Blog 11

Book: Angels and Demons
Pages read this week: 300
Pages read this semester: 1322
Writing Style: Questions

Robert Langdon, a Harvard Symbologist, goes to CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) to help in the investigation of the brutal murdr of Leonardo Vetra, one of the top scientists at CERN, who had discovered antimatter, an opposite of matter which is highly explosive as it has a lot of energy. After the arrival of Vittoria Vetra, Leonardo’s daughter, they discover that the antimatter specimen has been stolen. It is the task of some insider, as no one knew about it. Robert and Vittoria fly off to Vatican City where the canister containing antimatter is reported to have been placed by Illuminati. Both of them disembark on a dangerous journey to find it along with the help of Commander Olivetti of Swiss Guards and Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca. They receive a phone call from the ‘Hassassin’ who claims responsibility of kidnapping four preferiti, the preferred ones for the position of pope. Langdon tries to retrace the so called “Path of Illumination,” hoping to find out the whereabouts of the preferiti. The first cardinal is found dead and they start figuring out the next place.

Que. 1: What does the story makes you wonder about and why?
Ans.: First of all, the story makes me wonder about why Dan Brown chooses similar topics for his storyline. Like ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ‘Angels and Demons’ also involves secret brotherhoods, Catholic Church, murders and above all, an ancient secret. Sometimes, I think how much of the author’s claims are true. I do turn skeptic, even though it is very hard for me to stop reading the book. Where does Dan Brown get so much information from? Is he really a genius? How are his books received by religious organizations? There was huge uproar about ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ but I found nothing about ‘Angels and Demons’ online. I know the Catholic Church committed a lot of crimes against its opponents, but I never knew about the profoundness of them. Until now, I used to think that I have read a lot about religion, but I guess that Christianity and Paganism still require more exploration from me.

Que. 2: What does the author not do well as a writer?
Ans.: Even though ‘Angels and Demons’ is a smartly written book with a very fast paced story, there are some loopholes in the story. First one is that how can be some American (Robert Langdon) leave his country without permission and go to two other countries without any visa? Surely, he or his hosts had some high profile international contacts. However, it seems illogical since everything in the story was supposed to be clandestine. Dan Brown never explained how CERN’s security was breached when Leonardo Vetra’s was murdered in his own bedroom. How can Langdon reach Boston Airport in a car and board the plane witout any check in? And above all, why would CERN contact a Harvard Symbologist to investigate the murder of their top scientist, not Interpol or Police? Dan Brown’s plot is built on over hypothetical assumptions. Still, it was a good book.

Blog 10

Book: The Da Vinci Code
Pages read this week: 247
Pages read this semester: 1022
Weekly style: Quotation

Andrew Vernet fails to get the Keystone. Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu go to a Grail historian, Leigh Teabing, a British knight who lives in France. He saves them from Silas and DCPJ, and take them to London where the next clue of the grail lied. Leigh's servant Remy with the help of Silas kidnapped Leigh and took away the keystone. Langdon and Neveu wandered for the clue and finally reached Newton's grave. They found a note there which asked them to come to a hall to find Leigh. What they discovered was mind blowing and upsetting, Leigh was the one behind all the murders and asaults. Langdon cracked the code, but escaped Leigh also. Silas mistook Bishop Aringarosa as a Police Officer and shot him. He prayed and Bishop was saved, but he himself died. Remy was already killed by Leigh. Leigh was arrested. Bishop urged the twenty million euro in Vatican bonds to be given to family of those murdered in Paris. Sophie met her brother and grandmother who had not died. Sophie was a member of bloodline of Jesus. Her grandmother said that the Priory had no intention to reveal the grail sinve its beauty lies in its secret. She did not know the exact location of the grail. Sophie and Langdon fell in love and set up a 'date.' Langdon discovered the grail to be at the Louvre, in Paris.

"A little faith can do wonders, Captain." (Page 431)

This quote was spoken by Bishop Agnimarosa to Captain Bezu Fache, when the latter met the former in St. Mary's Hospital after the Bishop had recovered from the bulllet injury. Bishop Agnimarosa here is referring to Silas, who had prayed in falling rain for the safety of Bishop's life. Silas did not worry about his own injuries, and died instead.

I agree with the quote, since I have a very strong belief in God and His powers. I have faith in God and wonders, if not miracles, have happened to me also. I have inherited these strong beliefs from my parents. My mother is a very religious lady. Here is an interesting fact about my birth. In the early and middle stages of my mother's pregnancy, when I was in her womb, the doctors discovered that the (my) developments are not those which lead towards a normal delivery. My parents were concerned when they came to know that a surgery may be required, and asked the doctor for any other option. The doctor, who is the nicest doctor I have ever met and a firm believer in God, advised them to pray to God. My parents prayed extensively, and the results was indeed a miracle, my normal delivery. My mom did not take any medications that could have changes the course. A lot of other incidents have strengthened my belief also. My left eye had a miraculous escape when my opponenent's field hockey stick hit me on my left eyebrow couple years ago. Earlier, I had four tests on Friday. Later, two of them were cancelled, allowing me more time for my SAT. A lot of times when I could not study for a test due to genuine reasons, I still scored highly.

There are more incidents I could talk about, but I do not want to make this post my personal journal. However, I do believe that these examples are enough tp strengthen my case.

Blog 9

Book: The Da Vinci Code

Pages read this week: 40

Pages read this semester: 775

Weekly Style: Fan Fiction



Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu arrive at 24 Rue Haxo, which is the Paris branch of Swiss Bank. They go to Sauniere's locker, but do not know either account or password. Somehow, by solving puzzles, they manage to retrieve them. The Bank officials inform the Police, but the Bank President, Andrew Vernet disguises himself as a driver and take Robert and Sophie to safety. He does this because he was an old friend of Jacques Sauniere.

Story

Robert Langdon is a mathemitician, who loves to play with numbers and find out patterns. He lives in the state of Remland in medieval Europe. His wife, Sophie Neveu, is fed up with his craziness, since he gives little attention to her. Also, she thinks that Langdon does not have any talent and is just wasting his time. One day, they have a heated argument over the topic. Langdon leaves the house and goes out in quest for someting that proves his talent. He goes out into another kingdom, and comes to know that the King, Andrew Vernet, is looking for an able person to head the Treasury Department and the test for those who aspire to be on the position is going to take place the next day. The King asks the participants to do calculations. Langdon does the calculations in the least amount of time. In the end, there are two contestants left, Langdon and Bezu Fache. Vernet asks them that numerically, how many times can someone thank someone else. Fache replies "Infinity," but Langdon replies that someone can express his gratitude to someone else for 'One less than infinity' times, because infinity is not a number. Through his wisdom, Langdon is able to attain the post of 'Head of Secretary.' When Sophie comes to know, he meets Robert. Robert is in no mood of forgiving her, but he does so on being insisted by Vernet and also being moved by Sophie's emotional appeals. They live happily (not ever) after then.

Blog 8

Book: The Da Vinci Code
Pages read this week: 130
Pages read this semester: 735
Weekly Style: Questions
Agent Bezu Fache and Robert Langdon continue with their talks about Jacques Saunier's murder and the shape of pentacle in which he was found dead. They are interrupted by Agent Sophie Neveu, who very cleverly tells Robert that Fache thinks that Robert has murdered Sauniere. Sophie deceives Fache and DCPJ by arranging a fake incident of Robert running away. Clues hidden in anagrams lead both Sophie and Langdon to a key with a sign that showed that Sauniere was a member of 'Priory of Sion.' An address on that key takes them to an address of 24 Rue Haxo. They also figure out that they are now involved in the search of 'Holy Grail.' They are fugitives also, so, it is a race against time. At the same time, Silas, who murdered four members of the Priory is worried since they all deceived him and told him a wrong place for the secret.

Que. 1: What do you like or not like about the story? Why?
Ans.: So far, I like everything about the story. Until now, I had only seen thriller movies. It is my first time that I am reading a book which is a thriller, and is also based on a historical background. This is a book that I have read with the most interest so far. It is not very deep, but it is very interesting. It binds the reader and one enjoys a vicarious pleasure. Also, it is written very intelligently. Since my childhood, I have always been fascinated by historical and religious writings. Christianity is a religion about which i knew very little before I moved to America last summer. And this book has revealed some facts and myths for me. I love to play with words, numbers, and puzzles. Those of them which are present here are mind blowing, and above all, every time they unleash a new layer of secret and mystery. I admire this book for its Revelation of symbols and religious stuff to me.

Que. 2: Describe your favorite character. Why is s/he your favorite?
Ans. : My favorite char cater in this story is the Harvard Symbolist, Robert Langdon. I like him because he is so intelligent, and indeed he is the only one who can break every puzzle set forth by Jacques Sauniere. He is adept at making relations between different things which seem unrelated. His vast knowledge of ancient symbols and religions drives me crazy. He is one of those genius detectives who brave every danger to attain their goal. His perspective to look at things is different from everyone else. He is a 'Super-Genius.'

Blog 7

Book: The Da Vinci Code
Pages Read this Week: 37
Pages Read this Semester: 605

Weekly Style: Quotation

“A newly emerging power will take over the existing symbols and degrade them over time in an attempt to erase their meaning.”

This quote was spoken by Robert Langdon while speaking to Bezu Fache during their conversation about the murder of Jacques Sauniere at the crime scene. He was referring to the Pagan symbol of a pentacle and other pagan symbols which have been discarded due to the influence of Christianity’s propaganda against them. And this is not only true for Christianity and Pagan symbols, but for a lot of religions, languages, traditions etc. Everyday, there is at least one language which dies out. Ancient languages like Latin, Greek, Sanskrit have mostly vanished. Religions like Buddhism and Jainism, which once had a good stronghold in Asia, are facing a crisis.
It looks like a law of nature that things become outdated. Things seem to follow a cycle. Empires have emerged and gone away. Nations have been created and destroyed. Sometimes, mostly in the case of religions, one big religion tries to take over many small religions and sects; just like a giant corporation taking over small companies. And this happens in a very planned manner. Actually, my faith, Sikhism is also facing such type of threat from Hinduism. We are trying to survive and fight for our separate identity. This phenomenon happens when a nation tries to rewrite its history by hiding the bad and embarrassing facts of its past. Communism and Socialism as well as Democracy have been victimized in the same manner. So, the quote by Langdon can be related to various scenarios.

Blog 6

Book: The Long Valley
Story: Johnny Bear
pages read this week: 134
Pages read since semester: 568

Writing Challenge: Fan Fiction

Johnny Bear, tall, slim but muscular, shining eyes, round but hardened face. He was a young man who had seen nearly twenty five springs in his life, but not a single one brought charm for him. He lived in this war torn part of Sudan, with no one else but loneliness being his companion. He had lost his father to an encounter between the rebels and the Sudan forces about a decade ago. Couple of years later, his mother and sister were gang raped and killed by the Sudanese army. He was filled with hatred for the ongoing war, which was leading the impoverished nation to nowhere else but destruction. In all those years, he had developed a profound love with the nature, because of no one being left in his family; but, something he loved the most was the Gorilla family. He liked to watch all seven of them play, eat and lice together. They reminded him of his own family. Among the sounds of flying bullets, falling mortars and grenades, they were the ones who delighted him. Johnny would think that among all those who are destroying the peace on earth, there is still something which mother nature has kept intact to make her destroyers aware of her presence and delicacy. He feared that they could be hurt, but both sides always valued them. However, one day, some gunshots were heard in the night. No one anticipated why they were fired. Within next few days, bodies of all seven members of gorilla family were found to be shot to death. Johnny was deeply hurt. So much that he decided to leave Sudan at once. He wanted to get away from the habitat destroyers, man hunters, and apathetic creatures of God, who call them the superior of all species.

Blog 5

Book: The Long Valley, Story: The White Quail
Pages read this week: 92
Pages read since semester:434

Weekly Style: Questions

Mary Teller is married to Harry Teller. Long before they got married, Mary had a dream to have he own garden. When they bought their new house, she supervised the construction of whole garden. Her garden was her life as she was over obsessed with it. The appearance of a while quail in her garden makes her see it as her own image. Harry kills the quail unintentionally, but it makes him realize how lonely he is.

Que. 1: Give your reaction to what you read.
Ans.: This is an excellent story, very deeply written which describes the human nature in an authentic manner. John Steinbeck is indeed a master of expression of human feelings and sentiments. At first, when I read this story, I found it kind of confusing, but my second attempt gave me an insight to Mary’s character. Use of wild vegetation as outside world which is trying to invade Mary’s own separate world (garden) is superb. The story shows how one has to compromise with the other’s desires after marriage, and how a holy relationship like marriage can be used by one for his own use.

Que. 2: Why do the characters in the book do what they do?
Ans.: The story has two characters, Harry Teller, who is an insurance agent; and his wife, Mary. Harry deeply loves his wife. He fulfills every single demand put forth by her. He allows her to design the garden according to her wish, and even gives up the idea of buying a dog, as it can damage the garden. Sometimes, he is worried about her wife’s passion towards gardening. Being a loving husband, he helps her as much as he can, since he does not want her to complain. He even kills the white quail because he realizes that her wife thought that it was her, not the quail, who was threatened by cat (outside world). In the end, he reaches this painful conclusion that garden was the only thing in Mary’s life, and he was something unwanted but necessary.

Mary is a portrayal of the selfishness and materialism which has long gripped the western culture, and is now infiltrating into eastern cultures also. Her only aim in life is to have a garden. When Harry proposed her, she asked him if she could have her own garden. She let him kiss her thrice in the story. Both of them slept in separate rooms. Is this really a marriage, or she was just doing performing some formalities. She made marriage a bargain, like a trade agreement. She was so much possessive that the wild vegetation on the hill next to their house seemed a threat to her for her garden. When a cat was about to kill white quail, she screamed because she looked upon the quail as it was herself. The quail reminded her of her own past. In short, she did not want anything from outside world to tamper with her prefect garden (life). She used to address the plants with pronouns used for persons. She did not want to change any plant from the garden, even if it died. She planned to replace it with a plant of same kind. Her character reminds me of another Bollywood (Indian) movie, in which a girl thought that his boyfriend existed, but in reality he did not. That girl was suffering from a mental disease, but I do not know what to say about Mary.

Blog 4

Book: A Farewell to Arms
Pages read last week: 92
Pages read since semester: 342

Weekly Style: Quotation

“ Do not forget that (love) is a religious feeling.”

Love is a religious feeling. Sounds interesting and a bit ridiculous? No, it is not ridiculous. I believe that love can be religious also, especially your love for God. I come from a religion where the devotion and love for God are profound as well as paramount. It was the love of God that gave my ancestors the courage to get themselves boiled in hot water and cut by saws. Their body parts were cut one by one. Even infants and toddlers were tossed up in air and caught on lances, and the garlands of their intestines decorated the necks of their mothers. 40 persons offered stiff resistance to a million. All this for what and why? The answer is for God, due to his love and for justice, righteousness and good of humanity.
Even the holy Sikh scriptures, our present Guru, ‘Guru Granth Sahib ji,’ contains holy hymns written by our prophets. They portray human soul as a bride who is in grief due to its separation from the ‘Supreme Soul’ (God). She is longing for her unification with Him, which she can earn only through good deeds and by remembering Him.
My motive was not to praise my faith, but to present my viewpoint through it. I believe that, “Self praise is no recommendation.” Love requires your selfless devotion for someone, and thus can be termed religious. However, love can be blind, and so does faith; but neither one justifies any wrongdoing done by anyone to attain his goal, even if he did it due to his devotion. Every faith advocates the love for God. One feels that it his duty to be true to his love, and he has the similar feeling towards his faith also. You can fight with the world for you love and your faith. People who advocate going to forests or high mountains for long prayers are terribly wrong, in my opinion. It is pretty pessimistic to give up this world for love. (I am not talking about committing suicide.) Faith can also be exercised by being part of this world. In the end, I can conclude Count Greffi was not wrong in saying the quote to Frederick Henry.

Blog 3

Book: A Farewell to Arms
Pages read this week: 84
Pages read since semester: 250

Weekly Style: Writing Challenge, Fan Fiction

Frederick Henry is the only son of a wealthy businessman who is well settled in New York. His father provided him with everything, but love and care of a father, after Henry’s mother died soon after delivering him. Frederick loves to just live life, and never really thinks seriously about it. In short, he is a troubled and spoiled son of a rich man. Henry goes on a voyage of different countries. He meets a young girl named Catherine Barkley in England. They both fall in love at first sight, but are reluctant in expressing it to the other and confessing it. After some hesitation, they realize and finally accept the truth. Henry marries Catherine, and they come back to America. Henry’s father accepts him too. Frederick and Catherine had dreamed of a happy married life, but things are never so easy. They had not sorted out and talked about many matters before marriage, which begin to cause them problems. Catherine is always sincere about life, but Fred keeps ignoring them. They were supposed to adjust to each other and realize their commitment to one another as life partners, something in which Fred failed miserably. Fred’s irresponsible acts such as spending whole night out of the house aggravated the situation. His father never really had an authority over him. The lively and good looking couple began to part their ways by the end of first year of their marriage. At last, Catt decided to go back to England for sometime, in order to teach Fred a lesson. However, the plane crashed, killing all aboard, bringing a sad end to the story, and ending the world for Fred as he realized how lonely he has become now.

Blog 2

Book: A Farewell to Arms
Pages read this week: 76
Pages read since semester: 166

Frederick Henry, after being injured at the front, was sent to Milan for better treatment of his injured knee ands Catherine Barkley is also transferred there. Henry goes under knife for his knee. Both he and Catherine spend the entire summer together, and they also make love at night, which consequently leads to her pregnancy. By the end of book two, Henry leaves for the front, late by three weeks due to jaundice.

Questions
Que. 1: Why did you choose this story? Has it met your expectations so far? Why or why not?
Ans.: I chose this story because I had heard a lot about Ernest Hemingway and his novels. I had always longed to read his works, and the title of ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ had always fascinated me. Moreover, I consulted my sister’s English teacher from last year, Mr. Dyer, about some book. War stories have been my favorites, whether they are books, real life incidents or Indian movies. Also, this book is romantic too. Until now, I have enjoyed the book, except for the love making part(s). I do not like to read about that stuff because I consider such things unethical and immoral. However, it does make the story more realistic. The rhetoric and concreteness of the lexicon are just fabulous. In addition to all this, the youthful vigor of the characters of the story make the book a masterpiece, and it can be enjoyed by people from all walks of life. The connotation of the incidents has moved me the most, and that is why I have neglected some minor flaws of the story.

Que. 2: What does the story or the characters remind you of?
Ans.: The characters of the story remind me of one of my favorite movies, “Veer Zaara.” It is an Indian Bollywood movie, but certainly novel, not a copy of a Hollywood movie. It involves the love story of an Indian Air Force officer, Sq. Ldr. Veer Pratap Singh; and a Pakistani girl, Zaara. Now, everyone knows that there is no love lost between India and Pakistan. Things are better now, but they were very bad before. Being a Punjabi and a Sikh, I feel the pain of partition of India. Both Veer and Zaara are in love with each other, but they could not marry, and I need not tell why. Although I have watched this movie numerous times, yet it is very close to my heart due to its emotional appeal, and the sentiments it erupts in one’s mind. Fredrick Henry and Catherine Barkley are just like Veer and Zaara for me.

Honorable Mr. Seal, I did not want to play a spoilsport by narrating the entire story of "Veer Zaara."

Blog 1

Book Title: A Farewell To Arms
Pages Since Last Week: 90
Pages Since Semester: 90

Weekly Style: Quotation

“There isn’t always an explanation for everything.”

In the book, the main character Frederic Henry speaks this quotation while talking with Helen Ferguson, an English nurse, when she asks him why he is in Italian Army even though he is an American. In my opinion, this quotation becomes of a great significance as we move on into the book. I found some things, some instances where I was either confused by the lack of a reason for some ting or I was not satisfied with the writer’s explanation. An example is why did Catherine Barkley allow Henry to kiss her, even though she had slapped him seconds ago when he had made similar attempt. That was one of the many incidents when I pondered over her ambivalence.
Even in real world we find a lot of happenings which go unexplained. One is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Why was he killed? No one really knows about it. Another one is about the whereabouts of notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden. What created the planet earth or this universe? Such things prompt people to make guesses of wide variety and range. And sometimes, there is indeed no explanation of some things. It is just better to avoid them. Because the reality might be more hurting. And that does explain the reply given by Henry to Helen. Perhaps, he was tired of the same question, and so, did not wish to respond to it. I can relate the same situation to my life also. Like when I am asked about my career choice, I try to step away from the question. My point is that one finds it easier to skip troubling question rather than actually answering them. Another example is Barack Obama not explaining why he voted in favor of Iraq war and John McCain defending Bush policies and neglect of Afghanistan besides Sarah Palin’s willingness to attack Pakistan, which he opposes. Because the answers to them will be more damaging than being quiet. So, everyone, at some point in his or her life, does face such type of situation, where he or she tries to get away with a mistake without acknowledging it.