Genre
Mystery-Thriller
Setting and Context
Present Time in Vatican City during Papal Elections
Narrator and Point of View
Multiple narrators use their POV but the main narrator is Robert Langdon
Tone and Mood
The tone is changes with the point of view; however, for the most part the tone is of anticipating horror and urgency.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Robert Langdon is the protagonist who is trying to avoid a catastrophe. Carlo Ventresca is the antagonist who is trying to use the aforementioned upheaval for his means.
Major Conflict
The major conflict comes from the debate between science and religion. While science accuses religion for condemning and even killing knowledge, religion accuses science of killing people's faith and breeding immorality.
Climax
The antagonist, Carlo Ventresca, realizes that even though he is highly religious and condemns science for its immoral activities, his own birth is a result of a scientific procedure called artificial insemination.
Foreshadowing
The nature of Robert Langdon's survival from a fall from sky is foreshadowed early when Kohler mentions how a 'One square yard of drag will slow a falling body almost twenty percent" in chapter 7.
Understatement
The camerlengo, Carlo Ventresca, is claimed to be a peaceful and ambitious man. However, he turns out to have killed the Pope and planned for murder of mulitple people for getting the position of Pope.
Allusions
The way science and religion are descibed, both concepts seem to be two opposing armies in a war, where one is evil and other is good. But, through different POVs, an ambiguity remains that which of the two is neccesarily good. Throughout the book, Vittoria stresses that religion and science are different ends to same means. In the end, Carlo realises that he can not overly condemn science as his life was also a result of a scientifc procedure.
Carlo also tries to construe himself as a deity. His branding by heretics, voices of God being spoken in his ears, and miracullously surviving an explosion allude to crucifixion and rebirth of Jesus.
Imagery
The description of the brands on the chests of Vetra and cardinals and the manner of their deaths in which the certain brand element is used induces an image of uttmost horror and calculated terror, which was ultimately the purpose of the Hassasin.
Paradox
Carlo Ventresca condemns science for immoral prcatices, but is shocked to find that his birth was result of artificial insemination. Another paradox is that Ventresca who considers himself a man of faith is not hesistant to murder people and confund them into thinking of his survival as a miracle.
Parallelism
The Hassasin murders the four cardinals exactly in the way four scientists were murdered by the Church in the seventeenth century.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Church and The Science are used as metonymys. The Church is used multiple times to account for the power and actions of people placed high in Christanity hierarchy, the Pope and the cardinals at Vatican, while Science is used to represent scientists all around the globe, but primarily CERN.
Personification
N/A
