Gina Tangelo

Modern World History

August 30, 2016
Section F

Summer Reading Assignment for World History II: The Age of Exploration
to Modern History (1450 - Present)
1. Question: As a symbologist, Robert Langdon has a wealth of academic
knowledge that helps him view the world in a unique way. Now that you've read The Da
Vinci Code, are there any aspects of life/history/faith that you are seeing in a different
light?
Answer: An aspect of faith that I see differently now is an aspect of Christianity. Some
members of this religion believe that pain is good. They think that they should torture and
harm themselves just so they can feel the pain that Jesus did. They also think that it is fine
to kill and murder others and that it is not a sin (though according to their beliefs, it is).
Another aspect of faith that I see differently is sex in the Christian view. Though most
people think that the Christians view sex as a bad thing, that is not exactly the case. There
were actually men back then who only had sex with women as a route to heaven.
Learning this new information just made me wonder if there are still people like this in
the world. I wonder if there are actually still people who believe that having sex with
girls will get them to heaven. This thought is just extremely strange and disturbing to
think about. Though there were a few other aspects that struck me, these two were the
ones that were the most interesting to me.

2. Question: What observations does this novel make about our past? How do these
ideas relate to our future?
Answer: One observation that the novel makes about our past is that Jesus had a wife.
This means that his wife must have had children for there to be descendants of Jesus. In
the future, this observation destroys what the Christians believe in. In the Bible, it is said
that Jesus said that the Church was his bride and when he returns, he will take the Church
back to heaven where a wedding ceremony will take place. If this observation is true,
then this cannot happen and there will be no wedding because there has already been one.
Now this brings a lot of controversies relating to whether Jesus was really the son of God
or whether he was just a regular man. Another observation that is made about our past is
the fear of Friday the 13. In this novel, it is said that the real reason why this particular
Friday is so feared is because of what happened on October 13, on a Friday. On this day
in history, the Pope decided to send in troops to find the treasure that the Vatican and the
Church had been searching for for years. When the troops went searching in cities, they
killed many innocent people, and this traumatized many others for centuries to come. In
our future, Friday the 13 is said to be feared because of the 13 disciples at the Last
Supper and the fact that Jesus apparently died on a Friday, so putting the two together
leads to this incomprehensible fear. The only thing similar about these two stories from
the past is that people are now scared of this Friday and fear that bad luck will come to
them on this day, though it does not seem to always be the case. Therefore, the
observations that this novel makes about our past can make people doubt whether what
we are being told is true.

3. Question: If you could spend a day in any of the places described in this novel,
where would it be, and why? The Louvre? Westminster Abbey? Rosslyn Chapel? The
Temple Church? Somewhere else described in the novel?
Answer: If I could spend a day in any place, it would The Louvre. All the other places
seem nice, but they also look like they would look ancient and there is nothing interesting
to be found there. I would go to The Louvre because I have already been there.
Unfortunately, I only walked around the inside trying to get out, and that was not long
enough. Also, I went past the outside pyramid and thought it looked fascinating. I want to
go back because even though Im normally not a fan of museums nor do I like looking at
paintings, this museum seems really captivating and looks appealing. Next time I go to
Paris I would like to spend enough time seeing more of what The Louvre has in store. I
might find some paintings that interest me or find additional information about some
stories and historic elements that I have heard and been intrigued about. The inside of
The Louvre also seemed to be more modern and more interesting to look at. I also would
love to practice my French more.

4. Question: Would you rather live in a world without religionor a world without
science?
Answer: I would rather live in a world without religion because according to the story,
religion makes people do silly things. For example, according to some peoples beliefs
they think that pain is a good thing. This is causing people to practically kill themselves
for no reason at all. If there was no science in the world, then there would not be
explanations for some theories that not even religion can explain. Religion can cause
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wars among different beliefs and also create controversies. Another reason is since there
are so many different religions that believe so many different things, for example
polytheistic and monotheistic religions, even the religions do not agree on everything. So
if people who are religious do not all believe the same thing, then how will the whole
entire world believe the same thing. With science, everyone can agree on the same thing
since there is proof that these things are true, especially for people who will not believe
anything until they see it. I feel that currently religion is ruining the peace that all the
religions are trying to teach people just because some people do not believe in things
without physical evidence. Even though science is also causing controversies between
other scientists, I think that science is something that is easier to understand. Explaining
something religious to a non-religious person is not as easy as explaining a scientific
theory to a common person. I would much rather have a world with more peace and not
as many conflicts instead of a world where everyone is forced to believe in a sort of
religion.

5. Question: Does the world have a right to know all aspects of its history, or can an
argument be made for keeping certain information secret? Who should decide? Would
governments or other leaders with wealth and influence be justified in withholding
information that could change how most people perceive the world?
Answer: The world does have the right to know all aspects of history, but there are some
aspects that should be kept a secret for peoples own safety. There are some things that if
exposed to the wrong people, they could be used in the wrong way, as ways of war
instead of ways of knowledge. For example, Leigh Teabing and Opus Dei were willing to

kill people just to get to their desired aspects of history. What they would have done with
the knowledge, no one knows now, but it may not have been good. Instead of the
government always being the only ones to decide, historians and other common people
should also play some part in that decision. Since historians are some of the people who
understand history best, they should really be the ones to determine which parts of some
stories that are commonly known should be revealed. Governments and other leaders
with wealth and influence would feel justified because they want to keep the world how it
is. If information would have negative results, then they have the right to withhold the
information for the greater good.

6. Question: Langdon and Teabing disagree as to whether the Sangreal documents

should be released to the world. If you were the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion,
would you release the documents? If so, what do you think their effect would be?
Answer: If I was the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, I would not release the
documents. These documents would change the worlds perspective of history as it is.
Another reason why I would not release the documents is because the documents cannot
be proven to be true facts about our past. If these documents were released, the Christians
as well as the Catholic Church would not be able to believe the fact that there are
documents that could prove that what they believe is wrong. These documents could
prove that Jesus was not actually the son of God as well the fact that Jesus had sex with a
woman in order for there to be descendants. All of these factors would lead to having the
church looking to persecute not just me as the Grand Master, but also looking to
persecute the whole Priory of Sion. I also would not want to have the whole world to be

confused as to what the truth is. Releasing these documents would cause conflicts
between historians, religious figures, and the world as it is. The documents should be kept
a secret and only be known by the Priory of Sion for the safety of the Priory and the
safety of the Church.

7. Question: What is the novel's theme? What central message or idea links all the
other components of the novel together?
Answer: The theme of this novel is the false conflict between faith and knowledge. The
novel expresses the ignorance of the Church and how they frown upon the idea of
descendants of Jesus because Jesus never slept with anyone for him to have any
descendants. The central message is the subjectivity of history. In this novel there are
many reinterpretations of common stories, raising the question of whether history books
only tell the truth. The stories that are rewritten in different perspectives throughout the
book make people wonder if there really is another side to history. For example, when
Leigh Teabing was discussing the painting of The Last Supper done by Leonardo Da
Vinci, the painting was looked at focusing on another point. This main focus was not
Jesus, his disciples, and the wine, which is normally the focus of the painting, but the
shape of Mary Magdalene and how it is the same shape as Jesuss shoulder. More
examples include the story of Jesuss life, Mary Magdalene's life and where shes buried,
and the story of the pentacle. Though these reinterpretations of common stories and facts
can be looked at as false information, all of the reinterpretations are at least partly true
since at the beginning of the novel it is said that the things written in the book are
accurate. This last comment can also be understood in many different ways.