When he gets the order from the Teacher to murder all the top four members of the Priory, Silas actually is very reluctant to do it. He is actually very
reluctant to even hold a weapon, “At Rémys suggestion, Silas had wiped down his gun and disposed of it through a sewer grate. He was glad to get rid of it. He
felt lighter” p. 411. However, since he is told that these “heathens” p. 59 are a threat to his belief, and that the keystone that they hold will lead to the Holy Grail
– the key to give Opus Dei great power over the church – he is eager to kill. He kills all the top four members of the brotherhood both in order to force them to tell
the location of the keystone and to punish them for mocking Opus Dei, his sanctuary.
When he comes to Saint Sulpice church he does not originally plan to kill the presiding Sister Sandrine, because at first, Silas thinks that Sister Sandrine has
nothing to do with the brotherhood. She is a woman of the cloth, and it is not her fault the brotherhood chose
her church as a hiding place for their keystone. She should not be punished for the sins of others p. 95.
But when Silas finds out that Sister Sandrine is actually helping the brotherhood to hide the keystone, his attitude changes. He eventually becomes enraged and
kills the Sister when she criticizes Opus Dei’s harsh ways in applying the word of God. Silas cannot tolerate those who question Opus Dei’s doctrine, and therefore
loses his temper when he hears the sister questioning the righteousness of it. According to him, this sister deserves to be killed because by scorning the work of
Opus Dei, this sister is working against God, and enemies of God must be exterminated. This twisted doctrine is so explicit in Silas that rest of the characters
51 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
can see it. Robert Langdon, for example, knows that Silas is so obsessed with the keystone that he is ready to sacrifice people to obtain it.
Although Silas sneered outwardly at the threat, he felt a flash of fear. This was unexpected. He aimed the gun at Langdons head and kept his voice as
steady as his hand. “You would never break the keystone. You want to find the Grail as much as I do.”
“Youre wrong. You want it much more. Youve proven youre willing to kill for it” p. 387.
C. The Significance of Silas’ Religious Fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code
Literature is one of the media that is used by many philosophers to reflect their idea. First, philosophers use literary works for both criticizing the issue that
occur and after that they use the criticism to find the truth and goodness Knight, 1962: 14-15. Thus the criticism and the truth and good finding can be found
through the character of Silas in The Da Vinci Code. As a character, Silas is essential to the storyline of The Da Vinci Code
because many of the events that happened in this novel take place because of this character. This character is especially significant for the role as the murderous
fanatic. And through studying this character’s example of religious fanaticism, the writer is able to learn two important points regarding religious fanaticism. First,
Silas’ religious fanaticism is used by Dan Brown to criticize the issue of religious fanaticism that occurs in the society and second to give religious followers,
particularly the Christians a better understanding regarding the attitude to take in facing religious fanaticism.
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1. To Criticize the Issue of Religious Fanaticism a. The Ignorance of Religious Fanaticism
Essentially, human beings are born to be truth seekers because they truly know that their understanding of the truth is never perfect. Religion is one of the
media that is used by humanity to search for the truth. While religion may not be perfect, it has successfully guided many people in taking the wiser decisions in
life. A good and wholesome understanding of religion, therefore, should help people to lead a happier life on earth.
This is not the case for most fanatics and this is the case that Dan Brown wants to criticize about religious fanaticism. As a religious fanatic, Silas is not a
truth-seeker. He usually does not use religion as a tool to seek truths because he considers his understanding of the Law of God is perfect. In fact, he usually does
not have a wholesome understanding of his religion. He only uses parts of his religion’s belief that “For two millennia, Christian soldiers had defended their
faith against those who tried to displace it” p. 34 as his evidence to support his conclusions regarding the truth, even if those conclusions are intolerant, bigoted,
and violent and he would usually feel that his conclusions are absolute because it is supported by parts of his religion – although his religion may actually prove to
be in contradiction with the conclusions. Thus, ironically, this attitude results in the ignorance of the fanatic’s own religion; and religious fanaticism then becomes
a form of spectacular ignorance of the basic nature of the true religion. Silas’ religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code represents his lack of
understanding regarding his own Christianity. Since becoming a monk at Opus 53
