zhang point out that,
“Brown had come up with his own series of thriller fiction filled with codes, mysteries and exciting settings”
His most of the novels are full of suspense, codes, surprises and mysteries. And it is very popular among the mass, people like to read and watch the things which are mysterious, when we can not find an answer we give it the name of mystery and we like to talk about these mysteries. His one of the bestselling novels is 'The Da Vinci Code' which talks about Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene(which can be a half truth, there is less or no evidence of this). Dan Brown talks about some codes and secrets which prove that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. In the novel there are many things which seem real, but after much research his novel seems more fiction than reality.
Brown states on his website that his books are not anti-Christian, though he is on a 'constant spiritual journey' himself, and says that his book The Da Vinci Code is simply "an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate" and suggests that the book may be used "as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith."
Dan Brown asserts that his books are not anti-Christian, and it is right also because he wants to reveal the facts. He also says that he is on the spiritual journey as he portrays the characters who have faith in the religion. Through the murder mystery he unfolds the factual things about the Christianity. If we look deeply then we can find that there are many serious issues on which Brown throws light. In a way he is trying to awaken the people from the blind faith. There are several incidents which show us that our hero has faith in Christianity and also he doesn't want to break it. We can say that Robert Langdon's journey as a pilgrimage. The search for the Spiritual Truth. Brown is just using the historical fact with his imagined story.
“Although it is obvious that much of what Brown presented in his novel as absolutely true and accurate is neither of those, some of that material is of course essential to the intrigue, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has retained the novel's core, the Grail-related material: the sacred feminine, Mary Magdalene's marriage, the Priory of Sion, certain aspects of Leonardo's art, and so on[1].” How far do you agree with this observation of Norris J. Lacy?
I do agree with Lacy’s observation. What film is trying to show as fact those are just made up theories. But it obviously held the viewers attention as it was unfolding in a very interesting way. It will beautifully fool those who don’t have enough historical sense and proof to prove Brown’s narration wrong. I do agree with the second statement also that the screenwriter has held the core of the novel till the end, by focusing on Grail, Sacred Feminine, Mary Magdalene, Priory of Sion, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s art.
9. Explain Ann Gray’s three propositions on ‘knowability’ with illustrations from the novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’.
a. 1) Identifying what is knowable
b. 2) identifying and acknowledging the relationship of the knower and the known
c. 3) What is the procedure for ‘knowing’?
Three propositions of Ann Gray on “Knowability '' is very much present in the novel, “The Da Vinci Code ''. This concept works throughout the whole novel.
1) Identifying what is knowable is a process to realize what we actually know. Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu both are trying to decode the codes given by Sauniere, so they are identifying what they know and then they are applying their knowledge to make a way.
2) Identifying and acknowledging the relationship of the knower and the known. This leads to the knowledge of self. We can again see this in the characters of Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. They both know so many things but they don’t know why they were knowing those things. After reaching a particular point they both come to know about their own self and the reason behind their knowledge of particular things.
3) The procedure of knowing is to walk alone on the path of quest. Sauniere was used to laugh upon Robert Langdon, because Langdon was knowing everything but then even he was unknown to the things. To get this thing Langdon has to walk on that path quest by himself. No one else can provide him that understanding of his knowledge. He has to get it by himself and at the end by walking on the path of quest he comes to know the procedure of knowing. It is like, “Knowledge always dawns when time comes.”
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