MAN VS MAN

DA VINCI CODE

Jacques Saunire, the respected curator of the Louvre museum in Paris, is viciously shot by an
albino monk looking for a certain mysterious somethingsomething only Saunire and three other
men (that have already been offed) could direct him to.
Realizing the secret he and those other men vowed to protect is about to die with him, Saunire
scrambles to leave behind a message that can only be understood by very specific people
Robert Langdon, a humble but groundbreaking professor of Symbology, gets summoned to a
gruesome murder scene in the middle of the night because the DCPJ (basically the French version of
the FBI) need his expert opinion. Upon arriving, Langdon is stunned to realize the victim is Jacques
Saunirecoincidentally, the very man he was supposed to meet for drinks earlier that night.
Captain Bezu Fache of the DCPJ likes Langdon as the prime suspect in Saunire's death, and all he
needs is an inadvertent confession at the scene of the crime. He's thwarted in getting one, though,
because Sophie Neveu (Saunire's estranged granddaughter and code-breaker extraordinaire)
interrupts the process and cleverly warns Langdon that he's in serious trouble.
The two of them manage to escape the Louvre without being captured by the policebut not before
they discover a series of clues left behind by her grandfather.
From there, Sophie and Langdon are led on a wild quest to find the keystonea mysterious object
that will ultimately lead to the Holy Grail. Turns out Saunire had been the head of a secret society
known as the Priory of Sion (say that five times fast) who worship the sacred feminine and protect
the secret of the Holy Grail's true identity and location.
You see, the holy grail's not a wooden cup like Indy Jones found: it's actually the bones of Mary
Magdalene, and documents that prove she had been the mother of Jesus's children. (Whoa. That
changes everything.) Now it's up to Sophie and Langdon to unlock his clues in order to discover the
secret he's worked so hard to protect.
Along the way, while dodging capture by the DCPJ and attacks from the albino monk Silas, they
enlist the help of the Grail expert Sir Leigh Teabing. Together they decipher Saunire's riddles and
seek out answers all over London on a scavenger hunt to beat all scavenger hunts.
As things develop, it turns out this entire charade has been orchestrated by a shadowy figure
known as the Teacher. (Sheesh, that's an ominous name.) He's the one who ordered Silas to kill
Saunire, and he's been pulling the strings with Silas's mentorthe unfortunate Bishop
Aringarosaas well, who's a man who is desperate to save his conservative Catholic sect Opus Dei
from extinction.
In a twist no one sees coming, we discoverjust as Langdon deciphers the final cluethat
Teabing is the dastardly Teacher. With the timing of a Swiss watch, Captain Bezu Fache manages to
save the day. He'd realized he had the wrong man thanks to a confession from the sheepish Bishop
(who'd realized he and Silas had been played), and manages to track down and arrest Teabing just
in time.
With their names cleared of any crimes, and the final clue solved, Langdon and Sophie head to
Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. There they'll supposedly find the Holy Grail, according to Saunire's last
riddle. Instead, though, they find Sophie's long-lost grandmother and little brother, who also
happen to be direct descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.
Sophie's happy to finally have family (after losing her grandfather, she thought she was totally
alone), but Langdon is pretty bummed that he didn't end up finding the Grail.
Thankfully, Langdon pieces together Saunire's final clue in a different way, and is struck by the
realization that the Holy Grail is actually hidden beneath the Louvre itself.
 MAN VS NATURE

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

The story begins, as you might expect, with an old man. He is a fisherman who has not caught a fish
in 84 days. He is also not eating very much. The two factors are related. We also meet a boy who is
dear friends with the old man. The old man taught him to fish when he was young, and the boy
brings the old man food. Does our language sound elementary and clipped? Thats because
Hemingways prose is. His is just eight million times better than ours. So that sets the stage. Wed
also like to note that the old man has a name (Santiago), as does the young boy (Manolin), but the
text always refers to them as "the old man" and "the boy." So this old man goes to sleep dreaming of
the lions he used to see back in the day in Africa. He wakes before sunrise and does what fishermen
doget in his boat and head out to fish. Not too long after that, the old man hooks a really, really,
ridiculously big fish. A "marlin" to be more exact. An earth-shattering struggle of mythical
proportions follows. Most of the novella consists of this struggle, which lasts over three days. It is a
battle of strength and of wills. The old man sees the fish as his brother, not his enemy, yet he never
wavers in his resolution to kill the thing. Which, ultimately, he does. But this is no happy ending. Its
just a happy mid-point followed by an extraordinarily sad ending. The old man straps the fish to the
side of the boat and heads home. On the way, he is attacked by sharks, who slowly but surely eat
away at the marlin while the old man, starving and exhausted, tries to beat them off with a harpoon,
a club, and finally nothing but a simple knife. By the time he makes it back to shore, there is nothing
left of the fish but a skeleton. The old man goes to sleep and dreams of the same lions of his youth.
 MAN VS SELF

HAMLET

Prince Hamlet is depressed. Having been summoned home to Denmark from school in Germany to
attend his fathers funeral, he is shocked to find his mother Gertrude already remarried. The Queen has
wed Hamlets Uncle Claudius, the dead kings brother. To Hamlet, the marriage is foul incest. Worse
still, Claudius has had himself crowned King despite the fact that Hamlet was his fathers heir to the
throne. Hamlet suspects foul play. When his fathers ghost visits the castle, Hamlets suspicions are
confirmed. The Ghost complains that he is unable to rest in peace because he was murdered. Claudius,
says the Ghost, poured poison in King Hamlets ear while the old king napped. Unable to confess and find
salvation, King Hamlet is now consigned, for a time, to spend his days in Purgatory and walk the earth by
night. He entreats Hamlet to avenge his death, but to spare Gertrude, to let Heaven decide her fate.
Hamlet vows to affect madness puts an antic disposition on to wear a mask that will enable him
to observe the interactions in the castle, but finds himself more confused than ever. In his persistent
confusion, he questions the Ghosts trustworthiness. What if the Ghost is not a true spirit, but rather an
agent of the devil sent to tempt him? What if killing Claudius results in Hamlets having to relive his
memories for all eternity? Hamlet agonizes over what he perceives as his cowardice because he cannot
stop himself from thinking. Words immobilize Hamlet, but the world he lives in prizes action. In order to
test the Ghosts sincerity, Hamlet enlists the help of a troupe of players who perform a play called The
Murder of Gonzagoto which Hamlet has added scenes that recreate the murder the Ghost described.
Hamlet calls the revised play The Mousetrap, and the ploy proves a success. As Hamlet had hoped,
Claudius reaction to the staged murder reveals the King to be conscience-stricken. Claudius leaves the
room because he cannot breathe, and his vision is dimmed for want of light. Convinced now that
Claudius is a villain, Hamlet resolves to kill him. But, as Hamlet observes, conscience doth make
cowards of us all. In his continued reluctance to dispatch Claudius, Hamlet actually causes six ancillary
deaths. The first death belongs to Polonius, whom Hamlet stabs through a wallhanging as the old man
spies on Hamlet and Gertrude in the Queens private chamber. Claudius punishes Hamlet for Polonius
death by exiling him to England. He has brought Hamlets school chums Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
to Denmark from Germany to spy on his nephew, and now he instructs them to deliver Hamlet into the
English kings hands for execution. Hamlet discovers the plot and arranges for the hanging of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead. Ophelia, distraught over her fathers death and Hamlets
behavior, drowns while singing sad love songs bemoaning the fate of a spurned lover. Her
brother, Laertes, falls next. Laertes, returned to Denmark from France to avenge his fathers death,
witnesses Ophelias descent into madness. After her funeral, where he and Hamlet come to blows over
which of them loved Ophelia best, Laertes vows to punish Hamlet for her death as well. Unencumbered
by words, Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet. In the midst of the sword fight, however, Laertes
drops his poisoned sword. Hamlet retrieves the sword and cuts Laertes. The lethal poison kills Laertes.
Before he dies, Laertes tells Hamlet that because Hamlet has already been cut with the same sword, he
too will shortly die. Horatio diverts Hamlets attention from Laertes for a moment by pointing out that
The Queen falls. Gertrude, believing that Hamlets hitting Laertes means her son is winning the fencing
match, has drunk a toast to her son from the poisoned cup Claudius had intended for Hamlet. The Queen
dies. As Laertes lies dying, he confesses to Hamlet his part in the plot and explains that Gertrudes death
lies on Claudius head. Finally enraged, Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and then pours
the last of the poisoned wine down the Kings throat. Before he dies, Hamlet declares that the throne
should now pass to Prince Fortinbras of Norway, and he implores his true friend Horatio to accurately
explain the events that have led to the bloodbath at Elsinore. With his last breath, he releases himself
from the prison of his words: The rest is silence. The play ends as Prince Fortinbras, in his first act as
King of Denmark, orders a funeral with full military honors for slain Prince Hamlet.
 MAN VS SOCIETY

THE PEARL

From the beginning, we learn that the story were about to read is a parable, which means that although
its about one man, its really about more than one man. Tricky, Steinbeck. You sly dog. Meet Kino, an
impoverished but plucky native who makes a living diving for pearls off the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. He
lives with his wife Juana and his son Coyotito... who unfortunately gets stung by a scorpion within the
first five pages. Distraught (understatement of the year), Juana calls for the doctor, who has very
particular requirements for his patientsnamely, that they have lots of cash. Kino and Juana go to the
doctors house anyway, but their race and poverty work against them. The doctor wont treat Coyotito,
so Kino goes pearl-diving in the hopes of hitting the jackpot(i.e., a really, really big pearl). Juana
accompanies him on the canoe with their baby. Kino then finds a really, really big pearl. At the same
time, Coyotito miraculously heals himself. This is a good day for the family. Word travels through town
that Kino has hit the mother lode. Dollar signs (or peso signs, more accurately) immediately start
running through everyones brain as they all think about how to get in on Kinos new-found wealth. Kino
and Juana are similarly psyched; Kino dreams of marrying Juana properly in a church, paying for
Coyotitos education, and buying a rifle. Then all the freeloaderssorry, well-wishersstart arriving to
flatter, cajole, and generally make nice with Kino. Meanwhile the doctor has shown up, all apologies for
being a racist jerk earlier that morning. He then proceeds to "heal" Coyotito, but actually just poisons the
kid and then cures him in the course of a few hours, all with the intention of finding where the pearl is
hidden. (Kino buried it under the ground.) After all of Kinos new "friends" leave the hut, he and Juana go
to sleep. Kino awakens in the middle of the night to find an intruder in his hut trying to steal the pearl.
The intruder smashes Kino on the head before departing. As Juana nurses Kinos injury, she insists that
the pearl is evil and they better get rid of it. Kino refuses. The next day, Kino goes to sell the pearl,
eagerly watched by his entire community. Unfortunately for Kino, the pearl buyers are all colluding with
each other. No one offers him more than a third of the pearls real value. Furious, Kino decides to forget
the pearl buyers and go straight to the capital. Now, Kinos a bit of a homebody, so a trip up north is a big
deal. Juana again tries to dissuade him, but Kino refuses to listen, so Juana is helpless. Or is she? Kino
wakes up in the middle of the night to find his wife about two seconds away from chucking the pearl into
the ocean. In keeping with his earlier aggressive outbreak, Kino resorts to his fists and beats his wife. As
Kino makes his way back to the house, someone attacks him, and his house erupts in flames. Kino kills
his attacker and he and Juana watch their hut burn to the ground. As the couple hits the road the next
night with their son, they discover trackers are on their tail. In a chase sequence, Kino tries to hide his
family in the mountains as the trackers pursue them. Finally, they rest in some picturesque caves above
a little stream. The trackers stopguess whereat the stream. Deciding its time for some combat, Kino
tells Juana to keep the baby quiet and makes his way down to the trackers. As hes about to attack,
Coyotito cries out and one of the men pulls out his rifle. Just as he shoots in Coyotitos general
direction, Kino pulls aChuck Norris on the trackers and kills all three of them. Victory! Except not, since
Kino then hears a "cry of death" coming from the cave. We cut to the town, go back to parable-mode, and
learn that everyone remembers the familys sad return. Then we actually get to see the familys sad
return. As they walk into town, Kino and Juana are full of despair. Juana carries a bloody blanket with
the remains of Coyotito (whose head was blown off in that rifle incident back there) and the couple
walks to the ocean. Kino flings the pearl out to sea and it disappears.
 MAN VS GOD / SUPREME BEING

WRATH OF TITANS

Ten years after he defeated the Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson),
now lives as a fisherman with his 10-year-old son, Heleus (John Bell). One night, Perseus is visited by Zeus,
who tells him that the powers of the gods are fading and the walls of the underworld prison of Tartarus are
breaking due to the lack of devotion from humans and states they will need the world's armies to combat the
potential threat, but Perseus shows little interest and refuses to get involved. Afterwards, Zeus travels to
Tartarus to meet with his brothers Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston), and his son Ares
(Edgar Ramirez). He tells Hades they must forget the past and unite to rebuild Tartarus, but Hades orders his
minions to attack. They severely injure Poseidon, and Ares betrays Zeus over showing Perseus more affection,
taking him prisoner and stealing his thunderbolt. Hades and Ares plan to drain Zeus' power to revive Kronos,
the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, in exchange for the two to remain immortal. The walls of Tartarus
break, unleashing monsters into the world. After slaying a Chimera that attacks his village, Perseus takes
Heleus to the Mount of Idols, so they can speak to Zeus, but the dying Poseidon arrives instead. He informs
Perseus that Hades and Ares are holding Zeus in Tartarus, and tells him to meet with his demigod son Agenor
(Toby Kebbell) to find the fallen god Hephaestus, who knows the way into Tartarus. Poseidon then gives
Perseus his trident before succumbing to his injuries and crumbling into dust. Perseus flies on Pegasus to the
campsite of Queen Andromeda's army. Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) has imprisoned Agenor for stealing
crown jewels, but Perseus has him released. Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor, and a group of soldiers set out at
sea to find Hephaestus, with Agenor explaining that Hephaestus created the three great weapons that Zeus,
Hades, and Poseidon wield: Zeus Thunderbolt, Hades' Pitchfork, and Poseidons Trident, and that together
they form the Spear of Triam, the only weapon that can defeat Kronos. Agenor uses Poseidon's trident to
direct the boat to Hephaestus's island, where they encounter three Cyclopes who attack them. When Perseus
shows them the trident, they lead the group to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), the smith god, stripped of much of his
godly power after siding with Hades after he betrayed the Olympians ten years prior. He explains that he has
a map to navigate the path into Tartarus. He leads them to the door into the Labyrinth, where they are
attacked by Ares after Korrina prays to him. Ares kills most of the soldiers as well as Korrina while
Hephaestus opens the door, before he sacrifices himself so that Perseus, Andromeda, and Agenor can enter
the door before it closes. Agenor tries to use the map to direct them, but the Labyrinth continually shifts and
at one point nearly crushes them. Perseus gets cut off from the group and encounters and kills the Minotaur.
Eventually, the group manages to reunite outside of Tartarus. Meanwhile, Zeus has been almost entirely
drained of power as Kronos starts to awaken. Zeus apologizes to Hades and asks his forgiveness, as he has
forgiven Hades for his actions. Hades has a change of heart and finally decides to help Zeus and stop Kronos,
but Ares intervenes. Perseus arrives and uses the trident to free Zeus. As they are escaping, Ares throws
Hades's pitchfork into Zeus's back. Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor and Hades carry a weakened Zeus down to
the base of the mountain where Andromeda's army is gathered. Perseus combines the trident and Hades
pitchfork, but he still needs Zeus's thunderbolt, which Ares still has, to complete the Spear. Perseus prays to
Ares, challenging him to a fight at the Temple of Gods, which Ares accepts. At the temple, Perseus finds out
Ares has kidnapped Heleus, who was brought to watch Perseus die. Ares easily overpowers Perseus, but he is
distracted when Heleus tries to challenge him by pointing a sword at him, giving Perseus the opportunity to
defeat him. Perseus then destroys Ares with Zeus's Thunderbolt and combines the gods' weapons into the
Spear of Triam. Meanwhile, Andromeda's army is overwhelmed by Kronos' army of Makhai, but Hades arrives
to revive Zeus and together they use what power they have left to defeat the army, who have murdered most
of Andromeda's men. Kronos then appears and begins to attack them, from which Zeus and Hades defend
them and at the same time are giving Perseus the opportunity to fly right down Kronos' throat. Kronos lets
out one last blast, and Zeus takes the brunt of the force to protect Hades. Perseus throws the Spear of Triam
into Kronos' stomach, destroying him once and for all. Perseus meets with Zeus and Hades; Zeus commends
Perseus for his courage, stating that the time of the gods is over before turning to dust. Hades is now mortal,
though he states he might be better off as such before walking away. Perseus reunites with Andromeda and
kisses her. Knowing that there are still Titans to battle, Perseus decides to train Heleus to be a soldier.