Professor+Robert+Langdon

Professor Robert Langdon: from various Dan Brown books and subsequent films, focusing on the novel/film //Angels & Demons//. Robert Langdon, who teaches religious iconology and symology at Harvard University, is taken to the CERN scientific laboratory to help investigate the murder of a researcher in the organization’s top-secret “antimatter” study. The antimatter, if it came into contact with any matter, would cause an explosion. While investigating the murder with the researcher’s daughter, Vittoria Vetra, the group learns that a canister of antimatter has been stolen by the Illuminati, a secret group who had a historical dispute with the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Langdon is called to help with the murder because he is a formidable authority on the Illuminati. Langdon and Vetra make their way to Vatican City, where the Pope has recently died, to find the canister which has made its way to the Vatican. Once in the Vatican, the Swiss Guard, protectors of the Sistine Chapel and the Pope, receive a threat from someone claiming to be a member of the Illuminati. This person claims to have kidnapped the four Cardinals who are favorites to succeed the late Pope and threatens to kill one each hour, at eight, nine, ten and eleven, before setting off the antimatter canister at midnight. Langdon and Vetra were both present for the conversation with the killer, and Vetra believes that if they can locate the canister, she believes she can change the battery allowing another 24 hours to transport the canister back to the secure laboratory. Langdon believes he can find the location of the canister as well as where the kidnapper plans on killing the four Cardinals, but needs to access the Vatican’s Archives to find the “path of illumination,” which can only be accessed through papal mandate. As the Pope is dead, his power rests in the camerlengo, or the Pope’s trusted priest. Thus, Langdon approaches camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, who does grant Langdon access. Langdon begins to search for the path which he finds in one of Galileo’s works, who was an Illuminati as well as a devout Catholic. This leads him through four of Rome’s Churches, which each have a reference to Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. To find each Church, Langdon is required to connect all the clues and use his prior knowledge as well as the new information he learns. During the search, the Illuminati claim the death of the Pope, which is found to be true after the camerlengo leads Vetra and some others to the first papal autopsy, which is prohibited by Vatican law. Langdon is nearly killed twice during his search, once when becomes trapped in the archives without oxygen and again when he is nearly killed by the assassin. After being unable to save the four kidnapped Cardinals, Langdon continues his search to find the canister and Vetra, who was taken by the assassin. Langdon finds Vetra and kills the assissan. The two then focus on searching for the canister. Meanwhile, the Director of CERN confronts the camerlengo, alleging that he was the Illuminati master for whom the assassin was working for and that he killed the Pope, for his stance on the faith-vs.-science debate. After confessing, the camerlengo had the Director killed. He then claimed to have been divinely given the location of the canister and goes to find it. He and Langdon both take it high into the sky before he ejects himself from the exploding helicopter. Miraculously, Langdon, after being left for dead by the camerlengo, survived the fall only to reveal the truth to the College of Cardinals whom had elected the camerlengo as Pope. During this time, the camerlengo claims to have justified his killing of the Pope because he found out the Pope had father a child, breaking his vow of celibacy. One of the Cardinals then told the camerlengo that he was the son of the Pope through artificial insemination. Because of his guilt, the camerlengo burned himself alive. In the end, the camerlengo’s sins were hidden from the public and a new Pope was elected. Through Langdon’s research and incredible mind, a conspiracy was destroyed and the Catholic Church was saved.
 * Synopsis**

The flawed-hero archetype is the haziest archetype there is. How can one character be the protagonist, whilst still being called flawed? Often times, this character is a very human hero, meaning he does not have any super-human capability or any herculean capacity. The character is, aside from being entirely human, suppose to have some flaw, which could pose potentially dangerous. In addition, the character is faced with seeming insurmountable obstacles which need courage to overcome and eventually, by conquering these, is given humility. However, that does not mean that this character cannot have some extraordinary ability as is the case with Robert Langdon. Langdon is certain not a textbook example of a flawed-hero. His faults are limited and his humility gained is little. However, Langdon does go through a sort of spiritual revival, leading to this previously mentioned gained humility. Langdon as a person is certainly gifted with an exceptional mind, which really leads to his involvement in the entire situation. And through this involvement, Langdon does comply with the above listed criteria. Langdon is an acceptable character in the fact that the audience doesn’t feel he is inhuman. This is shown by his simple introduction from the Director of CERN, where he says Langdon is “a professor of religious iconology at Harvard University,” (Page 3). Although considered elite, Langdon is still considered normal, albeit in the top 1% of normal. Langdon’s main flaw is more of conflict with the central organization of the novel: not the Illuminati, which he certainly has a lot in common with, but the Catholic Church. Langdon calls himself an academic, and does not affiliate with any form of religion. In response to this is, Langdon is asked whether “he believes in God,” and not if he believes what man has to say about God.” To this, Langdon responds that he “want[s] to believe,” showing that he is not entirely confident in the essence of what he is trying to save (Page 136). As the story progresses, Langdon’s faith in faith does grow but he remains skeptical, as seen through his statement “faith does not protect you,” (Page 174). This statement came in the face of the waiting time bomb, in the form of the antimatter which was waiting to explode” threatening the life of all the people waiting outside who clung to their faith to save them. This example shows that his flaw causes his beliefs to come in direct conflict with those whom he is trying to save. His ability to put that aside and still risk his life to save those people show him to be a true hero. In addition, he does go through obstacles to accomplish his goal. As per the requirements of being a flawed-hero, these obstacles are both insurmountable and have both fear and courage attached to them. Langdon engages in a blind-search of the antimatter canister, but he is still determined when he says “I want to find the antimatter,” (Page 98). To search for a canister, which could be anywhere in an entire city, is nearly impossible. He also displays his concern regarding this major obstacle when he thinks, “what the hell I am I doing? I should have gone home when I had the choice,” (Page 106). This statement shows that he feels fear in completed this task, otherwise he would not have expressed a desire to return home. However, because Langdon decides to stay and complete the task, he shows his courage. Later on in the novel, Langdon runs to aid the camerlengo in taking the canister up. Regardless of hoping that he would still live, Langdon nonetheless went into the helicopter, unsure of whether he would return or not. Langdon showed strength in the face of fearful and insurmountable obstacles which he overcame. Towards the end of the novel, Langdon begins to understand the need for God in one’s life. Although Langdon was still not a prominent follower of one a “religion” per say, he felt the void within himself which could be filled by God. His contributions were gratefully accepted and recognized by the most senior member of the group with which he had no affiliation with. In the final words of the novel, Langdon gained an audience with the newly elected Pope, who expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire Catholic world. The Pope acknowledged Langdon’s effort when he said, “I could not possibly ask more of you than what you have already given,” (Page 565). The Pope’s final words to Langdon show Langdon’s newfound relationship with a spiritual figure, giving him a sense of both humility and serenity. The most notably discussed character, according to our English class, who classifies as a flawed-hero is Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain and Langdon differ considerably in the amount of flaws each has, Gawain having more and being the more severe, and their humility gained, Gawain’s being more external and dealing more with personality. However, the two face nearly impossible tasks and encounter threats to their lives in the process, the true sign of the flawed hero.
 * Fitting the Archetype**

1) Speak in short sentences- Quote: “Concisely put,” (Page 174). “That’s the vault’s theme,” (Page 195) Analysis: Langdon often uses very short sentences, sometimes as little as one word and no more than four. His speech patterns dictate that he is thinking very rapidly and he wants to move on to his next point. The above to quotes are entire sentences used by Langdon almost as an interjection or continuation on what the other person as to say. 2) Speak in long sentences- Quote: “Some of Italy’s most enlightened me – physicists, mathematicians, astronomers- began meeting secretly to share their concerns about the church’s inaccurate teachings,” (Page 33). Analysis: It is extremely ironic that the first two steps or suggestions on how to speak and communicate like Langdon are complete opposites of each other. This antithesis is present because Langdon’s sentences are mostly either considerably lengthy or considerably short. These long sentences or phrases show Langdon’s expertise or wide range of knowledge on a seemingly unlimited amount of subjects. Extending sentences with a number of interjections and at other times dependent clauses makes one sound more like Professor Langdon. 3) Sound like a Professor, especially a History Professor- Quote: “Terrorism is not an expression of rage. Terrorism is a political weapon. Remove a government’s façade of in ability, and you remove its people’s faith,” (Page 174). Analysis: Langdon is not always in his Harvard symbology classroom, but he is always “professing.” Langdon comes off as giving a lecture to who happens to be within an ear’s hearing radius of him. This stems from his near intoxication with history and legend, more so legend that is true. His fascination of the Illuminati and their tactics, as shown in the quote above, serve to spread his knowledge. 4) Have the mind racing- Quote: //“Historical accounts, letters, artwork, socio-political data, modern analysis. All in one place… encouraging a deeper understanding of a topic. Brilliant.”// (Page 195) Analysis: Langdon’s thoughts, as these are indeed thoughts, are all over the place. He begins by just listing data, speaking of its collective location, and its internal reasoning, followed by his quick, one-word take on it. In the span of roughly 20 words, Langdon manages to think about all that. Incredible. These thoughts do not form complete sentences, which show his high-powered mind, which is always set into overdrive. 5) Take dramatic pauses- Quote: “It weakens the enemy from within… causing unrest in the masses,” (Page 174) Analysis: This quote, like the previous one, contains an ellipsis which brings about a pause while the reader narrates the story to himself or herself. This is designed to depict Langdon as calculating his next move, deciphering his next word, unlocking the next thought. With regards to the story, it adds and builds suspense, as to what Langdon will utter next. Each pause, each ellipsis strategically adds to the perception that Langdon conjures up each syllable and thinks it over thrice before pronouncing it to those around him.
 * Steps to speak like Robert Langdon**

The hyperlink is a video from YouTube, which is a clip from the film adaption //Angels and Demons//. In it, Tom Hanks, who portrays Langdon in the two already released films which star Langdon, presents the character as exactly imagined and depicted in the book. He uses all of the above mentioned steps, including pauses, interjections and rapidly varying sentence length. []
 * Interactive**

The novel is filled with historical references, as it should, recalling that is a mystery that can only be solved through history. The first main allusion came to the history of the Catholic Church, recalling events such as the Crusades, Conclave and other Catholic traditions and tales (Page 195). All these references, many of them being fictitious, enhance believability of the authenticity of these events which only add to the uncertainty regarding the end. These allusions add to the message of the book, which provides a thrilling read, that the world’s good will always overcome the evil. The four main symbols in the novel are the “four alters of science.” These are Earth,, Air, Fire and Water. In the novel, each of these becomes a means by which a Cardinal is murdered, presenting the Illuminati’s claim the science trumps religion. Also the symbol of light, present through the annihilation of the antimatter, is present but in different form then what is traditional. Light is commonly seen as a symbol of renewal. However, it mostly represents enlightenment turned destruction. Its importance is that of a warning, a warning saying to cautiously move regarding scientific progress. Although the book often presents the Church and faith in a negative light, the symbol of light serves as a renewed emphasis on faith and elevates the message that all men need God.
 * Allusions and Symbols**

Brown, Dan. //Angels & Demons//. New York: Pocket, 2000. Print.
 * Works Cited**