An Analysis Of Symbols In Dan Brown’s Novel Angels And Demons
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION1.1. Background Of Analysis Literature is one of the great creative and universal means of communication.
The basic process of communication begins when a fact or idea is observed by one person. That person (the sender) may decide to translate the observation into a message, and then transmit the message through some communication medium to another person (the receiver). The receiver then must interpret the message and provide feedback to the sender indicating that the message has been understood and appropriate action taken. Human beings can’t live alone, human beings need to interact with others in the world by the way of communication but in the way of communication, it is needed a media which can express their thoughts and feelings.
Through literature, human beings can communicate with others because literature is a media of communication.
Literature itself comes from the Latin “Literra” which refers to the written or printed work. It means that a communication by human beings which interpreted in literature especially nowadays generally through written media. In literature , the authors try to express their ideas about what they did through their experiences in their life and what was happening around them and tried to communicate to people in the way of written media, it called the process of communications by literature, the process of communications can divided into two : Oral and Written.
Oral is everyday spoken language meanwhile written is composed of written words, so combined as to express thoughts. The process of communication is about giving and receive information through any number of channels, listening and reading. Listening is a communication that happens by oral communication, a person talks to another and the other person tries to listen what the person talks. It’s the process of communication by oral. It’s more effective because a speaker has more ability to engage the audience psychologically and to use complex forms of non- verbal communication. Oral communication, while primarily referring to , can also employ visual aids and non-verbal elements to support the conveyance of meaning. Oral communication includes speeches, presentations, discussions, and aspects of interpersonal communication. As a type of face-to-face communication, and choice tonality play a significant role, and may have a greater impact upon the listener than informational content. This type of communication also garners immediate feedback.
Meanwhile written communication is how a person reads something such like article or book and gets something of it. The process of the communication happens when a person reads something from a person who writes some information or ideas through the written media. Writing is a medium of that represents through the inscription of signs and symbols. The message of writing can be carefully prepared and then directed to people. The written messages can be edited and revised several times before they are sent so that the content can be shaped to maximum effect. The great effect of written communication in this era is people can communicate to others each other from across the island by text or Internet. It’s easier in the process of communication through written media.
Literature is a product of a language, because language is used to express ideas, feelings, and opinions to exchange information, to do business, to absorb, to write a literature or works and keep in touch with others. Language is important way to transmit culture through language people can learn their cultural identify.
Language can be described as a symbol system in which sounds and meanings are assigned to each other, allowing humans to communicate what people are thinking and how they are feeling. Language is a body of words system for the use common to people who are the same community or nation.
The most general genres in literature is divided into three major genres, they are drama, prose, and poetry. Drama is a work of literature which is design for performances by presenting actions or dialogues of a character or a group of character. Poetry is written forms who express a conversation or interchange and wide variety of subject. Prose is divided based on its period time. First old prose is such as myth, fairytale, folk tale, fable, saga and the second part is such as short story, novel, article and journal.
Novel is part of prose for the discussion of facts and topical reading as it is often articulated in free form writing style. A novel (lat.novella, new things) is an extended work of prose fiction, longer than a short story or medium-length fiction, called a novelette or novella (Whitla : 1934:155).
Novel is the further enlargement of romance. The novel renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail. It takes a group of people and set them going about the business of life. Augustan period is featured development of novel itself.” (Samekto, 1976: 34). Some short essays from the author of the period ( Joseph Addison and Richard Steele) were the sign from birth of a novel especially Modern Novel.
In this thesis the writer would like to analyze symbols in Angels and Demons Novel by Dan Brown. There are many symbols found in the novel that makes them being mysterious, interesting and unique to be analyzed about symbolism. Symbol is one of ways in understanding of a literature because symbol is an object which stands for something else, the way to communicate with others and explain more about something.
The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon as Symbologist , who is also the and 2009 novel, with his partner, a scientist Vittoria Vetra. It also shares many stylistic of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Catholic Church.
, architecture, and symbolism are also heavily referenced throughout the book. Angels and Demons is basically a story about the historical conflict between religion (the Roman Catholic Church) and science. The Vatican has throughout history always been against science, repressing great scientific discoveries. A secret organization, the Illuminati, that tried to reconcile religion and science, has infiltrated the Vatican and now the Illuminati is longing for revenge.
A symbol creates a direct meaningful between object, action, ideas in life. Each symbol has its own objective identity, and may function at an ordinary level. According to Arthur Simon in The Symbolist Movement Literature, “Symbolism is an attempt to reinvest language with its powers of ambivalence and mystery, to relieve it of the stulfying burden of representing factitious identity and clear-cut categories.” (1899 : 490 – 491).
Symbol is something that is intended to stand for something else other than itself. The relationship between words and their meanings is (mostly) arbitrary, using arbitrary sounds in conventional ways with conventional meanings. The system of signs or symbols are considered in the language. Any set or system of such Symbols as used in a more or less uniform fashion by a number of people, who are thus enabled to communicate intelligibly with one another. It can be found as printed or speaking. Early literature was oral, meant to be memorized and recited and doing that by communication using language. Later was written down and read. It can conclude that the literature itself has widely definition
A symbol has a meaning that need to interpret or to explain into a new language or description which is easy to understand by studying the real meaning of a symbol and how the symbol has ability to influence society by its mysteries. Symbolism is not just about enabling a writer to say the same thing more concisely. It is about allowing them to say something more effectively. Angels and Demons is The Sequel novel of Dan Brown who tells about some symbols and tries to analyze each of symbols in the story. The writer wants to analyze how symbolism takes part in the story and interpret the meaning of every symbol.
Symbols are abstract and it’s not easy to understand the real meaning of a symbol, a symbol is important in literary work as transferring meaning hidden behind the words or pictures and to share ideas feelings the authors and also author indirectly expressed his idea by using symbols. A symbol may to communicate with one another, something hidden to share our ideas and feelings. A symbol is not directly explained by someone or something. It can contain of object, figures, character where it represents. For example: “White”, to symbolize as pureness, purity, spotness, and innocent. Because it knows based on the descriptions about symbols.
According to Klarer, there are two kinds of symbol. They are conventional and private symbol. Conventional symbol is symbols which are made through consensus, and its meaning has recognized by society. For example: crescent and star are the symbol of Moslem, meanwhile private symbol is the symbol which is made by an author in his own literary work. That’s why the writer tries to analyze some symbols and divides to conventional or private symbols in the novel and trying to interpret the symbols and its meanings.
Based on all details above, the reason why the writer choose the novel and the theme because the writer thinks that it’s important to understand the meaning of signs or symbols in the novel because it can increase our knowledge about the meanings of symbols and it’s easier to understand symbols which a symbol tries to express something that can’t be expressed easily in the way of communication in daily life.
In this novel, it’s so interested how two opposite sides try to explain their existences by showing their symbols, trying to get some clues about the symbols and their meanings. Because some symbols that potrayed in the novel are often appear in the real life. The title itself consists of two opposites, Angels and Demons.
Everything has an opposite. The plot of the book is between good and evil, being the church (religion) and science (Illuminati), standing side by side. It teaches that one could not exist without the other. It gives the universe the balance to move and function as one in the world.
1.2. Problem of the Study
In the thesis, the writer thinks that it’s important to decide the problems are going to analyze. The problems of the analysis in this thesis are:
1. How are the symbols portrayed in the novel ?
2. How are the implied meaning of the symbols described in the novel ?
1.3. Objective of Study
The object of writing is important to achieve. The objective of the study in this analyze are :
1. To find out and indentify something as a symbol which written in words or portrayed as pictures
2. To interpret context of the meaning of a symbol in the novel
1.4. Scope of the Study
This research is focused on certain symbols that found in the novel. The scope of the study will be limited by analyzing some certain symbols which are portrayed in the novel. There many symbols in novel. They are using as picture or as words. But in this thesis the writer focuses to interprete the symbols by choosing some certain symbols not a whole symbols.
1.5.The Significance of the Study
Theoretically, this analysis to add the literary study of literature and also symbolism through the novel.
Practically, this thesis can be lessons especially to know about symbols, about the writer and to enrich the study of literature especially about symbolism. And also can be used for everyone who wants to understand symbolism of the novel.