Summary Of The Da Vinci Code

Summary Of The Da Vinci Code To begin with, Da Vinci Code is a novel written by American author and journalist Dan Brown and published in 2003 by publishing house Random House. It should be noted that Da Vinci Code was a continuation of another Dan Browns popular novel Angels and Demons (2000). As a fact, the book has become an international bestseller: it is translated into 44 languages and there are published a total circulation of more than 81 million copies. The Da Vinci Code has top position in the New York Times list of best-selling magazines. Many experts consider the novel as the best book of the decade. Novel is written in the genre of intellectual detective thriller and has arisen widespread interest to the legend of the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalenes place in the history of Christianity, as described in The Da Vinci Code An Independent Book Review. It can be said that on a plot of the book its main character, Dr. Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbology at Harvard University, should unravel the murder of Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre. As a fact, Saunieres body was found inside the Louvre naked and placed in the same way as in the famous drawing by Leonardo Da Vincis Vitruvian Man, with an encrypted inscription on his torso. This inscription indicates that the key to the mystery of the murder is hidden inside the famous works of Leonardo Da Vinci. As a result, analysis of such works of Leonardo as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper greatly helps in solving this puzzle. In the meantime, Robert meets the granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere Sophie Neveu. All her family (mother, father, brother, grandmother) had died in a car accident. Now, Sophie and Robert will unravel many secrets and mysteries. However, Captain Fache is from police, and believes that Langdon had killed Jacques Sauniere. It can be said that Robert a nd Sophie will have to prove his innocence. The protagonist of the novel will address two main puzzles: what a mystery was defended by Sauniere and why he was killed? Who killed Sauniere and who had planned this murder? According to Book Review The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Author of The Da Vinci Code), it should be noted that unraveling the mystery requires the solution of a series of puzzles. The secret of the Holy Grail location is known to a secret society, the so-called Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. The Catholic Church organization Opus Dei also plays an important role in the plot. The novel has several parallel plot lines involving the various characters. At the end of the book all the story lines come together and are resolved in the Rosslyn chapel. It should be noted that the novel could be unnoticed by various Christian religious figures, if it had not had such success, and if on the first page of the book was not asserted the truth of the events that were described in the novel. As a fact, the criticisms draw attention to the large number of inaccuracies in the presentation of history, the interpretation of historical facts, and use all sorts of unsubstantiated legends. Consequently, Archbishop Angelo Amato, who is the second man in the Vatican after the Pope called on all Catholics to boycott the film Da Vinci Code. Archbishop Amato called Browns book: stridently anti-Christian, full of calumnies, offenses and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and hostile Church, and called its success by extreme cultural poverty of a large number of Christian believers. Amato urged Christians with great zeal to reject the lies and cheap slander. He also said that if such lies and slanders were directed at the Qu ran or the Holocaust, they rightly would have caused a world uprising, while the lies and slander against the Church and Christians, remain unpunished, as described in Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. As a fact, Amato suggested that Catholics around the world should begin organized protests against the book and the film Da Vinci Code exactly the same as there were protests against Martin Scorsese The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. However, it can be said that opposing Da Vinci Code by representatives of Christian church not only fuels the hype of the novel, and raises its rating, but it is consistent with the content of the novel, in which the Church seeks to hide some kind of truth, which is presented in the novel, as stated in Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. In my opinion this is a great novel and I like it very much. To be more precise, the novel has dynamic plot, which is based on one of the most interesting historical mystery. It has vivid characters, a detailed narrative that fully immerses the reader in the atmosphere of the novel. As a fact, for the Dan Browns Da Vinci Code these terms were enough to become one of the most famous bestsellers in recent years. Moreover, in America, Da Vinci Code has literally revived the genre of historical detective, giving it such popularity, that this genre works have not previously received. It can be said that for high-performance sales, and many laudatory reviews of hiding bad, there is a nice detective, which in an accessible form tells the reader about some mystery hidden in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. Revealing the mystery, the protagonist of the book with his head is dipped into historical investigation, the results and details of which both look shocking and realistic. In my opinion, this realism, combined with the availability of exposition and narrative detail, is one of the main virtues of the book. Valiantly twirled plot complements the cocktail, condemning the novel to succeed. On the other hand, the novel has weak sides, among them is a pretty weak syllable of the author many critics consider that the author has a rustic style of presentation. On the other hand, the audience of the novel is so broad that a simple style of presentation has not spoiled the novel much- rather on the contrary; thanks to this, Da Vinci Code is a book that is understandable and accessible to everybody without exception. To sum it up, Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown can be characterized as one of the most urgent must have books of the recent decade. And everybody should read this book not only because it still remains one of the most fashionable pieces Da Vinci Code is a really interesting, exciting and at the same time sufficiently intelligent, revealing the multiple storylines prose. Work cited Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. 15 February 2011. Julian Price. 2009. The Da Vinci Code An Independent Book Review. 15 February 2011. Pascasio Felisilda. 2009. Book Review The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Author of The DaVinci Code). 15 February 2011.

The companies were referred to as Texaco

In South Africa there were two companies that were selling shares its the residents.The companies were referred to as Texaco Inc. and Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL).   The Members of   Interfaith centre that dealt with corporate responsibility   argued that they owned shares in both companies and they were suggesting to terminate their businesses because South Africa was facing political unrest thus their decision to shut down the two companies.Mr. Tim Smith was the Project Director of Interfaith Centre on corporate responsibility.   He was behind the decision of closing the two companies.   In an annual meeting that was held in 1977, it stated that the people of South Africa were being mistreated by the whites who were the minority in the country.The residents human rights were being abused since they were not being given the chance to vote, to trade freely in the country, they were being paid low wages and the blacks were always discriminated against by the wh ites and this issues triggered Mr. Tim Smith to decline to invest in   the country.There were other social crimes that were being experienced by     the residents of the country such as widespread killings, arrests and repression.   These issues continued to affect the human rights of the people of South Africa and thus the level of investment was affected.The Board of Directors of the two companies later agreed that it was reasonable to shut down the two companies due to the abuse of human rights of the residents of South Africa since they contributed to the success of the company and they also enabled the economy of the country to grow.   The Board of Directors urged the government of South Africa to end the crisis so that they could embark on their businesses.(http://164.233.169.104/search?q=cache:-RHK5RrmMQJ)The resolution to close down the two companies was later reviewed by the Board of Directors because they owned an oil company known as Caltex Petroleum Company whi ch was located in the country and was reported to be performing well .   It was reported that the company was owned by the Texaco Inc.   and Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL) by a rate of 50% shares thus it was impossible for them to leave the business yet it was generating some revenue to the country and the owners were also benefiting from it.They announced that Caltex Company was worth $100 million and the management of the company was planning to expand its refinery plant in Milnerto in South Africa from a capacity of 58,000 barrels a day to a capacity of 108,000 barrels a day and this would increase the supply of oil in South Africa by a rate of 11%, hence it would contribute to greater returns for the country.The management of Texaco and SOCAL resolved to continue with their business besides the political unrest in the country.   They thus urged their stockholders to vote against liquidating their companies .   The management of both companies promised to impr ove the working conditions of its black employees.The Caltex management implemented six principles in its code of conduct.   These were: ensuring that employees were not segregated due to their race; they were equally paid and fairly treated in their   work place.The code of conduct stated that there was a training programme that would be developed and initiated so as to prepare their employers for supervisory, administrative, clerical and technical jobs so as to improve their performance in their activities and hence enable the company to generate as much revenue to the country as possible ( http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story-id=9767615).The management of a company has legal duties besides ensuring high returns for its shareholders.   It has the duty of ensuring   that the employees comply with the employment law so they do not deviate from what they are expected to do.   The employment law states   that the management of the company should not unf airly dismiss its employees from their   work places since they should be given time to defend their cases before being dismissed.The employers are also requested to ensure that they do not discriminate their employees based on their race since this can affect their performance because no employee knew where he or she was born and brought up.In the case of the South Africa there was racial discrimination that was carried out against the black employees and this affected their performance.   In my view companies should implement laws of ensuring that these practices are not carried out so that the performance of a company cannot be affected. (http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story-id=9767615)The management of a company also has the obligation of ensuring that the interests of the company do not go against the interests of the society.   It has been noted that society is the final consumer of the products of the company thus it is important for the management t o ensure that they pay attention to the queries that arise in the community so that they can address the employees’ problems effectively since the success of the company’s depend on the employees performance hence they need to protect their rights and also they need to be treated fairly.The management of a company has the responsibility of ensuring that the employees are given health insurance schemes because they are responsible for the production of goods and services of the company.   The issuance of health schemes can prevent workers from leaving the work places due to poor working conditions which affects their productivity.The management of a company should train its employees about the activities of the company so that they can learn what they are expected to do.According to the South African case, Reverend Doctor Leon Sullivani   initiated a training programme that would ensure good performance of the company and this programme was implemented in a code of conduct so that their policy would be followed at all times by the employees of a company and this was a positive move since this would increase their productivity since the time would not be wasted on repeating small issues, yet training highlights all activities of the company thus enabling work to be carried out effectively.The management of a company should not look at the law and the rate of return on its investment as the ultimate criteria for deciding what investment it should make because there are other factors that an investor should take into account when deciding on the type of investment that he should carry out such as time value of money that is whether the returns on an investment are required now or in the future.The investor also   considers the capital outline that is required in starting and maintaining a project until the time it starts to generate returns for the company.   Another criteria the management of a company should     consider is that the typ e of industry in which they would like to set up.   The investors should research from the people about what they prefer most so that the management of a company can have a ready market for their goods and services once the industries start to operate.In case of the South African company, the South African government had imposed some restrictions on the company known as Caltex, that it would not supply its oil products to the military or the police of South Africa.   This was a challenge to the company because such restrictions reduced the returns of the company.It was wrong for the South African government to ban the sale of its petroleum products because the companies should sell their products anywhere in the world and to any potential buyer since the returns of the company are also beneficial to the residents since they can be paid better wages by the companies’ returns, the economy of the country can improve due to the corporate taxes that are collected from these co mpanies .In the case of South African companies, Bishop Desmond Tutu’s decision to impose laws that were beneficial to the black workers was a positive move since the government had failed to recognize the employees who contributed to the success of the company.The laws included providing good working condition by ensuring they were properly accommodated with houses that were near their places of work, by recognizing black trading unions and also by recognizing the right of workers and the   allowance of labor mobility, so as to enhance productivity of workers.   He also enforced a law of ensuring that fair trade practices were being practiced as education and training was conducted so as to eliminate illiteracy among the workers of a company.The company’s should consider various factors when investing because the success of a company depends on them .For instance the workers of a company should be fairly treated they should not be unfairly discriminated against ,t hey should be properly remunerated so that they can not leave their company’s since this can affect their productivity and the reputation of a company can be affected due to the high rate of turnover of their employees.ReferencesWebsite http://www.businessLink.gov.UK/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCE8jter   accessed on 2nd May 2, 2008  Website  Ã‚   http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story-id=9767615   accessed on 2nd May 2, 2008Website  Ã‚   http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:OyvnSHhOd18J  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ACCESSED ON 2nd May 2, 2008Website  Ã‚   http://164.233.169.104/search?q=cache:-RHK5RrmMQJ  Ã‚   ACCESSED ON 2nd May 2, 2008

Odysseus as an Epic Hero

Odysseus as an Epic Hero In an epic poem, epic heroes exist. An epic hero, an important figure from a history or legend, has to relate to society. By having similar traits as humans, people will look up to the hero. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the epic hero, â€Å"Beowulf†, has the ability to die. Since he has this trait, he relates to the civilization and they look up to him. The â€Å"Odyssey†, another epic poem, has a hero also. Odysseus, the hero in the â€Å"Odyssey,† fits a model of an epic hero because he has the important traits of an epic hero and relates to society.His traits include the ability to feel fear, his cunning, and physically impressive traits. Odysseus fits the model of an epic hero because he feels fear. The epic hero cannot relate to society unless he has the ability to feel fear. In having something to lose, the epic hero must demonstrate courage by overcoming the source of his terror. Odysseus experiences this terror mentally and physical ly, he faces it, and ultimately overcomes it. As Polyphemus, the Cyclops, speaks, Odysseus and his men feel â€Å"a pressure† on their hearts, â€Å"in dread / of that deep rumble and that mighty man† (246-7).Odysseus and his men face the possibility of death when the encounter the Cyclops. Odysseus’ actions show his humanity because of his ability to feel fear mentally. He also expresses his fear physically when he raises his hands in supplication to Zeus, crying out â€Å"lifting our hands to Zeus, / powerless, looking on at this, appalled† (284-5). Because Odysseus experiences fear physically and mentally, he relates to his men, Greek society, and the reader. Like all men, Odysseus must face his fear in order to overcome it. As Homer says, â€Å"Now, by the gods, I . . . cheered my men along with battle talk / to keep their courage up: no quitting now. . . . So with our brand we bored that great eye socket / while blood ran out around the red-hot barà ¢â‚¬  (368-83). In this case, Odysseus and his men use physical force to conquer the Cyclops. In doing so, he secures safety for his men and motivates them to face other obstacles on their journey. Having faced and defeated Polyphemus, Odysseus shows that he fits the true epic model of a hero. Odysseus demonstrates how he fits the replica of an epic hero because of his cunning. An epic hero associates with the society around him because of his craftiness and cunning. Odysseus displays this by getting out of dangerous ituations, leading his men out of danger, and using flattery. Odysseus and his men, trapped in a cave, needed to get out so they could live. He drew on all his â€Å"wits, and ran through tactics, / reasoning as a man will for dear life, / until a trick came† (418-20). To get out of the cave, he tied himself and his men to the underside of each ram. Clever Odysseus shows his men how cunning can get you out of dangerous situations quickly. He expresses cunning an other way by leading his crew out of danger. He does this by keeping his men away from eating the Lotus flower that made them forget their homeland.To save them, he drove them â€Å"to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches, / and called the rest† (211-13). This showed his cunning saved his men. Thus, a good captain and epic hero, like Odysseus, should have a cunning personality. Calypso, the goddess nymph, trapped Odysseus on her island. He uses his cunning to flatter her into letting him return home. He does this by telling her â€Å"My lady goddess / †¦ my quiet Penelope / †¦ would seem a shade before your majesty, / death and old age being unknown to you, / while she must die† (114-17). His ability to flatter Calypso led him of the island and allowed him to go home.An epic hero would need all these examples of cunning to survive and lead his men. To become an epic hero, it would help if he had physical strength, accuracy, and impressive lo oks. Odysseus shows he has strength when he â€Å"so effortlessly / †¦ in one motion strung the bow† (1190-91). Odysseus could only string the bow. No one else could because of the heftiness of the bow. A hero must have accuracy. When Odysseus says, â€Å"Now watch me hit a target that no man has hit before† (1225) and hits the target, he proves that has accuracy. Odysseus and the other epic heroes should have impressive looks.According to Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, Odysseus looks like â€Å"one of the gods who rule the sweep of heaven† (1001-02) and stands â€Å"like one of the immortals† (1019). Since he has these traits, it proves that he exemplifies an epic hero. Odysseus has proved that he fits the model of an epic hero because of his traits and how he associates with the society. Because of all these traits, he can finally get home. This becomes very important because he needed to accomplish his goal, to get home. Works Cited Homer. â₠¬Å"The Odyssey. † Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003

Legal And Judicial Innovations Just A Formality Or A Step...

Legal and Judicial Innovations-just a formality or a step ahead? INTRODUCTION â€Å"That country and that nation that do not respect women have never become great, nor ever be in future†. Swami Vivekananda The Constitution of India guarantees fundamental right to equality to women. It states that women have the fundamental rights to life with human dignity, to equality, and to work in ones chosen profession or trade. The right to human dignity included protection from sexual harassment. Article 42 emphasises that the â€Å"State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief†. The Constitution guarantees certain fundamental freedom to women as it considers that as a bedrock for democracy. In spite of these constitutional guarantees, the Indian society even after more than six decades since Independence considers women as subservient to men. Sexual harassment is rampant in the society including the workplace. Workplace harassment is rife and it is affecting women at large scale. It is time to stop blaming the victims and start taking the issue seriously and in a meaningful manner. Sexual harassment at workplace often goes unreported as people fear that they may lose their jobs or damages their future career if they rock the boat . Workplace sexual harassment is one of the most difficult and insidious issues to tackle because of their vulnerability. What is worse is that even when victims muster courage to come forward, they areShow MoreRelatedGlobal Business Strategy for Managing Marketing: the Case of Coca-Cola Company7223 Words   |  29 PagesBy: Wycliffe H. Odiwuor 2008 Global Business Strategy for Managing Marketing: the Case of Coca-Cola Company) Abstract From the Paper Innovation is certainly always part of the Coca-Cola Company and is why they advertise different styles of bottles, prints on cans, and items which do not have anything to do with a drink such as stuffed animals, T-shirts and caps. Producing different kinds of products involve technology. If a new product is planned to be launched, not only researchRead MoreItaly - Research Paper10557 Words   |  43 PagesIn 1948, a new constitution granted the President of the Republic the powers of the chief of state while the head of government was a prime minister with the title of President of the Council of Ministers. A constitutional court holds the supreme judicial power in Italy, while a lower and upper house were set up and were given the legislative power. (Killinger, 2002) After World War II, Italy entered a period known as the ‘Economic Miracle’, which was driven by multiple industries and firms thatRead MoreBusiness in Singapore30736 Words   |  123 PagesDoing Business in Singapore DOING BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE 1 CONTENTS 3 4 11 FOREWORD INTRODUCTION - Getting to know Singapore OVERVIEW OF LEGAL ENVIRONMENT - Legal Framework - Handling Civil Disputes - Employment - Immigration - Competition Act - Singapores Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) STARTING A BUSINESS BANKING RELATIONSHIP IN SINGAPORE - Introduction to the Financial Landscape in Singapore - Banking in Singapore - Business Credit Facilities - Business Protection TYPES OF BUSINESS ORGANISATIONSRead MoreComparison Between Japan and Russia13811 Words   |  56 Pagesconventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon Capital: name: Tokyo geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) National anthem: name: Kimigayo (The Emperors Reign) lyrics/music: unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI note: adopted 1999; in use as unofficial national anthem since 1883; oldest anthem lyrics in the worldRead MoreCorporation (Fisch) Outline Penn Law Essay62808 Words   |  252 Pageslaw, requiring cooperation of the state ââ€" ª Modern firms have additional options †¢ LLCs, LLPs, BusinessTrusts, etc ââ€" ª Key components †¢ Nature of ownership †¢ Formality of structure o What is a firm? ââ€" ª Jensen Meckling- firm is a â€Å"black box† Operate according to maximize profits/value ââ€" ª Who determines the objectives? ââ€" ª Why profit maximizationRead MoreMba Solved Assignment Papers52670 Words   |  211 Pagesplacing the conference as a major international event in the area.    b. What are the Types and General rules for graphical representation of data? [5 Marks] Graphical representation is done of the data available. This is very important step of statistical analysis. We will be discussing the organization of data. The word Data is plural for datum ; datum means facts. Statistically the term is used for numerical facts such as measures of  height, weight and scores on achievement and  intelligenceRead MoreProject on Risk Management46558 Words   |  187 Pagesno. : 4108163163 Management of Business Finance INDIAN INSTITUE OF FINANCE CORPORATE GUIDE: MR. ASHOK SHARMA ASST. MANAGER AGRA BRANCH, AGRA UTTAR PRADESH. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Expressing gratitude is not just an exercise of formality rather doing so evokes the memories of my association with my mentors and mates. I thank Chairman Prof. J. D. Agarwal and Director Aman Agarwal for allowing me to carry out this project. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my corporateRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pages978-0470-16968-1 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Brief Contents PA RT 1 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 UNDERSTANDING HRM The Dynamic Environment of HRM 2 Fundamentals of Strategic HRM 28 PART 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONTEXT OF HRM Equal Employment Opportunity 56 Employee Rights and Discipline 84 PART 3 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 STAFFING THE ORGANIZATION Human Resource Planning and Job Analysis 110 Recruiting 132 Foundations of SelectionRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesand, by implication, genuine routinization.9 These scholars have failed to afï ¬ rm the routinization of Rastafari primarily because they have uncritically accepted the idea that the development of formal organizational structures (whether rational-legal or traditional) is the only indicator of the routinization of new movements. In contrast, this interpretive study unequivocally asserts the routinization of the movement. Of course the use of Webers theory of routinization is somewhat problematic