The Da Vinci Code

2005-05-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

'Da Vinci Code' confiscated in Jordan
UPI May 10, 2005

AMMAN --

Jordanian authorities reportedly confiscated copies of the controversial bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, for slandering Christianity. Amman's daily Al Ghad said that copies of the book were seized from a publishing house in the Jordanian capital and its owner, Ahmed Abou Tawk, was summoned for interrogation. The paper quoted the president of the state's Publication Department, Ahmed Kodat, as saying that other titles were confiscated in addition to The Da Vinci Code for undermining religions. "This book is largely harmful for Christianity and was banned from many countries, including Lebanon," Kodat said, noting that Christian clerics in Jordan demanded the ban. Jordan, a mainly Muslim country, has a Christian minority.

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Response Journal III

2005-05-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

To which particular person would you recommend this novel? You may choose not to name this person but you must explain the qualities in him/her in the novel which would prompt you to make the recommendation.

I have a big sector of people that I know I would recommend this book, but I prefer not to mention their names, instead I will name the qualities and reasons that prompt me to recommend this novel.

First, I will recommend this book to newly readers. One good quality of this book is that is easy to read, despite that the story is complicated; the author manages to make it simple to understand. This points that in spite of the lack of creativity of the author in other areas; he has talent enough to make this complex tale a read friendly book.

Second, this novel is good for people who enjoy reading mystery books but have not reach a high level yet. This is a good mystery book for beginners, it is easy to understand, but it still has the “spice” needed for a good mystery novel.

Finally, this book is excellent for people who like to ready o feel curious about religious issues. This book explores a big amount of taboos and controversies related specially to the Catholic Church, and the fact that all the historical background is real makes this book a good starting point to develop a critical mind in religious issues.

(206)

Summary Plot (Chapters 70-105)

2005-05-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Konigs ENG4UI

“The Da Vinci Code’s Summary Plot (Chapters 70 to 105)”

While our heroes fly to London, Fache gets a call from bishop Aringarosa that makes him decide to go to Longo too.

During their flight, Lagdon, Sophie and Teabing are able to open the cryptex just to find that it contained a smaller one inside. Suddenly something seems to be wrong; the pilot receives a call from the airport in London, saying that they must land in the main part of the airport instead of Teabing’s private hangar.

Teabing decides to bribe the pilot and soon after the plane lands, the plane move towards the hangar. Then, thanks to Teabing, they managed to escape and go the Temple Church, where they believe they will find the answer for the second cryptex.

Once Lagdon, Sophie and Teabing got in to the church, Remy shows his true colors releasing Silas and helping him to recover the cryptex.

After Silas and Remy joined forces, they decided to recover the cryptex right in the Temple Church and after struggling with our heroes they retake it and to Silas surprise, Remy takes Teabing as hostage. As soon they escaped, they received a call from the Teacher giving instructions about what to do now; Remy must meet the teacher with the cryptex and Silas must spent the night in the Opus Dei’s office in London.

Back in Paris, while this is happening Collet finds a very sophisticated communication centre at Teabing’s house.

Bishop Aringarosa, arrives to London and is received by the Scotland Yard.

Once he drops Silas at the Opus Dei office, Remy meets the Teacher who came out to be Teabing himself in a Park in downtown London. After been release from the trunk of the car, Teabing offers to Remy a drink to celebrate their success, that is full of peanuts powder, too bad for Remy who happens to be allergic. He dies poisoned by Teabing.

In other part of the city, Lagdon and Sophie tried to reach the police and to find out where they can track the cryptex and they conclude that the best place is Issac Newston’s tomb.

After a couple of hours sleeping, Silas awakes with the sound of the police cars getting closer to the building; he realizes that has been betrayed, desperately tries to escape but after shooting at the police officers, gets wounded and accidentally shoots Arigarosa who just arrived trying to calm the situation. Desperate, Silas takes Aringarosa to the hospital.

Our heroes arrived to Issac Newston’s tomb, where they find a note telling them to go to a church nearby and exchange the cryptex’s password for Teabing’s life.
Silas dies from his wounds in a park near to the hospital where Aringarosa is recovering.

A soon, our heroes arrive to the church they are received by Teabing, who with a gun threats them in order to get the password for the cryptex. Fortunately Lagdon fools Teabing and later the police arrive headed by Fache that right after arresting Teabing, apologises with Sophie and Lagdon. Our heroes are free to go and find the Saint Grial.

Two days later the code takes them to a Rosslyn Church in Scotland. There Sophie realizes that her grandmother and little brother are still alive and they did not die in a car crash. Rosslyn has been their refuge from the church persecution because they are direct descendants of Mary Magdalene and Jesus.

Sophie’s grandmother tells Lagdon that the Saint Grial is not there anymore, but that he will find it in the right time.

Weeks later, Lagdon wakes up with an idea. He runs to Luvre and goes to the basement level of the building, just to be amazed with……

(612)

Summary Plot (Chapters 36 to 70)

2005-05-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Konigs ENG4UI

“The Da Vinci Code’s Summary Plot (Chapters 36 to 70)”

After finding no clue about the keystone, Silas kills sister Sandrine at the middle of the night in Paris.

In another part of the city Sophie and Lagdon are escaping from police in a taxi until the taxi driver realizes that he is driving a couple of fugitives and tries to contact the police though his radio but Sophie and Lagdon managed to escape with the taxi.

In the Vatican Bishop Aringarosa gets 10 million euros to follow his plans.

The address in the key takes them to a swiss bank and after getting in they are welcomed by Mr. Velvet director of the bank, who has been already advised by a security guard that his clients are fugitives and that police is on its way to the bank.

After having a hard time trying to guess the access code of the account that the key belongs, Sophie and Lagdon get what it is inside of it, a small wooded box. At this point Velvet is desperate and he offers to help them to escape from police in order to save the banks reputation.

Suddenly after the escaping from the bank, Velvet turns evil and tries to recover what was inside of the account’s security box, but he fails and again our heroes managed to escape.

Lagdon tells Sophie that he knows the right person to help him in order to get more answers about the keystone that must take them to the Grial; Sir Leigh Teabing.

It is late night when they arrive to his residence; at soon they start to talk about the Grial. Unfortunately, Remy Teabing’s employee sees Lagdon and Sophie pictures at the TV and calls the police. Also Teabing realizes that and confronts them, but he decides to help them after they show him the keystone.

Collect and the rest of the Police arrive to Teabing’s mansion and Silas does the same after getting the information from the teacher. While that Teabing explains to Sophie that the Grail is a person, is Maria Magdalena who actually married Jesus. That’s the secret of the Grial.

After talking with Bishop Aringarosa, Fache calls his officers to order them to not get in to the residence until he arrives, but Silas breaks in and fires his gun in an attempt to get the keystone. Fortunately Teabing and his visitors subjugate Silas.

As consequence of the sound of the gunshot, the police decide to get in to the house, just to find that it is empty. Taebing, Lagdon, Sophie, Remy and an unconscious Silas are on their way to a private airport nearby where they would go to England, the place where they believe the Grail is located.
(449)

Cathedral to star in Da Vinci Code

2005-05-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday May 24, 03:25 PM
Cathedral to star in Da Vinci Code

Hollywood stars will converge on Lincoln Cathedral this summer to shoot the blockbuster film adaptation of controversial novel The Da Vinci Code.
Producers of the multi-million dollar film have signed a deal, understood to be worth £100,000, to use the building as a double for London's Westminster Abbey.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, who will play hero Robert Langdon in the screenplay of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, will be among the stars heading to the city for filming.

French actress Audrey Tautou, star of the hit film Amelie, and Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, as well as British actor Sir Ian McKellen, are also taking part in the film.

The Louvre Museum in Paris, scene of a murder in the novel, has also been given permission for filming to take place there when shooting begins on June 30.

Production crews will be in Lincoln for two weeks in the summer. Filming will centre around the Chapter House, Cloisters and Nave.

Cathedral chief executive Roy Bentham said Lincoln and another unnamed British cathedral have been chosen for the film, which is expected to open next May.

He said: "With (book) sales worldwide in excess of 20 million, the film is sure to generate an enormous amount of interest in the cathedral and the city of Lincoln.

"Filming is due to take place this summer and may involve some disruption to visitors, although every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum."

Alec Knight, the Dean of Lincoln, added: "The book is an exciting story and I hope the film is a success. Of course it is a work of fiction and the theological storyline certainly falls into that category."

Reading Response Journal II

2005-05-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Konigs ENG4U

“What effect does the setting (time, place) have on the character’s thoughts, actions, choices? What would be your reaction to having to adapt to that environment. Explain. (Question #7)

The setting of this story amazingly seems to have no negative mental effect in any of the characters and is another factor that makes this book fell short in creativity.

The whole drama of the Da Vinci Code develops in a 48 hour time period where the characters have to escape from police and criminals. During this two day period at least the two main characters do not have any opportunity to rest, actually there is not a part in the whole book where we can read or assume that they slept for a short period of time.

Incredibly, after this amount of time deprived from sleeping, our heroes in the book are able to decipher highly complex secret codes and to keep mentally focused in taking the best decisions in order to solve all the obstacles that they faced during the story.

Definitely my reaction to these circumstances would be totally opposite. I remember many occasions were I had to stay awake until late night to finish school projects and I can say without any remorse or guiltiness that after 48 hours without any sleep, I would be sleeping somewhere in the streets of Paris hugging one of those code that suppose to take me to the Saint Grail.

(210)

Summary Plot (Chapters 1 to 35)

2005-05-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Konigs ENG4U

“The Da Vinci Code’s Summary Plot (Chapters 1 of 35)”

Luvre Museum’s Curator Jacques Saunerie struggles with his attacker at the middle of the night and is forced to confess his secret before been killed by an albino with a terrible past named Silas.

Two hours later Robert Lagdon, an academic expert in symbology is awaken by the French police and taken to the Louvre Museum. On his way there, he is told that Saunerie has been assassinated. Once in Luvre, Lagdon meets captain Fache who interrogates him with discretion and asks Lagdon for help to interpret a coda that Saunerie wrote with his own blood before dying.

Silas makes a call his teacher to share with him the good news: the mystery has been finally solved; the keystone is hiding at the Eglise de Saint-Sulpice one of the most ancient churches of Paris.

In Washington D.C. at the new Opus Day headquarters, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa reflects about the past problems of his congregation, while he gets ready for a trip to Rome.

After been advised about a late-night visit, Sister Sandrine Bieil receives Silas at Saint-Sulpice. He asks for a moment to be alone and soon he finds a hidden message that takes him to read a part of the Bible. Sister Sandrine realizes that is the moment to follow the instructions that were given long time ago and frantic realizes that all the people that she supposed to call are dead.

Officer Sophie Neveu arrives to Luvre and tells Lagdon that there’s a voice message from the embassy waiting for him. The message happens to be a message from Neveu to Lagdon where she tells him that his life is at risk.

After fooling the police, Lagdon escapes from Luvre with the help of Neveu. Before escaping they have the opportunity to break some of Saunerie’s message and get a golden key hidden at the back of one of Da Vinci’s paints. Also Neveu confess to Lagdon that she is Saunerie’s granddaughter.

Captain Fache is furious, his reputation as chief of police will jeopardize by the public’s opinion. He wants Lagdon and Neveu in jail as soon as possible.

(351)

2005-05-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 20, 2005

McKellen set for Da Vinci Code film

Sir Ian McKellen is set to star in the Hollywood adaptation of the Da Vinci Code.
The actor will appear opposite Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou in the movie version of Dan Brown's best-selling book.
McKellen will play wealthy Sir Leigh Teabing, who helps Hanks's Harvard academic Robert Langdon in the search for the Holy Grail.
Fellow British actor Alfred Molina has also been signed up to play Bishop Arigarosa, according to Variety.
The film will be directed by Ron Howard, director of A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, and begins shooting this summer.
Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston has been tipped to land the role of an albino assassin.
McKellen's next role will be in Coronation Street - he has harboured a long-held ambition to appear in the soap.
He will play a dodgy novelist invited to meet the local reading group.

Reading Response Journal I

2005-05-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Konigs ENG4U

“What were your expectations of the book when you chose it?
Is the novel living up to them? Why or why not? Be specific. (Question #8)

I am reading “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. My expectations about this novel were high and that is because the enormous amount of readers and fans that this novel has collected around the world (my brother included).

I expected to find a very interesting novel with a strong cultural background, a good and smart sense of mystery from the author and a story well attached to reality. Unfortunately, this book fells short on most of them.

The cultural richness and the moments of excitement that this book provides in some parts are good elements of this novel. Despite this, the core of the mystery and some actions from the characters are not formulated in a way that could match with the standard human behaviour

In conclusion, I must say that in spite of the author’s efforts and cultural background, he was not creative enough to build a mystery that could perfectly match with reality and conventional human living. Probably this is what makes the difference between a good author and the geniuses of literature.

(176)

2005-04-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

"RODRIGO KONIGS: LET'S READ IT !!!!!"

Cardinal: Don't read 'Da Vinci Code'

2005-04-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Cardinal: Don't read 'Da Vinci Code'

By THE WASHINGTON POST

ROME - As it is just about everywhere else in the world, Rome is awash in editions of "The Da Vinci Code," the blockbuster whodunit with a narrative that includes a Vatican coverup of an explosive theological secret: Jesus was married! Despite the heretical plot twist, in which Jesus had a child by the wife, Mary Magdalene, Dan Brown's novel was on sale at the bookstore of Gemelli Polyclinic, the Rome hospital where Pope John Paul II underwent a tracheotomy last month and spent 18 days recovering before being released last Sunday.

Well, enough is enough. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, once a top dogma enforcer in Vatican City and currently archbishop of Genoa, broke the Vatican's virtual silence on the book this week and told Vatican Radio that nobody should read it and certainly Catholic bookstores should stop selling it.

"Don't buy and don't read that novel," he said. And in remarks to Il Giornale, a conservative newspaper, Bertone declared: "There's a big anti-Catholic prejudice. It aims to discredit the church and its history through gross and absurd manipulations."

Bertone explained why, two years after the novel's debut, the church ought to be putting its foot down: Too many people are taking the book's mix of art, architecture, secret societies, weird symbolism and hocus-pocus as - if you'll excuse the expression - the Gospel truth.

"You can't be a modern youth without having read it. The book is everywhere," Bertone said. "There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true." Until two years ago, he belonged to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the official defender of orthodoxy in the Vatican.

Brown has disputed criticism that his novel is anti-Christian.
References to Christianity have been popping up all over the mass media. Last year's gory mega-hit by Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ," about Jesus's last hours before and during the Crucifixion, won praise at the Vatican, where it was privately screened for the pope. Vatican spokesmen said the pontiff gave it two thumbs up, but they later retracted that report and said he doesn't do movie reviews. In London, Madame Tussauds, the wax museum, mounted a Nativity scene with soccer star David Beckham and wife Victoria, aka Posh Spice, standing in for Joseph and Mary.

Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" - used as evidence of the Jesus-Magdalene liaison in Brown's book - also took a hit. In an irreverent ad campaign by the French fashion house Marithe and Francois Girbaud, sultry women in chic casuals were arranged at a table in postures similar to the Apostles' in the painting - except that in John's place, a shirtless man in low-slung jeans slouches. French Catholics sued because the poster "did great injury to Catholics" by representing the Last Supper "in denigrating conditions." A judge banned the poster as "an aggressive act of intrusion of people's innermost beliefs." Lawyers for the fashion company had argued that the posters were a parody of a painting, not a religious event, and wondered aloud why the judge did not also ban "The Da Vinci Code."

In any case, the heretical horse is way out of the barn. Eighteen million copies of "The Da Vinci Code" have been sold worldwide. A movie starring Tom Hanks is in the works. Tourists pester guides at the permanent exhibit of da Vinci's "Last Supper" in Milan, asking them to point out the Mary Magdalene figure. Guides explain repeatedly that the figure is that of a youthful John.

"There are two reasons the church needs to speak out on this issue," said Massimo Introvigne, director of the Center on New Religious Studies, a Catholic research organization in Rome. "Dan Brown talks about facts, and things in his book are not facts. And second, I am astonished by the number of Italians who tell me their faith has been shaken."

Riffs on the life of Jesus outside orthodox teaching are nothing new - either in books, in Hollywood or, for that matter, in the most ancient of Christian documents. Of course, there was Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation of Christ," in which Jesus on the Cross imagines an alternative life of married bliss with - who else? - Mary Magdalene. Before that, there was "Jesus Christ Superstar," the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera that also hinted at an affair between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, although not so much as to offend. Vatican officials declared it acceptable entertainment for the Vatican's millennium celebration.

In the early centuries of Christianity, religious leaders grappled with various accounts of the life of Jesus, some of which were at odds with each other and with newly accepted orthodoxy. Was he man, prophet or God, or all of the above? In the 4th century, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, ordered scores of manuscripts attributed to followers of Jesus destroyed. Disobedient monks buried the versions in clay jars and some were found centuries later. Among them was a manuscript called the Gospel of Mary, attributed to Mary Magdalene. It suggests she was one of the chosen followers of Jesus and an equal, at least, to the (all male) others.

No mention of marriage is made in any of these, nor in the orthodox Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.