This blog is a part of Academic Activity. A task was assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad sir to ponder upon the following questions. To visit the teacher's blog for the same
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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."
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown questions the deep rooted religious narrative which is accepted widely in society from generation to generation. So, Novel questions the sacred beliefs which are accepted widely as holy or pious. It questions the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ which are supposed to be a Disciple and Teacher relationship. But the novel breaks this belief by stating that Mary Magdalene is not a virgin, She is the wife of Jesus. The novel deliberately tries to portray that The Last Supper painting by Da Vinci highlights the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. So, These are some of the points which the novel came with are totally opposite to what Christian believes. Now the question arises is then why Dan Brown says that…
his books are not anti-Christian,
though he is on a
'constant spiritual journey' himself.
Here, comes the debate between what is being Theorist and what is being to atheist. So, Questioning religion is not about being atheist or taking people away from religion. The prime focus behind Questioning religion is to overcome the damages which are done to the human mind by religious practices. So, What Dan Brown is doing here is raising the question of what religious people used to believe by taking history as evidence. But Dan Brown very excellently also came with the point that whatever portrayed in history is also not factual. Jason Cowley one critic states that….
Novel brings out “ many of the most urgent political themes of our time- religious extremism, the idea that history itself is a vast conspiracy, the power of secret network societies over our lives , the global reach of the internet , the omnipresence of satellite surveillance and other new technologies “.
So, What Dan Brown probably wants to say through the above statement is that History is created by Man. So, These are constructed works which provide perspective of winners or people with power.
By demonstrating 'The Da Vinci Code' is an "an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate' ' may be Dan Brown wants to curve people's thinking neither towards religiosity or nor of Atheism but instead his story becomes more indicative towards spiritual discussion. And he wants to suggest that…
the book may be used "as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith."
To sum up it can be said that Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code is neither history nor theology fiction. It is only an entertaining story which questions religious beliefs in order to save the human mind from the damages done to the human mind on the name of so called Religion. So, It is not Anti-Christian nor of Christian and never an atheist novel, But transcends beyond that and gives an introspective and Exploratory approach to rethink our religious faith.
“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?
Speculative fiction is any fiction in which the “laws” of that world (explicit or implied) are different from ours.
The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown can be considered as an Speculative fiction. As the above definition of Speculative Fiction mentions, The Da Vinci code also tries to make some statements which are explicitly wrong or implied by the writer in order to make the text more imaginative, fictional, attractive or interesting.
If we put The Da Vinci Code under the genre of Speculative Fiction so we can justify the novel according to the above given figure. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a retelling of historical facts with some fictional touch and fantasies. It also includes some scientific elements which make the novel absolutely true or accurate. But the novel is more in the realm of Speculative Novel because what is shown here absolutely true might not be 100% true. Certain aspects like What Holy Grail is? Meaning of Sacred Feminine according to the novel, Conflict regarding Mary Magdalene's marriage, whether the priory of sion exist or not? Certain codes which are hidden in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting are fact or fiction? So, These are some of the elements which are shown as accurate or fact. But whether they are truths of history or fabricated truths of history remains open for discussion or debate.
So, As Norris J. Lacy making some observations that “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."
"Attridge noted that there are facts in the book, but that the facts are taken out of historical context and spun wildly to fit the conspiratorial theme of the novel."
The novel portrays that Christianity has suppressed Sacred Feminine which is totally opposite to Christian beliefs about Women and Child in the past. Another fabricated truth is about Holy Grail. According to ancient myth holy Grail is a cup which is used in The Last supper. But the novel deliberately tries to say that Holy Grail is not a cup but Mary Magdalene who carried on Jesus' bloodline.
Another problematic thing which novel tries to demonstrate and which also hurts the Christian Sentiment is about relationships between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. According to Christian myths Mary Magdalene is a disciple of Jesus but the novel deliberately put forward Leonardo Da Vinci's painting and through it says that Mary Magdalene is wife of Jesus and carrying his bloodline. One critic Attridge who delivered a lecture on “Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code,” says that Brown uses the sentences from Gospel but they are taken out of context. And we know that when context is removed from sentences they can be twisted in whatever way we want.
“He [Jesus] loved her [Mary] more than the rest of us,” is taken out of context. Biblical scholars understand the quote as a move by the authors of these gospels in support of female leadership in the church by alluding to Jesus’ support of Mary, rather than a clue to any special relationship between Jesus and Mary."
So, These is how the very historical facts are very creatively turned into Imaginative stories that for readers it has become harder to draw a clear line between fact and fiction.
"Most people who read The Da Vinci Code have no way of separating historical fact from literary fiction,"
(Bart Ehrman chairman of the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina and author of Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code.)
In nutshell it can be said that what Norris J. Lacy claims is far more authentic that 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. Because in the novel historical facts are exploited in such a way that the line between history and fiction remains almost unseen.
"Dan Brown writes an “alternative history” without giving the reader the ability to see where his facts begin and end. Literary scholars see the difference; the average reader may not."
(If)You have studied ‘Genesis’ (The Bible), ‘The Paradise Lost’ (John Milton) and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ (Dan Brown). Which of the narrative/s seems to be truthful? Whose narrative is convincing to the contemporary young mind?
Structuralist Approach of literary Criticism believe that the stories are same but the way it is narrated are different and changing from time to time and person to person. Structuralism further believes that things in literature cannot be understood in isolation. We have to look upon them as part of a larger structure. As one critic Jorge Luis Borges also states that...
"Literature is not exhaustible, for the sufficient and simple reason that a single book is not. A book is not an isolated entity: it is a narration, an axis of innumerable narrations. One literature differs from another, either before or after it, not so much because of the text as for the manner in which it is read." (Jorge Luis Borges)
So, Narrative of a text depends on Individual perspective, Atmosphere in which writer living, Cultural, Social, Religious or Political Background of place. And how readers read this Narrative also become an integral part in Narration study. So, Here the writer tries to connect how The Narrative of Genesis, The Paradise Lost and The Da Vinci Code are similar and contrary to each other. And which narrative is more acceptable seems more convincing to contemporary modern youth.
If you look at Genesis then many scholars believe that the first book of Genesis was written during 4500 BC to 4000 BC which is almost 3400 years ago. The Book of Genesis is more of a God Centric Narrative where God is the only man who created earth. It is believed that Genesis is a 'direct voice of God' so there is no scope for questioning and doubting. God is the only almighty and whatever he says(what is said in Genesis) is the only truth. So, Genesis is written from Divine Perspective.
Now coming down to Paradise Lost by John Milton which is written in 10 books first published in 1667. Which is 354 year old from now. And if we compare Paradise Lost with Genesis then it was written approximately 3000 years after Genesis. So, Here we find vast differences in the years it was written and it is obvious that with changing time perspective will also change. So, Paradise Lost is a retelling of a biblical story which covers the 'fall of a man from heaven.' The story Paradise Lost is narrated from a Human Perspective, where the voice of humans became important. Humans are questioning God. But Paradise Lost fails to some extent because it concludes everything by imposing the power of God upon man. Where questions which are asked to God remain unanswered or untouched. So, It can be said that Paradise Lost is an attempt to narrate a Biblical story from a humanistic perspective, but ultimately ends by showing superiority of God over Humans.
Now coming down to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown which is a very recent example of Biblical Retelling. But the book remains much more in controversy and claims to present fabricated Historical and Scientific facts. Here You find that the unreasonable line between God is Human is almost cleared here. The Book portrays Marry Magdalene and Jesus as living descendants like Human Beings. Even Sophie Neveau who is represented here as a living decse is shown as part of the Human Community.
Among these Three narratives which are narrated in different times, The Narrative of The Da Vinci Code seems more truthful to young/ modern minds. Because The Da Vinci Code is a more rational and practical attempt to answer the question of divinity and God. The novel represents even God as human beings or either they are part of the Human Community.
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