Blizzard Bag - Summary / Romeo and Juliet

I am still reading the book, The Davinci Code, by Dan Brown.  There are many things that are going on in the book right now.  First, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu and on Robert's friend's private jet.  Robert's friend is named Sir Leigh Teabing.  He has devoted his entire life into studying the Holy Grail, desperately trying to find out where it could be.  Their destination is England, where they hope to find safety from the French police that are now chasing them.  Robert is now thought to have murdered four people, then they stole something from one of the most heavily guarded banks, and now they are keeping a monk prisoner in the back of their jet.  They have no idea that when they touch ground in England, there will be a convoy of armed policemen waiting.

There is a lot that I don't understand about Romeo and Juliet.  The first thing that I don't understand is how if the Capulets and Montagues are sworn enemies, how can Romeo be allowed to attend a Capulet party?  It doesn't make sense that Capulet would just allow that.  The other thing that I don't understand is how Romeo and Juliet can fall in love just by looking at one another, especially when Romeo only went to the party to see his other love, Rosaline.  It's like he just flipped a switch and bam, he's in love with somebody else.  

The Davinci Code - Real Life Issues in the Text

Recently I have been reading The Davinci Code, by Dan Brown.  The Davinci Code is about two strangers, put together by the act of fate, and their attempt in finding the Holy Grail.  These two people are Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu.  Sophie's grandfather, the currator of a famous art museum, is shot and killed in the museum.  Sophie's grandfather is the leader of a secret society called The Priory of Sion.  His killer is an albino monk named Silas, a member of the Christian sect Opus Dei.  Some members Opus Dei practice a form of self inflicted pain called Corporal Mortification.  The Opus Dei is a real orginazation that exists in the United States today.  This is a problem because many people choose to hurt themselves daily because they believe that it cleanses them.

This is an example of what a cilice may look like.

I think that the author thinks that this is a very bad thing.  In the story, Opus Dei is seen as the bad guys, showing that their practices may also be bad.  The object that Silas wears around his leg to inflict pain, a Cilice, does a lot more to Silas than hurt him.  When Silas confronts Robert and Sophie, trying to steal the keystone that shows where the Holy Grail is, Robert's friend hits him with his crutches on his Cilice.  This causes Silas to crumple in pain and be captured by Robert and Sophie.  This means that the Cilice leads to Silas' defeat.  Dan Brown also shows Opus Dei as a corrupt organization that manipulates people with money, even though Opus Dei is a church sect.  This is a real problem in today's world.

Memoirs of a Geisha - Suspense

The author built suspense in the book, Memoirs of a Geisha, in many different ways.  The first main way that he built suspense was by telling a story of someoby's life, and the one goal that kept them going throughout it.  One example in the text that shows this is,“The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.”  This quote tells of the main character's struggles as a young girl, and how her hopes had been vanquished.  This builds suspense by making the reader wonder if the main character, Chiyo, does ever reach her goal.  This forces the reader to keep reading to find out what happens next. 

Another way that the author builds suspense is by including many antagonists. One of these antagonists is Nobu, the man whom she thinks is inevitable to give her money in return for her company.  The character Nobu helps to build suspense in the book because the reader wants to know if Chiyo is going to have to spend the rest of her life with a man that she doesn't love.  Throughout the book, Chiyo has many interanl conflicts because of this.  She knows that Nobu has a deep interest in her, and it seems as the the man that she loves, the Chairman, doesn't even notice her.  Another antagonist in the story is Hatsumomo, the older geisha that lives with Chiyo.  Hatsumomo goes out of her way to beat down Chiyo emotionally and physically.  This helps to build suspense in the story because you never know when Hatsumomo will strike and how Chiyo will react.  An exapmle of Hatsumomo's meanness to Chiyo can be seen in the quote, "A name as sweet as she is. I'm afraid these days even the common chambermaid can call herself a geisha. So, it's nice to see such a sincere young maiko, isn't it?"  In this quote, Hatsumomo is making fun of Chiyo at a formal gathering.