PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Many works of literature are devoted to giving readers explicit or implicit instructions or teachings about a philosophy, an ideology, a craft, a lifestyle, or other ends. These works are supposed to entertain and teach and, accordingly, they are labeled as didactic literature. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (DVC) is a highly controversial novel that has been largely debated and discussed because of its content and intended message. In this novel, Brown intentionally presents an alternative understanding to Christianity which is received mostly as heretic and blasphemous. In many occasions, Brown avers that the visions he gave in his DVC are the findings of his research on Christian doctrines and institutions. Thus, they are accurate facts though they are written in a piece of fiction. He also emphasizes that he aims to share newly acquired knowledge with his audience through the pages of his work. This paper is an attempt to study Brown’s DVC as a didactic novel. It ultimately aims to show how Brown manipulated the didactic theory of sugar-coated pill in his DVC to teach Christians about the theology and history of their religion. Adopting a descriptive-analytic method, the study first tackles Brown’s Christian ideology. Then, it analyzes his DVC showing how he used different devices and techniques of didactic novels for the purpose of instructing his readers. The study concludes that DVC is not a mere piece of fiction but a didactic novel that used fiction as a cover to pass historical and theological teachings.

• 60 Minutes Australia (2019, August 2). The Da Vinci Code phenomenon | 60 Minutes Australia [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/qJY1ak5VQcs

• Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. G. (2012). A glossary of literary terms. Cengage Learning.

• Baldick, C. (2001). The concise Oxford Dictionary of literary terms. Oxford University Press.

• Beverley, J. A. (2005). Counterfeit code: Answering the Da Vinci Code heresies. Bay Ridge Books.

• Bock, D. L. (2004). Breaking ‘The Da Vinci Code’: Answers to the questions everybody’s asking. Thomas Nelson.

• Brown, D. (2003). The Da Vinci Code. Corgi Books.

• Burke, T. (2013). Secret scriptures revealed: A new introduction to the Christian apocrypha. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.12234_30

• Burstein, D. (2004). Secrets of the Code: The unauthorized guide to the mysteries behind ‘The Da Vinci Code’. The Orion Publishing Group.

• Cuddon, J. A. (2013). A dictionary of literary terms and literary theory. Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325988

• De Flon, N. M., & Vidmar, J. (2006). 101 questions and answers on The Da Vinci Code and the Catholic tradition. Paulist Press.

• Dunn, J., & Bubeck, C. (2006). The Gospel according to Dan Brown from ‘The Da Vinci Code’ to ‘Angels and Demons’: The story behind the fiction. Victor.

• Easley, M. J., & Ankerberg, J. (2006). The Da Vinci Code controversy: 10 facts you should know. Moody Publishers.

• Eburne, J. (2018). So dark, the con of man. In Outsider theory: Intellectual histories of questionable ideas (pp. 113-158). University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctv69t6sf.8

• Ehrman, B. D. (2004). Truth and fiction in ‘The Da Vinci Code’: A historian reveals what we really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine. Oxford University Press.

• Eskola, T. (2011). Evil Gods and reckless saviours: Adaptation and appropriation in late twentieth-century Jesus novels. Wipf and Stock Publishers.

• Ferris, S. (2005). The key to ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Crombie Jardine Publishing Limited.

• Galens, D. (2009). Literary movements for students: Presenting analysis, context, and criticism on literary movements. Gale, Cengage Learning.

• Gandolfo, A. (2007). Faith and fiction: Christian literature in America today. Praeger. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-734X.2008.00674_18.x

• Garlow, J. L. (2006). The Da Vinci Code breaker: An easy-to-use fact checker for truth seekers. Bethany House Publishers.

• Giannini, J. (2008). The sacred secret: The real mystery. The Da Vinci Code. Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche, 2(2), 63-84. https://doi.org/10.1525/jung.2008.2.2.63

• Gumbel, N. (2006). ‘The Da Vinci Code’: A response. Alpha International.

• Gunn, M., Greg, W. G., & Wright J. (2006). ‘The Da Vinci Code’ adventure: On the trail of fact, legend, faith, & film. Hollywood Jesus Books.

• Haag, M. (2009). The rough guide to ‘The Lost Symbol’. Rough Guides.

• Hanegraaff, H., & Maier, P. L. (2004). ‘The Da Vinci Code’ fact or fiction?: A critique of the novel by Dan Brown. Tyndale House Publishers.

• Havens, H. (2017). Didactic novels and British women’s writing, 1790-1820. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315629001

• Howard-Laity, E. J. (2011). Writing wrongs: Re-vision and religion in contemporary women’s fiction. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester]. https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/thesis/Writing_wrongs_re-vision_and_religion_in_contemporary_women_s_fiction/10180271/1

• Hunter, J. P. (1990). Before novels: The cultural contexts of eighteenth-century English fiction. Norton.

• Jafarli, Y. (2020). The novel Da Vinci Code as a symbolic semiotic model of alternative history. The Achievers Journal, 6(1), 18-30. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340777957_The_Novel_Da_Vinci_Code_as_a_Symbolic_Semiotic_Model_of_Alternative_History

• Johnsrud, B. (2014). The Da Vinci Code, crusade conspiracies, and the clash of historiographies. In M. Butter & M. Reinkowski (Eds.), Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East: A Comparative Approach (pp. 100-117). Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110338270.100

• Jones, T. P. (2012). Conspiracies and the cross: How to intelligently counter the ten most popular arguments against the Gospel of Jesus. Front Line.

• Kennedy, T. (2012). Mary Magdalene and the politics of public memory: Interrogating The Da Vinci Code. Feminist Formations, 24(2), 120-139. https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2012.0014 

• Kirkwood, B. (2006). Unveiling The Da Vinci Code: The mystery of The Da Vinci Code revealed, a Christian perspective. Selah Publication Group.

• Klein, E. (1971). A comprehensive etymological dictionary of the English Language. Elsevier.

• Knight, J. (2005). Re-mythologizing the divine feminine in The Da Vinci Code and The Secret Life of Bees. In B. D. Forbes & J. H. Mahan (Eds.), Religion and popular culture in America: Revised Edition (pp. 56-74). University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520291447.001.0001 

• Lacy, N. (2004). The Da Vinci Code: Dan Brown and the grail that never was. Arthuriana, 14(3), 81-93. https://doi.org/10.1353/art.2004.0051

• Lahey, E. (2016). Author-character Ethos in Dan Brown’s Langdon-series novels. In E. Lahey & J. Gavins (Eds.), World building: Discourse in the Mind (pp. 33-52). Bloomsbury Publishing. http://doi.org/10.5040/9781474295444.ch-003

• Morris, P. (1994). Reading Pride and Prejudice. In D. Walder (Ed.), The Realist Novel (pp. 33-62). Routledge.

• Newsom, C. A. (2003). The book of job: A contest of moral imaginations. Oxford University Press.

• Nisbet, H. B., & Rawson, C. (Eds.). (2005). The Cambridge history of literary criticism: The eighteenth century (Vol. 4). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521300094

• Nuaimi, A. H. A., & Abu-Jaber, H. Y. (2013). Arabs and The Da Vinci Code: Vision and opinions. English Language and Literature Studies, 3(2), 74-80. https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v3n2p74

• Olson, C. E., & Miesel, S. (2004). The Da Vinci hoax: Exposing the errors in ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Ignatus.

• Palmer, A., & Dunn, J. (2006). Cracking Da Vinci’s Code. Victor.

• Paull, J., & Culwell, C. (Eds.). (2006). Fodor’s Guide to ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Random House.

• Persaud, C. H. K. (2010). ‘The Da Vinci Code’ revisited: A conclusive reputation of the sinister, widespread lie. Xlibris Corporation.

• Propp, W. H. C. (2013). Is The Da Vinci Code true?. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 25(1), 34-48. https://doi.org/10.3138/jrpc.25.1.34

• Ramsay, P. (2006). The Da Vinci Code: What role did Emperor Constantine play in Christianity? Heaven for Sure. https://www.heaven4sure.com/2006/06/06/the-da-vinci-code-what-role-did-emperor-constantine-play-in-christianity-heaven4sure-com-life-lessons-2/

• Sanghi, A. (2014, November 29). Dan Brown Interviewed by Ashwin Sanghi [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/IpEwNS3sJYk

• Silvey, A. (2006). 500 great books for teens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

• Solomon, R. M. (2006). Faith & fiction: The fallacy of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and the facts of Christianity. Genesis Books.

• Taryam, M. (2014, November 23). Dan Brown Full Speech in Sharjah International Book Fair, 6th November,2014 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/48Xt9L_85pU

• Taylor, G. (2005). The guide to Dan Brown’s ‘The Solomon Key’. De Vorss and Company.

• Thomas, G. A. (2011). The Dan Brown enigma: The biography of the world’s greatest thriller writer. John Blake.

• Van, L. (2017, November 24). HARDtalk Dan Brown [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uEtOWFQYDO4

• Williams, G. (2006). ‘The Da Vinci Code’: From Dan Brown’s fiction to Mary Magdalene’s faith. Christian Focus.

• Zane, J. (2015). Dan Brown: I’ve Cracked the Code of ‘Da Vinci Code’ Hypomania. In J. P. Zane (Ed.), Off the books: On Literature and Culture (pp. 35-38). University of South Carolina Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6wgd86.16

• Zhu, Z., & Zhang‏, A. (2016). The Dan Brown Craze: An analysis of his formula for thriller fiction. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.