Theme and Summary (The Lost Symbol)

     A central idea that was present throughout the book The Lost Symbol (particularly showcased in chapter  121) was that a loving and nurturing family doesn't always ensure a that a child will grow up to be a stable, outstanding person of moral character. The person who this pertains to in the book in particular is Zachary Solomon (aka Mal'akh, as he is commonly referred to as throughout the book). He was born into a family of great wealth and privilege, and to a family who was very adamant in their quest for trying to help better and to help make a difference in the world. Zach however had no interest in such endeavors, and preferred to spend his money for pleasure; and he eventually ended up paying for it, what with his arrest in the Middle East for attempting to carry cocaine across a border.

     This in my opinion was the beginning of his major spiral downward from being just a "rebellious youth" to becoming the "monster" that he was then  perceived as, during his obsessive quest toward becoming a god.

     "The massive tattooed creature before him had begun life as a tiny, precious infant... baby Zach curled up in a wicker bassinette... taking his first fumbling steps across Peter's study... learning to speak his first words. The fact that evil could spring from an innocent child in a loving family remained one of the paradoxes of the human soul,"

     This goes to show how just because a child is born into a seemingly kind and caring family, that doesn't account for the child's OWN personal behavior and character.
                                                
                                

Characterization of Zachary Solomon (WARNING: *SPOILERS!)

     In a previous post entitled "Characterization of Mal'akh"  I wrote about how the character Mal'akh was a KEY component to the progression of the book The Lost Symbol's plot and how he had undergone many changes throughout the book. Upon completing the book, I realized that I had not even scratched the surface of the complexity of the character Mal'akh. This single quote was an EXTREME revelation to me as I was reading;

    
     (*SPOILER!) "'I know everything!' Mal'akh fired back. 'I was there. You claimed you were trying to help him. Were you trying to help him  when you offered him the choice between wealth or wisdom? Were you trying to help him when you gave him the ultimatum to join the Masons? What kind of father gives a child the choice between 'wealth or wisdom' and expects him to know how to handle it! What kind of father leaves his son in a prison instead of flying him home to safety!' Mal'akh now moved in front of Peter and crouched down, placing his tattooed face only inches from his face. 'But most important... what kind of father can look his own son in the eyes... even after all these years... and not even recognize him!'" 

    
     That quote was probably the single most unexpected dialogue ever thought to have taken place between Peter and his captor. If there were a time-line that consisted of only his actions that played a role in the book, THIS moment would definitely qualify as the climax.

     
     To summarize Zachary's major character transformations (for more detail, see my post entitled "Characterization of Mal'akh"), I think it is important to re-visit every key part of his life; the  life that eventually led him to his *untimely death. As he realizes what   his son  has become after all these years, Peter began to recall his son Zach's early years, from his infancy to his younger years.

     
     "The massive tattooed creature before him had begun life as a tiny, precious infant... baby Zach curled up in a wicker bassinette... taking his first fumbling steps across Peter's study... learning to speak his first words,"

    
     Peter, as anyone would expect, has a terrible time imagining how Zachary could have possibly become this terrifying creature that stood before him; and how he had could have become so evil corrupt in the years since his apparent death. And, deep down, he slowly began to once again feel a renewed sense of responsibility and guilt about what had happened to his son; even though at the same time he was having great difficulty trying to comprehend how this had ever happened.

    
     "The fact that evil could spring form an innocent child in a loving family remained one of the paradoxes of the human soul,"

     To continue on in Zach's life, as he grew older it was clear to Isabel Solomon, Peter's mother and his Grandmother that he was not yet mature enough to be given his inheritance on his 18th birthday, which was a Solomon family tradition. Peter however refused to deny his son this "age-old" Solomon family tradition, and so Zach was given his piece of the family wealth;  unfortunately it did not, as Peter had hoped it would, push him toward being more mature and responsible.

    
     "The moment Zachary got his money, he broke from the family... He surfaced a few months later in the tabloids: TRUST FUND PLAYBOY LIVING EUROPEAN HIGH LIFE... the photos of their wayward teen turned from tragic t frightening when the papers reported Zachary had been caught carrying cocaine across a border in Eastern Europe: SOLOMON MILLIONAIRE IN TURKISH PRISON, "

    
     This prison is where Peter Solomon made the critical choice to not bail Zachary out right away, and by doing so he unknowingly alienated his son from himself and the rest of the Solomon family forever. It was here that Zach paid off the prison warden to invent the story of his death in prison, in exchange for a handsome reward. This was, as Zachary called it, the beginning of his "new life". He Deserted his name on took on a new one; Andros.

     
     "Inmate 37 was a free man again-a free man with a massive fortune... There was nothing money couldn't buy- new identities, new passports, new hope. He chose a Greek name- Andros Dareios- Andros meaning "warrior", and Dareios meaning "wealthy"... 'I am Reborn',"

    
     He the proceeded to live in Greece for many years, and then eventually returned to the Solomon home to retrieve the once-promised pyramid that supposedly would lead him to great wisdom. Un-recognizable to his family, the Solomon's simply thought him a robber, and never knew that he was truly their beloved son, nephew and grandson. After his failed attempt to retrieve the pyramid, he began a new quest; a quest that would prepare his body to be the ultimate sacrifice that would be pleasing enough to elevate him to the rank of a god. As part of this said preparation, he changed his identity yet again to Mal'akh, s part of his new journey towards becoming a god.

    
     Zachary Solomon/Andros Darios/Mal'akh's development throughout the book has been the major underlying story that has propelled the book's plot in it's entirety. His own personal vendetta along with his ick obsession was the driving force that set the entire chain of events into motion. Also, his great revelation was as I said before a major climax in the book, as well as a VERY unexpected twist. Needless to say, without him,, there would simply be no plot. And, in order to fully understand the book, and the dynamics behind the main conflict, you have to understand the life that began as that of the Solomon Heir.

Analysis of Robert Langdon's... Death?

     In my book that I am currently reading, The Lost Symbol, I recently completed its Chapter 103. This little "mini-chapter", consists of only about one and a half pages of text, however it goes into extreme detail about Robert Langdon's impending death by drowning in a glass box; a horribly ironic death to become him, given his past history that led to him developing a "crippling fear" of tight spaces.

     "He thought of the deep well into which he had fallen as a young boy, and of the terrifying night he spent treading water alone in the darkness of a bottomless pit. The trauma had scarred Langdon's psyche, burdening him with an overwhelming phobia of enclosed spaces,"

     "Tonight, buried alive, Robert Langdon was living his ultimate nightmare,"

     As I said before, how horrible that it seems he is to die not only in a tiny box, which only intensifies his time still alive, but he must also be yet again  surrounded by water; alone again, and this time with little to no hope of deliverance. The chapter ends with these three lines:
    
     "There was a blinding flash of light,"
     "And then blackness,"
     "Robert Langdon was gone,"

     Still, I find myself predicting that SOMEHOW Langdon manages to still live. Perhaps Director Sato will suddenly come bursting through the doors of Mal'ak's mansion and perform CPR on him. Perhaps Katherine Solomon will somehow break her bounds around her wrists and ankles and somehow destroy the fiberglass case he is being held captive in. I can't know for sure, but I just can't believe that Dan Brown would kill off his star protagonist before the book was even finished! I will have to read on to discover the credibility of Langdon's apparent demise.

Characterization of Mal'akh

     In the book, the charcter who refers to himself as Mal'akh has a very mysterious past and is very complex, indeed. We start out the book knowing next to nothing about him, yet as his scheme in the book progressess, so does our nunderstanding of his "past-life" and his new mission. He considers himself to have been reborn in Soganlik Prison (a Turkish prison). It is in this place that his plan to become a new man began.
    
     "The vast fortune belonging to Zachary Solomon had all been moved to an untraceable numbered account. Inmate 37 was a free man again-a free man with a massive fortune... There was nothing money couldn't buy- new identities, new passports, new hope. He chose a Greek name- Andros Dareios- Andros meaning "warrior", and Dareios meaning "wealthy"... 'I am Reborn',"

     "As the years passed, however... he felt as empty as he had in that Turkish prison,"

     Mal'akh still felt as though there was something still missing from his life. The initial "high" of his new-found money had begun to wear off and he was now facing whatever lay ahead. One day however, he remembered the stories that Zachary Solomon had told about  mysterious pyramid.

     "...Zachary Solomon-although long dead-still had something to offer"
    
     This entails how he changed throughout the begining of the book, and how he came upon his means to hold Peter Solomon ransom for the answers that would lead him tp the Ancient Mysteries. He took on the identity of Mal'akh after the night he attempted to rob the Solomon estate of the fabled Pyramid, and was shot by none other than Peter Solomon himself. That encounter only intensified Mal'akh's hatred towards Peter, which then led to the entire scheme he hatched which involved Langdon breaking the code to find the way to the Ancient Mysteries, and then taking them into his own knowledge. This proves how Mal'akh's personal characterization has GREATLY advanced the plot of the book.

The Lost Symbol (Book Recomendation)

     If you have read the other Dan Brown books that feature Robert Langdon, just enjoy the author's writing style, or haven't ever picked up anything by Brown, no matter what, you can LOVE reading The Lost Symbol. Robert Langdon is yet again mixed up in a world of mysteries, brotherhoods, symbols, conspiracies and the likes.
    
     This time, the story takes place in none other than Washington, D.C. where Langdon is called on an urgent request by his old colleague, Peter Solomon to speak at a lecture where the scheduled speaker suddenly dropped out. He immediately flies to the Capitol, but soon realizes that not everything is as it seems. There was never any lecture schedule for that night, and a threatening phone call from this previously assumed "assistant" to Peter, has Langdon realizing that he had been utterly played by this anonymous man. After a crazy adventure of dodging the Director of the CIA's Office of Security and her team, traveling through an underground book transfer (which due to his claustrophobia, may have been Langdon's most terrifying encounter yet!), and teaming up with Peter's sister Katherine, Langdon works towards whatever means necessary to discover an ancient secret; one that is required by Peter's captor in a matter of hours.
    
     If you enjoy mystery and adventure, I highly recommend that you add Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol to your reading list!

Analysis of Inoe Sato's Motives

     In the book that I am currently reading, The Lost Symbol, I find myself wondering HOW Inoue Sato,  the Director of the CIA knew exactly where Robert Langdon was located on the night when Peter Solomon's hand was discovered in the middle of the Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Sato didn't seem particularly keen on sharing how she had received her information either, when she felt that Langdon was beginning to question her information's credibility.

     "'This man who called me,' Langdon told Sato, 'was the only one who knew I was coming to the Capitol tonight, so whoever informed you I was here tonight, that's your man. I recommend--'"

     "'Where I got my information is not your concern,' Sato interrupted, voice sharpening. 'My top priority at the moment is to cooperate with this man, and I have information suggesting you are the only one who can give him what he wants,'" (Brown 77)

     You notice that Sato was very as she put it "cooperative" with Mal'akh; who could possibly be a potential murderer. He had after all severed a man's right hand just to follow an ancient tradition, with his own horribly sadistic twist. I wonder if perhaps she is in on the entire operation with Mal'akh. She is after all the Director of the CIA; Central INTELLIGENCE Agency. Perhaps this long-kept  Ancient Mysteries could hold some kind of information that she wishes to get her hands on. Just a thought that I would like to keep record of, just in case it turns out to be true, or at least see if I was maybe even on the right track.

Book Recomendation! (Angels and Demons)

     The prerequisite to The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol (the book that I am currently reading), Dan Brown's Angels and Demons is in my opinion one of his finest works. It takes place in the modern day Vatican City, where Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is swept up in a whirlwind experience that involves the examination of a murdered physicist, a mysterious Vatican spy known as Janus, and an ancient brotherhood known as the Illuminati that appears to remain active to this day. The Professor is in a race against time to discover the whereabouts of a time bomb planted inside the Vatican. He, along with Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra embark on a chaotic journey that takes them all across Rome and through its many historical monuments and buildings (both those that are world renowned and famously known, to those that have been long forgotten by most).
     In my opinion, the book is a great read for nearly everyone. It has so many elements of so many different genres that I feel it is bound to mix well with practically any reader's taste. There is action that has to do with the conspiracy element, along with undertones of science fiction, countless historical references, and even a hint of romance. I highly recommend the book Angels and Demons to all who feel like their taste in books falls into any or all of these categories; and I especially recommend and challenge those who don't think so, to give the book a try. After all,  you will never know what you have been missing until you give a try. Maybe you will even have to continue on and read more of Dan Brown's works.