angels+and+demons

Job A- Nicole Job B- Emily Job C- Ryan Job D- Zach
 * __Week 1__ (read up to chapter 32)

** __Job B: Emily Considine__ The main character we are introduced to at the beginning of the story is Robert Langdon, Maximilian Kohler, and Vittoria Vera. What makes Robert Langon interesting is the fact that he works at Harvard as a religious symbologist who is already caught up in a scheme that seems far out of his hands. He lives alone, and is used to the quiet of his house and is not ready for the fast paces world it seems he his about to be thrown into when Maximilian Kohler appears. Maximilian Kohler is a physicist that works at a Swiss research facility and who needs Robert's help in somehow solving this murder. Maximilian Kohler seems a bit full of himself, in my honest opinion, even though he is quiet smart and elderly, while Robert seems to be the opposite of him with his quiet and humble manner though he must be very smart in order to teach religious symbology at Harvard. Vittoria Vera, whose father was killed, seems to be a typical female character in these types of stories. She is beautiful, strong willed, has a hot temper and is brilliant physicist. Something about her seems to draw all the characters in though, to make them center around one point. The majority of these characters seem fairly fake and all the same, though it is entertaining to see the adventures they go through. I think the characters will develop more depth the deeper we get into the book. __Job C: Ryan Simpson__ We began our meeting with juice and crumb cakes. In a freak accident, Zach managed to get the sugar all over himself. We discussed the characters of the book, from Robert Langdon, to Vittoria Vetra, to Maximilian Kohler. We went into the personalities of each character, although we were still learning about their personalities. We then discussed Zach's questions, which provided some interesting debate. We discussed whether or not antimatter should be used in real life for energy purposes (if he had the capability). On one side, it would make the world less energy dependant, but on the other hand, it could be used to completely destroy the world. Another topic we discussed was that of the plot to steal the antimatter. Was it even the Illimunati, or maybe someone in a greater position of power? Finally, we mentioned how this book seems to have plenty of interesting information, ranging from knowledge about history, to knowledge on the topics of science, religion, and even the occasional tidbit about art.

1. If antimatter was able to be utilized as an energy source, would it create more problems than it solves (like how nuclear energy led to nuclear warheads)? Zach- Antimatter should be used. It would relieve the energy crisis and not increase our ability to obliterate each other (we have that ability already. Emily and Nicole- Antimatter would be obtained by terrorists and cannot be detected, increasing power of terrorists. Ryan- Antimatter would lead to the destruction of the human race. 2. How much of this book is factual? For example, Novus ordo seclorum is actually translated into New Order of the Ages, not New World Order. Also, Charles Thompson came up with the Great Seal in 1782, not Charles Wallace during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. Nicole- well, the Illuminati symbol is real. The history of the Illuminati is factual. But nothing else. Emily- THe Illuminati is real, but Dan Brown is embellishing what they do today. Ryan- Does not believe the Illuminati even exit anymore. 3. Do we think the Illuminati are truly behind this plot? Nicole and Emily- Yes. The guy who was hired as an assassin and the Illuminati symbol branded in his chest are proof. Zach and Ryan (IT'S A MIRACLE!)- The Illuminati are pawns in this scheme. They are being manipulated by someone for his/her own purposes. 4. Is the intent of the Illuminati understandable? After all, the Catholic Church did try to exterminate them. Emily- She understands their desire for revenge, but think their means are unnecessary. Nicole and Ryan- Historically, they had the right to go against the church. But, now, 400 years later, its unjustified. Ryan said "they are flogging the same dead horse." Zach- There want for revenge is understandable. But too many innocent people will die to justify their actions. 5. Are science and religion incompatible, or are they really 2 methods of reaching the same answers? Unanswered. (we ran out of time) **
 * __Job D: Zach Weinstein__

__Week 2__ **(read up to chapter 56) Job A- Zach Job B- Nicole Job C- Emily Job D- Ryan

__Job B: Nicole Rifkin__ **

Overall, although Dan Brown uses fairly advanced vocabulary in his writing, the language is not overly complicated and is certainly easy to read. It is written in 3rd person descriptive voice, and is more formal than a conversational piece, but certainly can't be considered "classic", old English writing. While there were plenty of words in the text that I am not familiar with, it was easy to figure out a general definition based on context, and there were not enough complicated words to hinder my comprehension of the story. I would say that the book is probably written at an 8th or 9th grade level. It is not famous for being especially well written. People read it for the fantastic, intense adventure. However, it can certainly be enjoyed by people of all ages.

One unique thing about the language in this book is that Dan Brown uses many Italian phrases in dialogue between characters. I personally liked this because I feel like it makes the book feel very authentic (considering it takes place in the Vatican) and makes it stand out from other books. Our book club has 3 spanish students and an Italian student, and we were all be able to decipher at least a couple of the Italian phrases because Spanish and Italian are so similar. We all agreed that we liked the fact that our book used two different languages.

__Job C: Emily Considine__

There were no freak accidents that Zach was the cause of and after noshing for a little while, we were able to get down to business. We discussed why Olivetti left Langdon and Vera in his office with a phone that they could easily use to find the chamberlain to warn them about the anti-matter. We discussed how they may find the anti-matter and how the Swiss Guard reacted to Langdon and Vittoria in trying to find the anti-matter. Zach expressed how he didn't like Olivetti, going so far as to call him a pompous, Swiss bastard and explaining how Olivetti didn't like how Robert and Vittoria seemed to be trying to pull the wool down over his eyes. We discussed how we thought Robert figured out the first 'altar of science' and how the rest of the Swiss guard raced off with them to the Pantheon after being convince that anti-matter was actually quiet real and that they needed to catch the killer before something more extravagant happened. We also had a very graphic and descriptive discussion about what we believed would happen with the cardinals that were kidnapped. I believed that perhaps one or two would be kill with Baggia, the most favored cardinal, would not be killed for they would be able to catch the killer in time. Nicole believed that two would die and that they would save the third on while Zach believed that all three would die with Baggia being saved. Ryan believed that one would die, the French he stated, then the German one would be saved but mutilated and went into a rant about how he might have one or all four of his limbs removed. We ended in whether we believed they would find the canister in time. Everyone agreed that they would, or else there wouldn't be a sequel.


 * __Job D: Ryan Simpson__ **

1. Why didn't Olivetti believe Robert and Vittoria, that there? Zach- pompous, Swiss bastard; no one had ever heard of antimatter, so it seemed ridiculous Nicole + Emily: He probably gets many bomb threats to the Vatican, so expecting him to believe it is unrealistic

2. How could Olivetti make the mistake of locking his guard out of the room, while Robert and Vittoria were locked in with a phone? Zach: he didn't expect them to use the Vatican security equipment Nicole: they couldn't do much damage Ryan: he had bigger things to deal with, so he underestimated their resourcefulness

3. Do you think that Robert Langdon is correct about where the first “altar of science” is located? Do you think that it is in the Pantheon? Or do you think that he misinterpreted any of the clues? Zach: He's Robert Langdon, a master of symbology Nicole: He's right about where it is, but the Pantheon is big, so he may not be able to find it.

4. Do you think that all of the Cardinals will be rescued? Or how many of them will live? Nicole: they will save the 3rd one Emily: 1 or 2 will die; Baggia will be the last scheduled to be killed [so he won't actually die] Zach: 3 will die, Baggia will be saved Ryan: 1 will die (the French one, because no one likes the French), and then the German one will be saved, but will be greatly mutilated. He might have a limb, or two, or four taken off.

5. Do you think that they will find the canister in time? Emily: they have to Zach: of course Nicole: there's a sequel, so the Vatican won't be blown up Ryan: they will, and the story will have a happy ending

Job A- Ryan Job B- Zach Job C- Nicole Job D- Emily
 * __Week 3__** (read up to chapter 82)

__Job B: Zachary Weinstein__ The overall tone of Angels and Demons is one of breathlessness. This novel is nonstop action coming at you full force and is sure to get that adrenaline pumping. It starts with Robert Langdon being whisked away to the world’s most advanced scientific lab to confirm a murder and every page since then has involved hostages, ancient vendettas against the Vatican, and conspiracies-come-true. Each chapter brings new twists and turns that take your breath away and make it painful to put the book down. The timeline of this story also helps provide the supercharged atmosphere. Everything thus far has taken place within 6 hours! A mysterious member of the Illuminati threatens to kill a hostage every hour on the hour from 8 until midnight. So, Langdon must frantically solve hundreds of year’s worth of puzzles and lore while the Swiss Guard tries, in vain, to thwart the mastermind unleashing the mayhem. This book should have one of those roller coaster sign on the front that say: “Don’t ride this ride if you are prone to heart attacks, have breathing conditions, or experience motion sickness,” because it is one wild ride!

__Job C: Nicole Rifkin__ We began our morning with delicious corn muffins and juice boxes, courtesy of Ryan. The first thing we discussed was the murder of the first cardinal. Janus, the leader of the Illuminati, claimed that he wanted the most public murder possible so that the entire world would know about the weakness of the Church and the power of the Satanic cult. However, the first cardinal was murdered in a hole in the ground of a dark, blocked off, entirely abandoned church. The protagonist //knew// the general location of the body and still had a hard time finding it. Although the assassin alerted the media of the location, the reporters in normal circumstances would never have been able to find the body. We settled on two possible answers. One was that the assassin was told to follow the specifications the illuminati set up hundreds of years ago, and therefore had no choice but to commit the murder in such a secluded place. The second was the Kholer, the head of CERN, the research facility, was behind the murder. Therefore, in theory, he would have hired Langdon, an experienced historian, to follow the path of the Illuminati and locate the body. Aside from Kholer, there were other theories on who could be behind the murders and the antimatter bomb. One was the Rocher, the second in command in charge of security, was the culprit. The commander in chief of the Swiss Guard had turned the search for the antimatter bomb over to him almost completely, and he was stubborn about only searching in certain areas. The Illuminati were famous for their infiltration, meaning that the most active members often held high positions in the church. Rocher could know exactly where the antimatter was and make sure nobody found it in time. Another theory was that Kholer’s secretary was behind the mystery. The author only mentioned her briefly, but she was portrayed as extremely kind and innocent, which sent up a red flag in somebody’s mind (Zach’s, maybe?). It always ends up being the person who you least expect. She also has ideal access to CERN equipment and despises Kholer, providing both a motive and a means. As for the location of the antimatter, Zach believes that it is directly inside the Sistine Chapel, where all the Cardinals are busy at work. It would be the prime target for a terrorist because it is the most famous and important part of the Vatican and would take many casualties if it did explode. Emily, at first jokingly, suggested that it was hidden inside of one of the dead bodies (either the late Pope or one of the dead Cardinals). She then quickly realized that this location would be perfect because it would be the last place anybody would ever look. Other general thoughts on the book: One prediction we had was that Gunther Glick, the overzealous and slightly obnoxious reporter, was going to end up killed. He is at the heart of all the drama, and knows too much information. In addition, we all agreed that we like Olivetti, who is the commander of the Swiss guard, and believe that he will play an important role in unraveling the mystery.

__Job D: Emily Considine__ 1.Why do you think Cardinal Ebner was buried alive in someplace that seemed seclusive, while Carndial Lamasse was far more public? 2.Why were there two statues for Langdon to figure out with Habakkuk and The Angel when it would have been easy to figure out in the first place? 3.Where do you think the Hassassin could be hiding? 4.What further involvement do you think Gunther Glick could have with the story? 5.Do you think of the characters mentioned could be working with the Illuminati?
 * Zach**: They wanted it to be a public thing, but also wanted to do it according to the Illuminati lore. He just wanted to get the word out, thought that tipping off the two reporters was enough.
 * Nicole:** They could have done it outside more out in the open. Feels like they could have done it with a bigger bang.
 * Ryan + Nicole:** To be able to confuse people if they weren't able to decipher what the poem was saying.
 * Zach:** Illuminati only wanted the brightest people to figure out where they are
 * Zach:** Hassassin might be inside the Vatican itself, hiding in the cathedral, where the Swiss Guard will never bother to look
 * Ryan:** Gunther is going to help Langdon and Vittoria
 * Zach:** Thinks Gunther is going to be killed as from being a tool of the Hassassin of the Illuminati and since he'll know so much and they'll just kill him inconspicuously.
 * Zach:** He thinks that Kohler was working for the Illuminati if anyone was working for them because Zach thinks that he seems the most evil out of all of them and that he was there and he had access to all of the machinery and passwords
 * Ryan:** Thinks Rocher could be the one working for the Illuminati because he's the one leading the search, and he could be the one to skip over it.
 * Emily:** The secretary could be working for the Illuminati and because she doesn't like Kohler and she has all of his inside stuff and things he was working on.

Job A: Emily Job B: Ryan Job C: Zach Job D: Nicole
 * __Week 4__

__Job B: Ryan Simpson__ One of this book's main themes is that of faith. Throughout the novel, there are discussions about how someone can believe in God in the modern world. Also, there is debate about its compatibility with science and reason. Some seem them as complete contradictions, while other characters believe that they support each other. The Illuminati, who are trying to destroy the Vatican, are against religion, favoring reason to understand the world. I have found that the Catholic Church represents the past and the Illuminati represent the future. In the past, religion was the basis of society, with the Vatican ruling it. Now, people are much more secular. Religious belief is not necessary to be accepted in today's society. Many people find science to be of much more relevance to their everyday lives. Instead of praying to be healed of an illness, there are medicines that will fix it. God didn't create the universe; some particles rubbed together and created a giant explosion, which in turn created the universe. This novel illustrates the clash between religion and science, the past and the future. ** __Job C: Zach Weinstein__ The meeting started off with delicious Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, and Fig Newtons. We all agreed that cookies are good at any time of day. Once we finished munching and started discussing the book, the meeting quickly became complicated because, over the break, everyone except Ryan finished the story. To Ryan’s credit, he didn’t finish the book because he didn’t want to worry about spoiling the ending for anyone else. So, halfway through the period Ryan “went to the bathroom” and the rest of us talked about the unbelievable ending. We also spoke about our favorite characters and parts of the book. Interesting, our favorite parts were all gruesome deaths of innocent people. Hmm… The most eventful part of the meeting actually had nothing to do with the book. At the beginning of the period, many students were blogging on Tumblr. Then, disaster struck when a student refreshed her page and Tumblr was *gasp* blocked! The entire day was full of email petitions and complaining, but the pandemonium that occurred when Tumblr was first blocked was priceless. It was kind of like the scene in Saving Private Ryan when they storm the beaches of Normandy.

__Job D: Nicole Rifkin__ 1) Where do you think the Illuminati diamond is? Who has it and what is its significance in the book? The Illuminati diamond is lost, and the illuminati are searching for it. Ryan believes the church stole it from them, and it is one of the reasons they are attacking the church. 2) Who do you believe is going to become pope now that all the prefieri are dead? Ryan's prediction is the Camarlengo. Even though it is technically against papal law for the camarlengo to become pope, the Vatican has already broken the rules by allowing the media to film conclave, and has shown that it isn't afraid to modify the rules when the situation demands it. 3) Who is your favorite character in the book and why? Emily and Ryan like Olivetti. He was the leader of the swiss guard, and as Emily put it, he doesn't take crap from anybody. He is strong willed and sometimes feisty, and all around a great character. Zach likes the Camarlengo, mostly because he always seemed to be wise and composed even under pressure, and he was an extremely important character in the book. He changed drastically throughout the course of the novel, which made the story much more exciting, and Dan Brown did an excellent job writing the Carlmengo in the book. I personally liked Kohler, because he was always a vital part of the story throughout the whole thing even though he only appeared in a few of the scenes. He was just a great character who was dedicated to the discovery of truth. At some points I liked him, and at some points I hated him, but I could never deny that he was a great character.

4) stolen from Morone: if you had to re-title the book, what would you call it? why? Emily said "Elements of Illuminati" Ryan said "super awesome book of extreme explosions" (Yes, we know he's crazy) Zach would have called it "Men of God?". I like "The Lofty Quest", taken from the line from the pamphlet that sent Langdon on the Illuminati path.

5) This book deals with a lot of religion. Did it change or affect your views on religion vs. science at all? how? Zach believes that religion is how one SHOULD live, but science lets us live luxuriously. He believes that religion and science don't clash as much as coexist. He agrees with Mr. Vetra, who invented the antimatter to prove the existence of God despite the fact that he was a dedicated scientist. Emily thinks the opposite, because the bible's theory on creation directly defies evolution. She says this is just one of the many examples that prove religion and science are opposite, just like the Carlmengo believed, and that they will //always// clash. This book only reinforced her views. Ryan believes in God as the origination of everything, but believes that science is what has carried us to this point in time. He also believes that they coexist and complement each other, just like Emily. The part of the book that really described my views was where Vittoria talked about how your religion is entirely established by what type of family you were born into. Whether you believe in God or in Science, everybody is trying to find a greater meaning in life. This definitely somewhat shaped my views of religion, and I also believe that they coexist.

6) Why do you think the Carlmengo went to such drastic measures (the very last part) Some of our theories were: He didn't want to live with the guilt of having killed his father and having all of vatican city turned against him. The way he killed himself immortalized him, because he wouldn't have kept up the "miracle" facade for a very long time if he was constantly being grilled with questions. If he had lived, everything he had done would have been ruined and the scam would have been uncovered.
 * Spoilers: for everyone who has finished it already**

7) If you were in Langdon's position, what would you have done when you read the letter at the end? Emily would have kept the secret and kept it in her heart as a personal story. The Carlmengo had restored the people's faith in God and hope, and Emily wouldn't want to ruin it for them. Zach calls it the lesser of two evils, because you are either giving the people no guidance on faith or putting their faith in a lie. However, ultimately, he would have kept the secret. I disagreed. I would have told the world, because I feel that it is only fair for the people to know the truth. Belief in miracles and faith is a personal decision that should not be dictated by some complex scam.

Job A- Nicole Job B- Emily Job C- Ryan Job D- Zach ** __Job B: Emily Considine__ I believe the book was essentially good, though it was very long and a little hard to follow at certain parts what with all the facts and whatnot. It seemed to me that at some parts you had to re-read certain things just to get a first grasp on what he was trying to tell you. I would recommend it to my peers (if they had the time) because it was a very good book with some twists and turns that you weren’t expected that made it that much more interesting. This was also one of the first books I’ve read that went so much in depth in a topic such as that with some action, as I did not read the Da Vinci Code prior to this while I knew some of my group mates had. But I would not recommend this to be put into the school curriculum because, as I’ve stated before, it seems much too long to be read during classes and whatnot, and there were many sexual innuendos along with some certain material that others may find too offensive to read at a school level. Overall I enjoyed Angel’s & Demons and found it to be riveting and an interesting way he told the story, but I don’t think I would have been able to read too many of his books one after another. This is so much packet into 700 pages that it would be hard to read them over and over again. __Job C: Ryan Simpson__ **This week's meeting was quite a fun one. We opened up with some delicious snacks. There were muffins and delicious cinnamon buns, as well as Berry Tangerine Morning juice. Not only does it taste good, but it has an awesome name too. We thought that it would make a great name for a 70s funk band. After we finished noshing, we discussed the book's exhilarating ending. We came to a consensus that the Camerlengo, who was behind the entire plan, was completely insane. We then got into a conversation about the fact that Vittoria is not in the next book. A comparison was made to James Bond, with every book or movie is almost a completely different story and a new love interest in each one. We also noticed that while reading this book, the reader feels no emotional attachment to any of the characters. It was very entertaining and thrilling, but not the type of story where you care about the characters at all. Overall, we all thought that this was a pretty good book, and definitely worth the time spent reading it.
 * __Week 5__

__Job D: Zachary Weinstein__ 1) Was the Camerlengo good or evil? //Everybody agrees the Camerlengo was crazy, evil, but had good intentions.//

2) Why did Langdon jump into the helicopter? //Nicole- Adrenaline, lack of sleep// //Zach- The hero stuff got to his head.//

3) Did anyone suspect that Kohler might be innocent? I know I didn’t! //Emily and Nicole (and me)- No way. We always thought that he was the// //guy setting everything up.// //Ryan (sarcastically)- Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. I knew the whole time.//

4) Vittoria Vetra isn’t in The Da Vinci Code, what do we think happens to her? //Nicole- Langdon wouldn’t be able to “get the girl” at the end if he “had// //the girl” in the beginning.// //Emily- For the sake of the story, they needed to drop her as a character.// //He’s a player.// //Ryan- It would make Langdon less cool.// //Zach- Langdon simply got bored of her as a character and wanted a new// //face.//

5) Did anyone not like the book (Ryan)? What could Dan Brown do better? //Emily- Really liked the book. Too many fun-facts.// //Ryan- It was ok.// //Nicole- Really liked the book (and the fun facts). Develop characters// //more. Make readers feel more attached to characters.// //Zach- Awesome book! I agree with Nicole that you didn’t feel particularly sad when Langdon was in danger of dying (because you weren’t attached to him as a character.)//