The Da Vinci code : canonical, captivating, and controversial : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, is a book that has captivated modern readers across America and has carved a cozy niche on the Bestsellers List for years now. The suspenseful murder mystery scraps religious symbology and iconography with popular Christian doctrine to develop a story that not only pulls the reader along page after page, but also causes many readers to question and investigate the very foundations of their faith.What is it about this book that makes it so extremely poplar, and how valid are the various claims that Brown makes regarding Jesus. Mary Magdalene, the Catholic Church, and the infamous Holy Grail?This thesis will explore a number of possible reasons that explain the Code's success and notoriety in modern American culture. Further, the various theories presented in the novel will be investigated and researched in order to shed more light on religious supposals and their connection to the basis of the Christian religion. At the conclusion, a final theory can be formed as to why the novel has become one of the most popular books of all time, and whether one can believe what Brown writes, or whether the plausibility of its foundation requires, quite literally a monumental leap of faith.