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!
I like how you used quotes directly from the book. It helps me get an idea of the writer's style. I might read this because the author seems to use very descriptive words a lot and makes it more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comment. It was cool how you selected some direct quotes to give the reader a feel for what the author's style is to give us a better idea if we're interested in reading. Most blogs don't do that
ReplyDeleteI've always toyed with the idea of reading something by Dan Brown. Maybe this will be the final push, I don't know, I'm kind of lazy. I do like authors who use foreign terms because it's one way to show your legitimacy.
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