Analysis of Elements of Plot in dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya membahas elements of plot dalam novel yang
berjudul Angels and Demons, karangan penulis berkebangsaan Amerika Serikat,
Dan Brown. Saya memilih untuk menganalisis buku ini karena menurut saya
novel ini merupakan contoh novel bergenre thriller yang baik, yang mengandung
unsur-unsur suspense, surprise dan artistic unity yang baik pula.
Angels and Demons bercerita tentang Robert Langdon, seorang profesor
spesialis simbol-simbol kuno yang diminta untuk menangani kasus pembunuhan
seorang ilmuan di Swiss dan berakhir di kota Vatikan. Dia harus menghadapi
kasus penculikan sekaligus pembunuhan yang sangat terencana. Unsur suspense
begitu terasa dalam novel ini karena pembaca dapat merasakan ketegangan ketika
Langdon berupaya mengungkapkan kasus yang berujung pada ancaman senjata
bom pemusnah masal yang ditanam di jantung kota Vatikan. Unsur surprise juga
sangat menonjol karena pembaca mendapati beberapa kejadian di luar dugaan
pembaca. Setiap kejadian ditata sedemikian rupa sehingga menciptakan cerita
yang menarik dan masuk akal sesuai dengan teori artistic unity.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
i
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................
ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statements of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study ...........................................................................
Method of Research ............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
3
3
4
4
CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION OF ELEMENTS OF PLOT IN ANGELS
AND DEMONS ...................................................................................
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION .........................................................
24
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
27
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Angels and Demons ..........................................................
Biography of Dan Brown .....................................................................
29
30
i
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Thriller is a genre of fiction in which “though, resourceful, but essentially
ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their
country or the stability of the free world” (Bennet). Thriller deals with “tales of
excitement, suspense, and high melodrama. It often overlaps with other genres of
literature and film, such as crime, adventure, and espionage” (“What are the
Characteristic of the thriller genre”). Thriller has many subgenres such as techno
thriller, crime thriller, religious thriller, and mystery thriller. Angels and Demons
is categorized as mystery thriller genre. Mystery thriller “relates a lot to crime
thrillers. It focuses mostly on the efforts of the detective or private investigator in
order to solve the mystery. This sub-genre looks at the circumstances of the
mystery or crime itself in order to try to figure out what the clues are, audiences
usually take part in trying to uncover the crime”(Koshi).
One famous contemporary mystery thriller writer is Dan Brown. His goal
in writing his novel is “to make the character’s and plot be so engaging that
1
Maranatha Christian University
readers don’t realize how much they are learning along the way” (Olson). One of
his novels, entitled The Da Vinci Code, became a bestselling novel in 2003 which
sold 40 million copies around the world (“Angels and Demons”). Before that,
Brown also published another novel entitled “Angels and Demons”. Brown
receives a negative response from a Catholic newspaper that creates a controversy
due to the content of Angels and Demons. These two novels share similarities in
content, so people say, “structurally of course, the plots and characters of the two
novels are kissing cousins” (Olson). Angels and Demons novel is “well plotted
and explosively paced! Crammed with Vatican intrigue and hi-tech drama. Laced
with enough twists and shocks to keep the reader wired right up until the final
revelation” (“Angels and Demons”).
In this thesis, I choose to analyze one of Dan Brown’s novels entitled
Angels and Demons. Angels and Demons is the prequel novel of The Da Vinci
Code and The Lost Symbol in which Robert Langdon is the protagonist of the
novels. Angels and Demons is the first of Dan Brown thriller novel, which became
very famous when it was first published in May 2000 (“Dan Brown”). This novel
is classified as a mystery thriller and it tells about the story of Robert Langdon, a
Professor of religious iconology from Harvard University, a teacher who later
receives an invitation from Maximilian Kohler, the CEO of CERN to come to
Switzerland. There, Langdon has to deal with a murder case of a scientist named
Leonardo Vetra, whose chest is branded with an ambigram symbol of Illuminati, a
satanic brotherhood which Langdon thought to be extinct. Throughout the novel,
Langdon tries to overcome a series of thrilling events caused by the Illuminati.
Brown’s writing style is easy to understand and more importantly, he is able to
2
Maranatha Christian University
describe the person and the places in a very detailed manner. Therefore, when the
readers read the novel, they can feel the suspense as if they experienced the event
themselves.
As this novel contains a lot of thrilling events, I will analyze the elements
of plot, which consist of suspense, surprise, and artistic unity. Suspense is “the
quality in a story that makes the reader ask ‘what’s going to happen next?’ or
‘how will this turn out?’ and impels him to read on to find the answers to these
questions” (Perrine 45). Surprise is “proportional to the unexpectedness of what
happens; it becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from the
reader’s expectation” (47). The Artistic Unity is defined as:
“The condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements
work together for the achievement of its central purpose. In an artistically
unified work nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central, nothing is
omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the most
effective order for the achievement of that purpose” (“Artistic Unity”).
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss are stated as follows:
1. What are the suspenses in the novel?
2. What are the surprises in the novel?
3. How is the artistic unity presented in the novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the above statement of the problem, the purpose of the analysis
includes:
3
Maranatha Christian University
1. To show the suspenses in the novel.
2. To show the surprises in the novel.
3. To show how the artistic unity is presented in the novel.
Method of Research
I use library research in writing the analysis of the novel. After reading Dan
Brown’s Angels and Demons as the primary text, I collected data from various
Internet sites and other references from the library. Then, I analyzed the elements
of plot in the novel. In the end, I drew a conclusion of what I had analyzed.
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of three chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents and
Abstract. Chapter One is Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study,
Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Analysis of the Elements of Plot in
Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. Chapter Three is the Conclusion and the thesis
ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist of a synopsis of the
novel and the biography of the author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, I come to the
conclusion that the novel is an exciting thriller novel because the elements of plot
in the novel are well presented. The suspense in the novel makes the readers
tricked while reading the novel. Furthermore, the events in the plot are closely
connected, so that the readers can understand the story better. The element of
surprise also makes the readers really feel surprised because what happens in the
novel is beyond the readers’ expectation. The story is well arranged because every
event in the novel is not only plausible but also makes sense according to the
element of artistic unity.
Dan Brown is good at presenting the suspenses in Angels and Demons.
The suspenses in this novel are very tight and closely connected. When the
suspense is answered, the author creates one suspense after another to built a
tension. For instance, in the second suspense when Kohler receives a phone call
from the Vatican City that tells him about the unidentified thing labeled as CERN
in
their
security
camera.
Dan
Brown
makes
the
readers
curious
24
Maranatha Christian University
about why the antimatter is stolen, the real purpose of stealing the antimatter, as
well as the reason for doing it. Later in the story, the readers are made curious
whether Langdon can help Kohler to solve the case, knowing that Robert Langdon
is just a professor who has no experience in investigating a murder case. Dan
Brown makes the readers keep reading the story because of the intense plot of the
novel. Likewise, Dan Brown creates a great tension that makes the readers feel
thrilled while reading the story.
The element of surprise is also well presented. Dan Brown makes the
reader feel surprised because of the element of unexpectedness in the novel. This
element can be seen from the third surprise when the readers find out that the four
cardinals are murdered. At first, the readers expect Langdon to find the four altars
of science, to save the four missing cardinals and to locate the antimatter.
However, the readers feel surprised because Langdon actually fails to save the
four cardinals or locate the antimatter. Later, the camerlengo, who suddenly gets a
vision, succeeds in finding the location of the antimatter and then takes it as far
away as possible. This incident is beyond the reader’s expectation. Dan Brown is
very impressive in delivering the element of surprise to the readers. He has
successfully given the readers an unexpected surprise at the end of the story.
The elements of suspense and surprise are regarded as plausible if both
elements are well presented and well connected. Dan Brown has magnificently
delivered the elements of suspense and surprise in the novel. He makes the readers
curious throughout the story, and he gives a twisted surprise that the readers
would not expect at the end of the story. This kind of plausibility can be seen in
the fourth suspense, the seventh suspense, the fourth surprise and the eight
25
Maranatha Christian University
surprise when the readers are questioning about the camerlengo’s attempted
murder, and the real identity of Janus or 11th hour Samaritan. Later, in the seventh
surprise Langdon finds out that Maximilian Kohler is actually not Janus. From the
camcorder that Kohler has given to Langdon before his death, it is revealed that
Kohler comes to the Vatican City to seek for the truth and ask the camerlengo, the
mastermind of all the crimes that happen in the CERN office and Vatican Church,
to confess his sin. It is plausible because the truth will not be revealed if Kohler
does not camcord the event and give it to Robert Langdon. The readers would
expect that Maximilian Kohler is the Illuminati leader because he arrives at the
Vatican City at the same time as mentioned by the Hassassin. The way Dan
Brown explains the suspenses and surprises to the readers is very impressive. He
has succesfully given the readers an intense suspense with an unexpected surprise
at the end of the story, which is plausible and makes sense.
In my opinion, the strongest elements in this novel are the suspense and
the surprise because both the suspense and the surprise are closely related yet
beyond the readers’ expectation. The author gives an intense suspense that is
answered by an unexpected surprise which tricks the readers and makes them
feel surprised in the end. He leads the readers to have a certain expectation about
the story, but then the surprise turns out differently from the readers’
expectation. Dan Brown presents the surprise in a very unexpected way, so that
the readers will be misled by the story and later will feel amazed with the
surprise while reading the novel. Moreover, the artistic unity is also very
important in the novel to explain the plausibility of the suspenses and surprises.
26
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York : Pocket Star Books, 2000. Print.
References
“Angels and Demons” bestsellers.about.com. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
“Angels and Demons” bookbrowse.com. 2014. Web. 8 Jun. 2014.
“Artistic Unity” humanitiesweb.org. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
Bennet, Steve. “Thriller/Suspenses Subgenres.” cuebon.com. 2012. Web. 18 Dec.
2012.
“Books by Dan Brown” goodreads.com 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
“Boston: New England’s Gateway City” discovernewengland.com. n.d. Web. 24
Mar. 2014.
“Dan Brown” age-of-the-sage.org.2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.
“Dan Brown- Biography.” biography.com. 2012. Web. 12. Dec. 2012.
Koshi, Agon. “Thriller sub genres.” Slideshare.com. n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Olson, Carl. “Dan Brown Rushes In Where Angels (and Demons)” Fear to
Tread.com. n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: HBJ, Inc, 1974. Print.
27
Maranatha Christian University
“What Are the Characteristics of the Thriller Genre?” Wisegeek.com n.d. Web.
23 Mar. 2014.
28
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya membahas elements of plot dalam novel yang
berjudul Angels and Demons, karangan penulis berkebangsaan Amerika Serikat,
Dan Brown. Saya memilih untuk menganalisis buku ini karena menurut saya
novel ini merupakan contoh novel bergenre thriller yang baik, yang mengandung
unsur-unsur suspense, surprise dan artistic unity yang baik pula.
Angels and Demons bercerita tentang Robert Langdon, seorang profesor
spesialis simbol-simbol kuno yang diminta untuk menangani kasus pembunuhan
seorang ilmuan di Swiss dan berakhir di kota Vatikan. Dia harus menghadapi
kasus penculikan sekaligus pembunuhan yang sangat terencana. Unsur suspense
begitu terasa dalam novel ini karena pembaca dapat merasakan ketegangan ketika
Langdon berupaya mengungkapkan kasus yang berujung pada ancaman senjata
bom pemusnah masal yang ditanam di jantung kota Vatikan. Unsur surprise juga
sangat menonjol karena pembaca mendapati beberapa kejadian di luar dugaan
pembaca. Setiap kejadian ditata sedemikian rupa sehingga menciptakan cerita
yang menarik dan masuk akal sesuai dengan teori artistic unity.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
i
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................
ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statements of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study ...........................................................................
Method of Research ............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
3
3
4
4
CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION OF ELEMENTS OF PLOT IN ANGELS
AND DEMONS ...................................................................................
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION .........................................................
24
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
27
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Angels and Demons ..........................................................
Biography of Dan Brown .....................................................................
29
30
i
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Thriller is a genre of fiction in which “though, resourceful, but essentially
ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their
country or the stability of the free world” (Bennet). Thriller deals with “tales of
excitement, suspense, and high melodrama. It often overlaps with other genres of
literature and film, such as crime, adventure, and espionage” (“What are the
Characteristic of the thriller genre”). Thriller has many subgenres such as techno
thriller, crime thriller, religious thriller, and mystery thriller. Angels and Demons
is categorized as mystery thriller genre. Mystery thriller “relates a lot to crime
thrillers. It focuses mostly on the efforts of the detective or private investigator in
order to solve the mystery. This sub-genre looks at the circumstances of the
mystery or crime itself in order to try to figure out what the clues are, audiences
usually take part in trying to uncover the crime”(Koshi).
One famous contemporary mystery thriller writer is Dan Brown. His goal
in writing his novel is “to make the character’s and plot be so engaging that
1
Maranatha Christian University
readers don’t realize how much they are learning along the way” (Olson). One of
his novels, entitled The Da Vinci Code, became a bestselling novel in 2003 which
sold 40 million copies around the world (“Angels and Demons”). Before that,
Brown also published another novel entitled “Angels and Demons”. Brown
receives a negative response from a Catholic newspaper that creates a controversy
due to the content of Angels and Demons. These two novels share similarities in
content, so people say, “structurally of course, the plots and characters of the two
novels are kissing cousins” (Olson). Angels and Demons novel is “well plotted
and explosively paced! Crammed with Vatican intrigue and hi-tech drama. Laced
with enough twists and shocks to keep the reader wired right up until the final
revelation” (“Angels and Demons”).
In this thesis, I choose to analyze one of Dan Brown’s novels entitled
Angels and Demons. Angels and Demons is the prequel novel of The Da Vinci
Code and The Lost Symbol in which Robert Langdon is the protagonist of the
novels. Angels and Demons is the first of Dan Brown thriller novel, which became
very famous when it was first published in May 2000 (“Dan Brown”). This novel
is classified as a mystery thriller and it tells about the story of Robert Langdon, a
Professor of religious iconology from Harvard University, a teacher who later
receives an invitation from Maximilian Kohler, the CEO of CERN to come to
Switzerland. There, Langdon has to deal with a murder case of a scientist named
Leonardo Vetra, whose chest is branded with an ambigram symbol of Illuminati, a
satanic brotherhood which Langdon thought to be extinct. Throughout the novel,
Langdon tries to overcome a series of thrilling events caused by the Illuminati.
Brown’s writing style is easy to understand and more importantly, he is able to
2
Maranatha Christian University
describe the person and the places in a very detailed manner. Therefore, when the
readers read the novel, they can feel the suspense as if they experienced the event
themselves.
As this novel contains a lot of thrilling events, I will analyze the elements
of plot, which consist of suspense, surprise, and artistic unity. Suspense is “the
quality in a story that makes the reader ask ‘what’s going to happen next?’ or
‘how will this turn out?’ and impels him to read on to find the answers to these
questions” (Perrine 45). Surprise is “proportional to the unexpectedness of what
happens; it becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from the
reader’s expectation” (47). The Artistic Unity is defined as:
“The condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements
work together for the achievement of its central purpose. In an artistically
unified work nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central, nothing is
omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the most
effective order for the achievement of that purpose” (“Artistic Unity”).
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss are stated as follows:
1. What are the suspenses in the novel?
2. What are the surprises in the novel?
3. How is the artistic unity presented in the novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the above statement of the problem, the purpose of the analysis
includes:
3
Maranatha Christian University
1. To show the suspenses in the novel.
2. To show the surprises in the novel.
3. To show how the artistic unity is presented in the novel.
Method of Research
I use library research in writing the analysis of the novel. After reading Dan
Brown’s Angels and Demons as the primary text, I collected data from various
Internet sites and other references from the library. Then, I analyzed the elements
of plot in the novel. In the end, I drew a conclusion of what I had analyzed.
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of three chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents and
Abstract. Chapter One is Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study,
Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Analysis of the Elements of Plot in
Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. Chapter Three is the Conclusion and the thesis
ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist of a synopsis of the
novel and the biography of the author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, I come to the
conclusion that the novel is an exciting thriller novel because the elements of plot
in the novel are well presented. The suspense in the novel makes the readers
tricked while reading the novel. Furthermore, the events in the plot are closely
connected, so that the readers can understand the story better. The element of
surprise also makes the readers really feel surprised because what happens in the
novel is beyond the readers’ expectation. The story is well arranged because every
event in the novel is not only plausible but also makes sense according to the
element of artistic unity.
Dan Brown is good at presenting the suspenses in Angels and Demons.
The suspenses in this novel are very tight and closely connected. When the
suspense is answered, the author creates one suspense after another to built a
tension. For instance, in the second suspense when Kohler receives a phone call
from the Vatican City that tells him about the unidentified thing labeled as CERN
in
their
security
camera.
Dan
Brown
makes
the
readers
curious
24
Maranatha Christian University
about why the antimatter is stolen, the real purpose of stealing the antimatter, as
well as the reason for doing it. Later in the story, the readers are made curious
whether Langdon can help Kohler to solve the case, knowing that Robert Langdon
is just a professor who has no experience in investigating a murder case. Dan
Brown makes the readers keep reading the story because of the intense plot of the
novel. Likewise, Dan Brown creates a great tension that makes the readers feel
thrilled while reading the story.
The element of surprise is also well presented. Dan Brown makes the
reader feel surprised because of the element of unexpectedness in the novel. This
element can be seen from the third surprise when the readers find out that the four
cardinals are murdered. At first, the readers expect Langdon to find the four altars
of science, to save the four missing cardinals and to locate the antimatter.
However, the readers feel surprised because Langdon actually fails to save the
four cardinals or locate the antimatter. Later, the camerlengo, who suddenly gets a
vision, succeeds in finding the location of the antimatter and then takes it as far
away as possible. This incident is beyond the reader’s expectation. Dan Brown is
very impressive in delivering the element of surprise to the readers. He has
successfully given the readers an unexpected surprise at the end of the story.
The elements of suspense and surprise are regarded as plausible if both
elements are well presented and well connected. Dan Brown has magnificently
delivered the elements of suspense and surprise in the novel. He makes the readers
curious throughout the story, and he gives a twisted surprise that the readers
would not expect at the end of the story. This kind of plausibility can be seen in
the fourth suspense, the seventh suspense, the fourth surprise and the eight
25
Maranatha Christian University
surprise when the readers are questioning about the camerlengo’s attempted
murder, and the real identity of Janus or 11th hour Samaritan. Later, in the seventh
surprise Langdon finds out that Maximilian Kohler is actually not Janus. From the
camcorder that Kohler has given to Langdon before his death, it is revealed that
Kohler comes to the Vatican City to seek for the truth and ask the camerlengo, the
mastermind of all the crimes that happen in the CERN office and Vatican Church,
to confess his sin. It is plausible because the truth will not be revealed if Kohler
does not camcord the event and give it to Robert Langdon. The readers would
expect that Maximilian Kohler is the Illuminati leader because he arrives at the
Vatican City at the same time as mentioned by the Hassassin. The way Dan
Brown explains the suspenses and surprises to the readers is very impressive. He
has succesfully given the readers an intense suspense with an unexpected surprise
at the end of the story, which is plausible and makes sense.
In my opinion, the strongest elements in this novel are the suspense and
the surprise because both the suspense and the surprise are closely related yet
beyond the readers’ expectation. The author gives an intense suspense that is
answered by an unexpected surprise which tricks the readers and makes them
feel surprised in the end. He leads the readers to have a certain expectation about
the story, but then the surprise turns out differently from the readers’
expectation. Dan Brown presents the surprise in a very unexpected way, so that
the readers will be misled by the story and later will feel amazed with the
surprise while reading the novel. Moreover, the artistic unity is also very
important in the novel to explain the plausibility of the suspenses and surprises.
26
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York : Pocket Star Books, 2000. Print.
References
“Angels and Demons” bestsellers.about.com. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
“Angels and Demons” bookbrowse.com. 2014. Web. 8 Jun. 2014.
“Artistic Unity” humanitiesweb.org. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
Bennet, Steve. “Thriller/Suspenses Subgenres.” cuebon.com. 2012. Web. 18 Dec.
2012.
“Books by Dan Brown” goodreads.com 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
“Boston: New England’s Gateway City” discovernewengland.com. n.d. Web. 24
Mar. 2014.
“Dan Brown” age-of-the-sage.org.2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.
“Dan Brown- Biography.” biography.com. 2012. Web. 12. Dec. 2012.
Koshi, Agon. “Thriller sub genres.” Slideshare.com. n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Olson, Carl. “Dan Brown Rushes In Where Angels (and Demons)” Fear to
Tread.com. n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: HBJ, Inc, 1974. Print.
27
Maranatha Christian University
“What Are the Characteristics of the Thriller Genre?” Wisegeek.com n.d. Web.
23 Mar. 2014.
28
Maranatha Christian University