The Da Vinci Code

Professor Egan

Expository Writing

September 14, 2005

The Da Vinci Code

When you first pick up the book the Da Vinci Code, the author Dan Brown begins to grab your attention. Dan Brown combines conspiracy, art, history, religion, murder and unanswered questions all into one book. There are several ways used in grabbing your attention, from the way the curator's body is positioned and using the Star of David. Each key uncovered unwinds the tapestry of the Da Vinci Code. The book opens up with the murder of the Louvre's curator inside the museum. When Robert Langdon arrives at the scene he is shocked at what he finds (Da Vinci Code, 36). At this point the first key is beginning to be revealed. Dan Brown drags us along by stating that the body is in a weird position but not giving us a direct image until a couple of chapters later.

We soon learn that the curator's body is set up to be a replica of Da Vinci's The Virtuvian Man. Near the body, police have found a secret message. By finding this secret message Langdon needs to solve the enigmatic riddle. But it's only the first stop along a long and trecherous trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. If Langdon can't crack the code, then the an secret will be lost forever. Sophie Neveu happens to work for the

department of cryptograph and shows up at the scene. Sophie Neveu wants nothing more than to learn what happened to her grandfather, and unravel the mystery in which he left. The stakes are

then raised when the leading detective suspects Langdon as the murderer. Langdon soon realizes

that Sophie's grandfather was part of some secret society called the The Priory of Sion. "The Priory of Sion is a European secret society founded in 1099 and is a real organization. In 1975 Paris's Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo Da Vinci." (The Da Vinci Code, FACT)

As the two try to escape the clutches of detective Fache and try to get out of the louver, they work on uncovering the true meaning of the message inside. Brown takes you through twist and turns