No Theme Yet!

I have to say, I have not been really thinking in-depth on the theme in Angels # Demons. Nor am I much of a hash tag user because well I don't have a twitter. I have a Facebook and a Blogger but the only reason I would ever have a blogger would be for English 1. Great right? It is amazing!

Well, in the book I feel like there is nothing giving hints on a central theme. Right now it seems to just be action and mystery instead of thoughtful ideas to leave you feel full at the end. I know that right now there is the idea that there is evil and justice in the world and also there are big issues with religion and beliefs right now. It is interesting as the book goes on and
I will have to inform more when the theme reveals it's self.

Angels & Demons!

I am now getting close to finally finishing Angels & Demons! I thought the book was entertaining and interesting! The book taught me a lot about the history of the Vatican as well as the people in the church/against the church. I really enjoyed the characters in the book but I hated the fact that in The Da Vinci Code, there was Sofia when in this book it is Vittoria as the love interest. In all I thought this book was great and I would suggest it to anyone interested in adventure, religion, history, and the Illuminati!

Robert

Well, here I am for another round of weekly blogging! I think I this blogging experience is great for a young writer. The ability to make up your own reviews and ideas on theme is helping us grow as writers. But I think teachers should be more relaxed about blogging and have the kids just do the blogging if they want, but have a mandatory 4-5 a trimester that are well written. I also would like to talk about mrs things than books but lets face it, we are being graded for this...
So I am currently still reading Angles & Demons, I have to say I am a slow reader and I try to read but I am a busy man. If I wasn't surrounded by homework, I would love to engulf myself in some meaningful texts and such. But, in the book, I believe 2 Cardinals were killed by the illuminati. Each soon to be pope had burns of either "earth" "wind" "fire" or "water" on them, referring to the 4 physical states people thought there were.

Here is a picture of the person that plays Robert Langdon in the movie. This picture describes Robert really greatly. His strong look and powerful glance describes each of his qualities. Robert is strong, intelligent and good looking. He is the one that makes the missions happen and saves the world with his power.

Thoughts on Legends

There are lots of ancient cultures, religions, myths, and legends in our world today that were past from our ancestors. In many books, like Dan Brown's book and other books about Percy Jackson, authors use these allusions and myths to propel a storyline. If you read these books, you must critically think about what is true and what is false about the ancient stories that are mixed into the modern day novels.

When reading, the different books, I found that the stories are interesting. Like the Egyptian gods. Did the cultures really see these gods or were they made up to keep people from living in fear? Also, was the bible just made up or was it written by people 400 years after Jesus's death? I am a big fan of history channel's documentary on culture and it makes me really question the ideas of our history. There are some extremely false and unscientific concepts on the documentaries, like lizard men using brain control. Other than that, there are somethings like gods being extraterrestrials or that people saw the gods because of the ritual use of psychedelics. These weird ideas can be interesting and thought provoking.

Dan Brown Interview

"I find the most interesting villians do the right things for the wrong reason or the wrong things for the right reason. I love the grey area between right and wrong" (Brown).

Dan Brown is a very interetesting fictional novelist. He uses the past and art to drive his plot  in the story. Here is an interview of Dan on NPR that I heard on the radio a year ago. He describes his new book as well as how he writes such great best sellers.
Dan Brown Interview

This interview intruged me right away. I thought it was interesting that even a great American novelist doesn't have a certain way to write a best seller. Once, I took a song writing class online that was taught by Pat Pattison. Pat had a certain way to write songs: to think of ideas, make words that make sense and rhyme, make a structure to the piece, and finally write it all out. He had a procedure of writing a song but Dan Brown says he does not have that kind of process. Instead, Brown writes in a free form with some ideas, actions, and history.  

Also, Dan Brown has an interesting way of creating Villains. In the last two Robert Langdon books, there has been an assassin or killer that works for an ancient cult. In the book Inferno, it seems that Dan makes an evil scientist that tries to decrease the over populated world. This villain seems to be doing things fora a good cause but doing it in a bad way, like chemical diseases to kill off a population. I think this use of a villain is interesting, it reminds me of Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb because his actions are meant to be for the bad but sometimes end up helping the community. This use of a villain that works for good but does bad makes for a round character and more of an interesting conflict.

Dan Brown's use of the ancient history and mythology makes the new book interesting to me as well. In the book Angles & Demons, Dan writes about the Vatican City and Rome with the concept of the Illuminati when in the new book, Inferno, Dan writes about one of my favorite topics, Divine Comedy. I think when books or other media use allusions throughout the book, it makes the text a lot more amazing. When I was a kid I enjoyed reading nonfiction books about the mythology of the world. When I was in middle school, I listened to heavier bands. Now I listen to indie rock, but then my favorite band was Alesana. The band used many allusions. Off their second album, "On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax" the artists used direct allusion to Icarus. Also on the album there were allusions to Paris from the Trojan War, Nero, Alchemy, and Sirens. In their latest album, called: "A Place Where The Sun Is Silent" they wrote a short epic poem based on Dante's experience through  the underworld. They used this story to make an album where each song would represent another event/chapter in the book, or each ring of hell. Though I have grown a little out of my teen angst stage, I still find the allusions in Brown's books interesting.

When I first heard this interview in the car while driving past Culvers, the thing that stuck in my head was the fact that Dan Brown travels to the places he writes about so he can understand the scenes his books take place in. Also, he asks questions that propel his story's historical attributes. This really made me want to explore the churches and cities myself, learning more history so I could write songs or poems that refer to ancient mythology.

-What story from history or mythology interests you?

Culture

In the book, Angels & Demons, the author seems to put you right in the middle of Rome. He describes the beauty and ancient walls of the Vatican and makes you feel just like Robert while he travels to this new city.

One way that makes you feel like you are in Rome is the use of imagery throughout the book. Dan Brown explains the breath taking views of Rome as if he were Rick Steves giving a tour of Europe. In the text it says, "Rome from the air is a labyrinth-an indecipherable maze of ancient road ways winding around buildings, fountains, and crumbling ruins...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, 100). I found that the descriptions of the surroundings made me understand the book better. The culture is important to Rome's history and Dan makes sure you are educated about the topic, to make the book a learning experience as well as a great read. I think it is interesting how Brown puts culture and history into each of his books, which makes me enjoy them.

Another way Dan makes you feel like you are in the city is he interrupts lots of his sentences with short phrases in Italian to make you see and understand the culture. Dan Brown also used this tactic in the book The Da Vinci Code, where he intertwined some French phrases and English. In the text it says, "'...the Illuminati members referred to their secret arist as il maestro ignoto-the unknown
master'" (Brown, 238). The use of Italian makes me feel as if I am visiting the country as well as show's Brown's writing technique that combines cultures.

Reading this book, makes me want to travel to many more places. I have been to Australia, France, and England, but I have never been to Italy. I would love to hitch hike across Europe, sleep in a crumby motel and see the world. Also, this makes me want to learn several languages, like Italian, French, and Spanish. I think the use of culture and history makes for an amazing book that makes people want to explore.

Here is a video of Rick Steves' travel around Europe. In this segment, you can see the Vatican and gives you a good understanding of the city and how it looks. I had no idea that the Swiss Guards wore such interesting clothes!

-What places would you like to visit if you ever got the chance?

Finished - Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 overall was a very engaging, thrilling story. It all starts out when we meet a peculiar man named Guy Montag. Now in the beginning of the book, I saw Montag as very mysterious, but not exactly in a good way. He seemed pretty timid and a bit boring. But now I see that was because of his own secret of the books he was hiding. He goes on to meet a neighbor tat just moved in, Clarisse. I think Clarisse encourages him very much in a forward direction towards being his individual self. They become good friends, but Montag hears that Clarisse is now dead and I think the main reason that Montag does continue in his revelation to bring back books is because he wants to carry out the legacy of Clarisse. She was such a genuinely intelligent and mysterious person. After all of this we soon learn that Montag has been hiding books in his home for quite a while now and brings yet another one home with him after yet another fire he starts in a harmless woman's house.  He is visited by Captain Beatty, his theoretical boss down at the fire station and Beatty is very keen on hinting to Montag that he knows about the books. After Beatty leaves he shows his secret stash to Mildred, his wife, and she freaks out. he is not pleased with them, being her simple minded self. She just does not want to think about anything that is not in sync with what she normally thinks about.

This brings us to the Part 2 of the book. This is where it all starts to get really interesting. Mildred and Montag start out this part of the book by arguing over the books. Millie is much more interested in the fact of watching T.V. or her "family" than anything to do with Montag sand his books. She thinks he's completely insane. Just when Montag starts to lose hope, he remembers an old English Professor by the name of Faber. Montag arrives at Faber's house after a brief call and they discuss books. They come up with a plan to make copies of books and put them in all the firemen's homes so that nobody can trust them and they may be forced to bring books back just for the pure sake of it. Faber gives Montag an ear piece that he has made so that they can communicate back and forth. Like a walkie talkie for your ear. When Montag comes home, Millie and two of her friends are there. Montag goes crazy for  split second and tries to make them understand how important books are while Faber is screaming in his ear not to read to them. Montag does though, read to them that is. They turn Montag in without his knowledge and Montag leaves his home to go to the forestation to turn in only one book to Beatty, thinking everything will be okay and the suspicion will go away. Only that's not exactly what happens. They have to leave the forestation to go start a fire in someones house when they suddenly pull up to Montag's home. This was not expected, obviously, by Montag.

That ends Part 2 and with every end there is a beginning and this beginning happens to be the thrill seeking Part 3. It starts with Montag being beaten to shreds with the words of Beatty. Beatty will not stop insulting him for how stupid he is to have not seen all of the signs. He then forces Montag to burn his own house down with him in which Montag does not take very calmly. Well to the point where Monag actually kills Beatty. Whoops. He burns him alive with a flamethrower when Beatty tries to arrest him. He knocks the other firemen out and makes a run for it, well he tries ,but the Hound gets to him first, slicing a chunk of his leg up, but Montag throws the flamethrower at him as well, killing also, the Hound. Montag travels the distance to Faber's house and finds that they are transporting another Hound to come and try to find him. Faber tells Montag to travel to an old printer's home in St. Louis and Montag tells Faber to remove his scent from Faber's house so the Hound does not reach him. It works and when the Hound reaches Faber's house he turns around. montage changes out of his scented clothes and is carries downstream by a river. When he stops he find a group of unusual people, all with the same motives as Faber. They become friends quickly, learning that they are much of the same. They also watch the chase for Montag on television, eyeing that they have captured "Montag", the only problem is that it's not truly Montag. The story ends when they see jets overlooking the city and exploding the city into bits with bombs. Montag and his friends move towards the city afterwards to try to rebuild it into what they would want.

Religion, The Source Of All Evil

    "Conclave was not an election. It was an ancient, mystic transfer of power. The tradtition was timeless . . . the secrecy, the folded slips of paper, the burning of the ballots, the mixing of ancient chemicals, the smoke signals" (Brown 156).

     Throughout history, people have fought over rights and feelings and land and most of all, beliefs. The barbarians would fight over food. The Greeks would fight over love (Trojan War). The Romans would fight over land. Europe would fight over religion in the middle east.

    With thousands of wars in our bloody past, we
can look back and find that tradition and religion brought mass conflicts of what is right and wrong. In the book, Angels & Demons, the author depicts a long lasting grudge between religion and other beliefs. The Illuminati is on the opposite side of the Church's rituals and beliefs. They believe that the world's problems could be solved through the power of science, while the church believes that God could help them through. In the 1600s when the Illuminati first was established, the Church hung 4 of the smartest scientists in the world that were apart of the mysterious group. These killings were because of the Church denying any other ideas than what was in the Bible. In the story, the Illuminati gets back at the Church and plants a bomb in the heart of the city while the Conclave was taking place. Also, every hour they would kill one of four main Cardinals!!!!

    The book has a big theme throughout the text. This theme is that culture and religion can bring people to tenacious actions. The ideas that groups enforce on people can affect a society and every individual. That is what happened to the group of people that joined the Illuminati. They believe that science could be the right way to think, but the church prosecuted them for their thoughts. This is what brought them to the conflict happening in the book. In the book, it says, "'Obliteration of Catholicism was the Illuminati's central covenant. The brotherhood held that the superstitious dogma spewed forth by the church was mankind's greatest enemy. They feared that if religion continued to promote pious myth as absolute fact, scientific progress would halt, and mankind would be doomed to an ignorant future of senseless holy wars'" (Brown 32). This quote shows that there are some people that believe their groups are "correct". This leads to lots of holy wars that can lead to the end of the human species. The Catholic Church and the Illuminati back then were extremely bullheaded about their opinions on life. This affected how people lived and what they did. Some people would live and breathe the ideas of christianity while others would believe in science. The conflict altered life back then and brought lots of unknown wars to the world over science and religion that is still prevalent today, like the Bill Nye and Ken Ham debate who fought like the Wibur the pig and the butcher.

    I believe that this book can give someone a learning experience. The book contains the idea that because of people that say "my way or the highway" there are conflicts and fights between different groups. In the book, the author details of the Roman Catholic Church. They had horrid ties with people that believed in science. In the book, it says: "'The world does not need a new Pope. After midnight he will have nothing to rule over but a pile of rubble. The Catholic Church is finished. Your run on earth is done'" (Brown 133). This quote shows the hatred between beliefs that don't give leeway to other ideas. I think that people should not be obstinate or strong headed on culture or religion. Every so often, I go to church. Sometimes, the leader of the service will say that other religions are "wrong" and that we should pray for the group's "sins". I think that calling other religions wrong is unethical and somewhat socially incorrect. Everyone has a right to believe in what they want and just because they don't believe in Jesus does not mean they are bad people. Religion gives hope to everyone and helps people in need, but sometimes their ideas conflict with other groups, leading to more fighting in our world, which we do not need. Though some people are open minded to anything, others seem to be stuck with what they are used to and will not accept different causes. It is not bad to be devoted to a religion, but pushing the belief on others and saying the other is "wrong" crosses the line. The author does a good job of questioning the most prominent fighting over religion. This can help us all see other sides of things and not necessarily agree, but to agree to disagree on things instead of fighting.

-What would the world be like without religion? Would we be advanced? Or would we be troubled with no moral law in the world?

Robert & Vittoria

Angels & Demons is a thrilling novel that leads you down the narrow alleys of Rome, then through the markets and into your imagination. Through out the text, the characters react to the misfortunes of the century. The illuminati had stolen the large amount of Anti-Matter from the scientists in Europe. The characters have varied reactions to the events, that pulls the plot forward.

Robert Langdon is one of the protagonists in this book,  he is one of the characters that keeps the characters sane and not doing absurd things in order to save the citizens of the Vatican City. Robert is one of the more responsible leaders of the group and thinks logically for answers on solving the conflict. "'No. It's dangerous. I'll go'" (Brown, 228). This quote describes the caring and responsible qualities of Langdon. He reacts in a scared way and responsible manner, instead of a crazy approach on finding the truth of the Illuminati.

Vittoria is a strong and courageous woman. Although struggling with the death of her dad, we find her in the book as a strong leader and outgoing adventurer. She often reacts in an outgoing manner. She is the brave military like character that pushes on confronting the disaster directly. "'Move!' Vittoria snapped the phone shut" (Brown, 214). This shows Vittoria's strong attitude and aggressive strategies toward the conflict in the book. Instead of being scared, she reacts in a brave matter and goes to save the city.

Da Vinci Code vs. Angels & Demons

Priory of Sion

The book I am currently reading is called Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. This book is a thrilling sequel to the first book of the series called The Da Vinci Code. In the first book, the author tells a story of the main character Robert Langdon investigating the brutal murder of the Louvre's currator. In Angels & Demons, Robert runs into another problem. He is faced with the death of a famous scientist who was killed then robbed of his new invention of anti-matter. This anti-matter has the potential to power New York for 3 days, but also to destroy an entire city.

As a reader of the series, the books present a thrilling story with lots of history lingering in the mysterious text. Though both stories are appealing to me, I find that The Da Vinci Code is far better than Angels & Demons.

The Da Vinci Code has facts about Mary Magdalene, the Knights Templar, and Priory of Sion. This historical backround really pulls the story forward and makes for a more interesting and mysterious plot. I liked this book a lot more because of it's dark secrets and action packed story.

So far in Angels & Demons, the plot is somewhat boring. The story tells of an Illuminati terrorist that got a hold of antimatter and is planning of bombing Vatican City. As well as bombing the city, he is killing the 4 most important Cardinals every hour till the bomb explodes at 12 AM. Although the book does describe some facts about Galileo and the Illuminati, there are far less interesting and spooky facts in the text. Also, there is less action as the characters try to stop the bomb from exploding. Personally, this book is not as great as the first book. I do predict that the plot will pick up and more action will occure in the next hundred pages or so.

If you have read these two books, which book do you think was more intersting?

Blog Reflection

Throughout this trimester I have learned and evolved as a writer. The blog posts and the ongoing reading at home have brought me to see the creativity in writing as well as the form and structure. Although I am still not the best writer, through more experiences like this blog, I will learn more. Starting off this year was a little bit difficult. Reading is a big weakness of mine. I am a very slow reader but I have noticed an improvement within this year. One struggle I had through this experience was that it was hard for me to just sit down and start reading. I worked past this by making myself every night read a certain amount of pages. Also another struggle was thinking of a good blog to write about. I worked past this by thinking about the characters in the story, and how they affect the theme and the plot. Through some thought and certain processes I was able to write a good blog using textual evidence and creative thinking. Also, a strength I had in writing blogs was picking out the main ideas of the text as well as writing good questions at the end to bring literary thought to the view’s mind. Although I did not read many books this year, I found an interest in writing and reading.

                  Over this year, I have become a better writer. But also, I have grown to understand the main ideas of character and theme. The ideas of character and theme were a bit complex for me in the beginning. I knew what characters did and looked but I did not understand the reasons and thematic concepts within each character. For example, in my 2^nd blog post of this trimester, I explain a little about the main character. “In this book, the main character, Robert Langdon, is a symbolist who knows lots about the history of ancient cultures” (Sones, 2). Before, I would not go in depth on characters. All I knew was the outer shell of a character, not the mindset, feelings, and contributions to the story. I did not know the ideas of dynamic and flat characters as well as complex and static features of each person in the story. Along with my misunderstanding of complex characters, I did not state anything about theme in my blog; this brought an uncreative and boring aspect to the blog. My lack of creative thinking was clearly shown through many of the passages in my 2^nd blog post. “I predict that while investigating this terrible crime, Robert will get himself into lots of trouble like in the last book, The Da Vinci Code” (Sones, 2). Before, I did not go in-depth about theme. I simply wrote down what I thought was going to happen in the plot with no intelligent information, when I could have talked about a prediction of what the theme will be.

                  Fortunately, over the trimester, my writing severely changed for the better. As we talked in class and I wrote/read more, I grew to understand the concepts of theme and character. In time, I added more detail about the complex characters and how they bring messages, convey theme, and pull the plot forward. Also, I brought more thematic ideas to the table. In my 7^th blog post, you can see the changes I made to improve my critical thinking and conceptual ideas. “Olivetti is a Swiss Guard leader that is very strict and strong. Olivetti is very aggressive and can disagree a lot. He pulls the plot by being weary about the Illuminati attack. As the book moves on, Olivetti helps bring the Illuminati to justice. One symbol that would describe him would be a teacher's apple. This describes Olivetti because Olivetti is very strict but is giving and caring like a teacher” (Sones, 7). I grew as a writer over the trimester because instead of putting plain and simple observations, I went to extremes and described how they affect the plot as well as describe them as people. I described each main character with a symbol to show the metaphorical aspects of each person. I now can describe character’s roles in a story as well as how they act, feel, and their characteristics. With my advance in critical thinking on characters, I also became better suited for describing the thematic statements. In my 4^th blog post, you can see the development of my writing. “The author Dan Brown shows the ideas of good and evil in the book…The good and evil in Angels and Demons is depicted in the way the characters act and do in the book. The nature of good and evil can reside in all people; it just depends on how they use their minds. The book also describes how evil should always be stopped and good should always be within society” (Sones, 4). At the beginning of the year, I just wrote simple ideas on plot. I never was able to talk about the concepts and ideas in each character and book. After more reading and writing, I was able to form theme ideas within texts and post them on my blog. I was able to talk about the ideas the book referred to, like good and bad.

                  In all, I grew as a writer over this trimester. I started off writing simple observations with no critical thinking. Eventually, I learned the ideas of character as well as the concepts of theme and thematic ideas.

Blog #2

Blog #4

Blog #7

Setting Up for Conflict

In Angels & Demons, Robert Langdon and Vittoria are in the Vatican City during Conclave. The setting affects the plot because there is a giant bomb in the city that could destroy the whole area and kill everyone and destroy everything inside. If they were to be located in some desert with no people around, the only plot would be to run away from the bomb. Since the setting is the Vatican, there are thoussands of people that could die including the most infuencial religious figures in the world, the cardinals. Not only would lives be lost, but all the sacred documents and historical sites would be demolished. This impact brings suspense and tension to the book because it is a stressful situation knowing that everyone in Rome could die.
"Even from up here he could hear the rumble of activity in the Sistine Chapel below-the uneasy chatter of 165 cardinals. One hundrued sixty-one cardinals, he corrected. For an instant the camerlengo was falling, plummeting toward hell, people screaming, flames engulfing him, stones and blood raining from the sky. And then silence," (Brown)
This quote dementrates the stress and horror the main characters are taking in during this event. The time and place of this conflict makes the book a suspensful and crazy story.

When you are stressed, does the time and place of the conflict affect the play out of the story?

Symbolizing Characters

In the my book, Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, each character is unique in their own way. Ranging from strict and stern, to adventurous and trust worthy. With each new chapter, more is revealed about the characters and the plot in the story.
The main characters are Robert, Vittoria,  and Olivetti. Each have different roles and pull the plot forward.

Olivetti is a Swiss Guard leader that is very strict and strong. Olivetti is very aggressive and can disagree a lot. He pulls the plot by being weary about the Illuminati attack. As the book moves on, Olivetti helps bring the Illunminati to justice. One symbol that would describe him would be a teacher's apple. This describes Olivetti because Olivetti is very strict but is giving and caring like a teacher. He is giving because he helps Robert and Vittoria find the killer. According to the text, " 'Until these numbers count down? Until Vatican City disappears? Believe me, I do not take kindly to people tampering with me security system...I am concerned. It is my job to be concerned. But what you have told me here is unacceptable'" (Brown, 112). This quote shows his aggressive manners and strict rules but also shows how he is caring and giving because he does want everyone's safety.

Vittoria is a strong and fearless girl woman. Vittoria is also a scientist so she is very smart with great ideas. She moves the plot along because she was the one that created the epic bomb that could destroy the Vatican. She also tries to stop the problem by helping the police find the Illuminati member. Vittoria can be symbolized as a wolf because of her strong abilities, fearless mind, and smart ideas. In the text, "'Someone needs to make sure the inside is clean...I meant me'" (Brown, 196). This quote shows her strength and fearlessness in action.

Robert is a history professor that brings lots of twists to the story. He pulls the plot as a protagonist that tries to stop the antagonist from killing thousands of people. Robert is a very smart and strong man. He can be symbolized with an old book. This is because he is a very intellectual person with great qualities. Also, like how an old book is strong because it has lasted for hundreds of years, Robert is also strong. According to the text, "Langdon chuckled to himself. He was amazed how few people knew Santi, the last name of one of the most famous Renaissance artists ever to live." This quote shows Landon's great knowledge and ability to figure things out and help stop the Illuminati.

Based upon the descriptions, what other symbols do you think describe the people's characteristics?

Snow Day Material

In the book, Angles and Demons, Dan Brown describes the challenges brought to the protagonists. There is a Illuminati terrorist in the Vatican city that will blow up the whole city during the conclave. He kidnapped the four most prominent cardinals and says every hour he will kill one in any church in the Vatican. So Langdon and Vittoria help the police solve the issue.
Langdon and Vittoria were sent to the Vatican City Library where thousands of holy documents are stored. After almost suffocating in the air tight volt of the library, they found the book they were looking for. The book was called Diagramma by Galileo. This book is said to depict the route to the Illuminati hide out, also known as the Path of Illumination.

Path of Illumination

Robert believes if they find the path, they could find where the Illuminati member is going to kill the cardinals. They searched the book and found a secret poem that lead them to the Pantheon. In order to stop the terrorist, Robert and Vittoria enter the church with the police surrounding the area to stop the man before he kills anyone.
Do you think they could stop the most secretive group in the world?

I am really enjoying Romeo & Juliet! The activities in class are very interesting. I like the story line of the play and the way the dialogue is written. I find it intriguing that the whole story is propelled through only dialogue and some actions.
In all, I can understand what is happening but usually I cannot comprehend every line in the play.
I can't wait to read more of this famous document!

Mysterious Conflicts

Within the text of Angels & Demons, Robert and Vittoria have a giant problem. They are up against the most ellaborate and mysterious cult from the last 500 years, the illuminati.

Robert & Vittoria

The illuminati is an organization which was not originally evil. They were made during the Roman Catholic rule over all of religion. The group was organized to bring light to science and thoughts which were basically banned by the Catholics. According to the book, many great scientists and philosophers were apart of the illuminati, like Galileo, Ben Franklin, and other great thinkers.
Later, because of all the discrimination against the group, the Illuminati seeked revenge against the Church. According to the book, the illuminati is portrayed as an evil group that only wants to destroy the Catholic Church.
"'Before today's chain of events. I believe the Illuminati have resurfaced to make good on the ancient pact.'
'Forgive me. My history is rusty. What acient pact is this?'
Langdon took a deep breath. 'The destruction of the Vatican City.'"
There is a lot of tension within the book. They need to find who this Illuminati member is and where he is located. If not, all of Vatican city could be destroyed. This includes all the sacred documents, buildings, 2,000 years of history, and all the Cardnals in the world.
In the book, there is a lot of conflict. Most of the conflict is demonstrated through external events. These events bring the plot forward because now the characters have to save the world against the external conflict of the Illuminati.
There are also subtle internal conflicts within each character's mind. For example, Vittoria was heartbroken because the Illuminati had killed her father. According to the text:
"Langdon watched her, suddenly concerned. Is she okay?"
If this problem were brought more to the forefront of the conflict the story would be changed entirely. In the book, Vittoria is very strong and does not cry over her father's death. If the conflict was more relative and showed that Vittoria was sensitive, the story would change for the characters would have to solve Vittoria's sadness. This could distract them away from the Illuminati's external conflict and lead to the destruction of Rome.
Along with the conflict, there is lots of mystery. The mystery is very prevalent, for they have no idea who the Illuminati are and where the ticking bomb was. Also, this mystery brings tension to the story.
In the book, tension arises. The characters become very frustrated with each other and the limited time they had to save the city. They become stressed and irritated with one other leading to uneven relationships.
There are a couple external and internal conflicts through out the book such as the bomb and their feelings. This conflict leads to more mystery and tension with in the book.

Question: What is one problem in your life that has triggered external and internal conflicts? Did those conflicts bring tension and mystery in your life?



Illuminati Link- http://gawker.com/5886988/a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-illuminati-the-conspiracy-theory-that-connects-jay+z-and-queen-elizabeth