The Da Vinci Code in France Evan Tillett Kara Gaspari English 10 January 12, 2012

French Monuments The Eiffel Tower- was originally created for the 1889 World Fair. It was supposed to be temporary and has caused much controversy over the years. The Louvre- the most visited art museum in the world. It holds over 35,000 of our famous pieces of art including The Mona Lisa.

Important Events Bastille Day- the French equivalent to our Independence Day. They celebrate with fire works at the Eiffel Tower. Cannes Film Festival- the worlds most prestigious film festival. The most prestigious award given is The Golden Palm for best film. The French Tennis Open- only the best of the best tennis players play at this tournament.

Interesting Facts The most popular sports in France are football (soccer), and rugby. Handball and basketball are also popular in many parts of France. French literature is very popular and well known. Charles Perrault was one of France’s most influential children’s writers. He wrote books such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Puss in Boots. It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 1 million illegal immigrants in France.

Text Connections The Da Vinci Code is like Sherlock Holmes because they run around and try to solve mysteries. The Da Vinci Code is like my life because something like that would happen to me because I am a lot like Robert Langdon The Da Vinci Code reminds me of what we are learning about in French class because we have been learning about The Louvre and that is where a lot of The Da Vinci Code takes place.

Themes I think the theme of this book is to think things through. Throughout the book Robert and Sophie almost make some decisions that could ruin everything but then they think a little harder and they know what they really need to do. For example, when they are in The Depository Bank of Zurich and they are trying to think of the account number and if they get it wrong it will shut down. So at first they think it is the random number that Jacques put on the floor in The Louvre but then Sophie realizes that it is not that. It is the Fibonacci Sequence.

The Da Vinci Code taught me… The Da Vinci Code taught me a lot about history and art as well as more about the country I researched. It taught me about a lot of different places in France. Such as The Louvre, The Depository Bank of Zurich, The Garden of Earthly Delights, and many more.

Cultural Differences There are not many cultural differences between Robert Langdon and I because we are both from America. He is much more educated than I am and he has a great knowing of history and art. But I don’t know if that would necessarily be a cultural difference.

Similarities Robert Langdon and I are a lot alike. We both are interested in history and art. He is also claustrophobic and I am a little bit also. I would love to solve a problem like he does but he is much more brave than I am.

What Fascinates Me About French Culture? Everything! I love French culture. I love the language, the people, the architecture, the landscapes, the food, and the monuments. I just love the way French culture seems. I don’t know if that’s really how it is but I would love to go and find out.

Conflict The main conflict of The Da Vinci Code is that Jacques Sauniere was murdered and Robert Langdon is the main suspect. Then Robert and Sophie (Sauniere’s granddaughter) try to figure out the message Sauniere left for them while being chased by the police. The culture affects the conflict because Robert is not even from that country and he is suddenly a French criminal. I would say it is an external conflict.

If it were me. If I was the main character in the story, I don’t know if I would have gone with Sophie in the first place. But if I did, I would have taken off for the American embassy when she told me to. But that is only because I am a wimp.

Alternate Ending Robert and Sophie could finally find the Holy Grail after the realize what the poem was saying. Then they could agree to leave it hidden and go get married and live happily ever after. But I kind of like the ending in the original story.

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