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Elements of Fiction Angels and Demons contain many elements of fiction, besides to obvious literal symbols that guide Langdon. The way Dan Brown sets up his book is an example of dramatic irony on a grand scale. Brown informs us of each characters location and actions, giving us an omniscient feel. We are informed on what each character is doing and planning while the other characters, such as Langdon are clueless. Symbols that are not so literal are also existent in the book. Antimatter can be interpreted in a positive and negative aspect as well as a religious and scientific. It can be the end to the energy crisis and provide nearly 100% energy efficient source, however, it can also be the end of the world since it is extremely unstable and a mere quarter gram is equivalent to Hiroshima size warhead. As it is clearly evident antimatter can symbol creation and on the other side of the spectrum, destruction. The substance is also seen differently in the eyes of many people in the book. Vittoria and her father, when first created it, believed it was the answer to the age old questions of God and how the universe was made and so on. For example, when Langdon first saw the sample at work he said �God,� Vittoria simply stated, �that is exactly what my father said.� Another symbol would be the symbolic act of the hassasin murdering off the four cardinal priests and also the threat of destroying the Vatican. This act and attempt could be seen to symbolize revenge and retribution for all the acts done against the Illuminati. The church was responsible for killing four members of the Illuminati and also attempting to destroy and wipe them out of history. Now the Illuminati wants revenge for those acts and will do whatever it has to do to be avenged.
Six novel ideas Dan Brown�s Angels and Demons can be fit in to three of the six novel ideas: Crisis of Faith, Violence and The Forbidden. Crisis of Faith- a central idea of Angels and Demons is faith, which goes along the central conflict of science versus religion, and who is right, and also corruption within the church and loss of faith. Brown�s novel dives deep into the conflict of religion and science and how the two could be seen as in an eternal war with each other where neither will be content until the other is destroyed, which is quite literal in the book. For example, the book talks about the Vatican Church versus the Illuminati which are polar opposites of each other: one striving for religion and the other for science and locked in a conflict with each other. The second conflict involving faith is faith within the church, or lack of it. Corruption within the church has caused some to loss faith. Faith has been lost so much so that some deem it necessary to use drastic measures to bring people back to the church, for example, threaten to blow up the Vatican with an antimatter bomb. Violence- Violence plays a key role in Angel and Demons, since both the church and Illuminati use it for their own gain. The church started buy branding and killing four Illuminati members, and in retaliation to that the Illuminati did the same to the church. They both use violent acts to draw supporters away from the other. This idea still goes on during the book when a group threatens to use the antimatter as a bomb to destroy the Vatican in order to win the conflict of science and religion. As is evident violence is used by multiple parties in order for their own personal gain and the expenses of others. The Forbidden- Dan Brown�s book is indeed a controversial one for many reasons. Brown goes back in to the past of the church and talks about how the church engaged in many acts which would not seem so nice. The house arrest of Galileo and the murdering of Illuminati members are a few examples of the churches past which can be seen in a negative image. Brown also talks about the conflict of science and religion and how the two are in a battle which will not be resolved until one is blown up. Brown also goes into the corruption within the church and popes. All these are controversial topics which can mark Brown�s book as a forbidden.
