THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S
THE DA VINCI CODE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S
THE DA VINCI CODE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2008
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S
THE DA VINCI CODE
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
Approved by
Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S., M.Hum. September 12, 2008. Advisor
Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. September 12, 2008. Co-Advisor
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S
THE DA VINCI CODE
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
Defended before the Board of Examiners on September 26, 2008
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.
Yogyakarta, September 30, 2008 Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University
Dean
Don’t wish it were easier,
Wish you were better.
Jim Rohn
Dedicated to
My Lord, Jesus Christ
My beloved Mom and Dad
My Soul Mate, Yason Hendro
and...
Me, Myself, and I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I present my greatest thankfulness to my Lord, Jesus Christ for the strength, blessing and guidance through my good and bad times. I thank Him for all the answers to my prayers. I know He never fail me.
I will show my deepest appreciation to my major sponsor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S., M.Hum., for her time and patience in guiding me to accomplish my thesis and also for Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., my co advisor, for her critical correction. I really appreciate all their correction, comment, and advice. Without their involvement, this thesis would never have been completed.
I thank my mom and dad for their moral and financial support during my study. I also thank them for always calling my name in their every prayer and for teaching me not to give up in facing any problems. I feel so blessed to have great parents like them.
My very special gratitude goes to my beloved, Yason Hendro, the one and only person who can see the beauty inside me, for being my informal advisor. This thesis would not have been accomplished without our discussions. I thank him for his total support and understanding, and much more, for his love. I also thank him for teaching me to be positive and optimistic and above all, I thank him for always encouraging me to be the best of me. Without him, I will never be as strong as today.
A bunch of thank you for Dr. P. Hary Susanto, S.J. for his time, patience, and guidance in explaining more about philosophy, religious fanaticism, Opus Dei, and Corporal Mortification. I thank him a lot for his willingness to spare his time to read my thesis-draft and have a discussion with me. It was a truly fantastic discussion.
My special thanks goes to Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum., the head of Humas USD. I really thank him for trusting me and giving me such a great opportunity to work in Humas USD before I graduate. It is really an honor for me.
I also thank all my English Letters lecturers for giving me so much knowledge and helping me improve my English. Without all of them, my English will not be as better as today.
I thank my very best friend, Steven Luck, for his spirit and strength until the accomplishment of this thesis. Most of all, I thank him for always being a supportive friend when I am down, never stopping to remind me that tomorrow will always be a better day. To Adisti Herliningtyas, S.S. who never stopped reminding me to finish my thesis quickly, I thank her for the encouragement; it really does mean a lot to me. To Ivan Pratama, for all the entertainment and jokes he gave when I feel so fatigued in doing my thesis. It is so much fun to have a friend like him. Not forgetting to mention Widya Rani Hapsari and Fransiska Dewi Hastuti, I thank them for giving me the opportunity to learn about friendship. To Febpy Doctrina, Hengdry Salim and Ferdian Hendrawan, S.S., I thank them for their emotional support. Last but not least, to all my classmates of English Letters 2004 who cannot be mentioned one by one here, I thank them all for being such a great classmates. They are all the best!
To all my colleagues in Promotion Team of Humas USD, Ivana, Intan, Rakhma, Yunika, Sasa, Lita, Berta, Melania, Oon, Fhery and Theo, I thank them for their willingness to cover for me when I need time to focus on my thesis moreover. I really have a great opportunity to work with all of them.
Above all, I would say to myself that I am very proud of my hard work and my full dedication on this thesis.
Ephifania Sheilla Paramita
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 4
C. Objectives of the Study ... 4
D. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 6
A. Review of Related Studies ... 6
B. Review of Related Theories ... 8
1. Theory on Character and Characterization ... 8
2. Religious Fanaticism ... 11
3. Divine Command Theory ... 14
4. Christian Morality ... 15
a. Several Catholic Approaches to Morality ... 17
b. A Contemporary Catholic/Christian Ethic ... 18
5. Review on Philosophy ... 19
6. The Relation Between Philosophy and Literature ... 20
C. Theoretical Framework ... 21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 23
A. Object of the Study ... 22
B. Approach of the Study ... 25
C. Method of the Study ... 26
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 29
A. The Characteristics of Silas inThe Da Vinci Code ... 29
1. Silas as the Pitiful Character ... 29
2. Silas as Loyal and Obedient Monk ... 34
3. Silas as a Brutal Monk ... 35
4. Silas as a Faithful Monk ... 36
B. Aspects of Religious fanaticism as Shown by Silas ... 38
1. Total Submission to His Group ... 38
2. Blind Obedience to His Leader ... 40
3. Absorption of All the Group’s Belief ... 44
4. Intolerance ... 48
5. Readiness to Sacrifice Others ... 50
C. The Significance of Silas’ Religious Fanaticism inThe Da Vinci Code 52 1. To Criticize the Issue of Religious Fanaticism ... 53
a. The Ignorance of Religious Fanaticism ... 52
b. The Violence of Religious Fanaticism ... 57
c. The Double-Edged Sword of Religious Fanaticism ... 60
2. To Give a Better Understanding Regarding the Attitude that Christian Should Take in Facing the Idea of Religious Fanaticism 62 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 66
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 70
APPENDICES ... 73
Appendix 1: Opus Dei ... 73
Appendix 2: The Way ... 75
Appendix 3: Corporal Mortification ... 75
ABSTRACT
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA (2008). The Significance of Religious Fanaticism as Revealed by the Character of Silas in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,
Sanata Dharma University.
This study focuses on the character of Silas who is presented as a religious fanatic in the novel of Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. The attempt of this study is to discover the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism inThe Da Vinci Code
through his characteristic and the aspects of religious fanaticism that is shown by his character.
There are three problems formulated in this study. First is the description of Silas’ characteristic in this novel. Second, the finding of religious fanaticism’s aspects that are shown through his character and the last is the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism inThe Da Vinci Code.
In order to answer the problems, the writer used library research method and since this study deals with the philosophical issue of Silas, moral-philosophical approach was used. The primary source of the study was Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and the secondary sources were the books and the internet online references. The writer answered the problem by firstly identifying the characteristics of Silas. After that finding out the aspects of religious fanaticism that was presented within his character. Last, through the aspects of religious fanaticism the writer tried to reveal the significance of religious fanaticism in this novel.
This study results in several finding. Through the first analysis, the writer finds four characteristic of Silas, those are Silas as the pitiful character, Silas as loyal and obedient monk, Silas as a brutal monk, and Silas as a faithful monk. After the characteristics are identified, the writer finds five religious fanaticism aspects of his character. The first one is total submission to his group, second is blind obedience to his leader, third is absorption of all the group’s belief, fourth intolerance, and the last one is readiness to sacrifice others. The last analysis results in the finding of the significance of religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code. The first one is Silas’ religious fanaticism in this novel is used to criticize the issue of religious fanaticism that occurs in the society and the second one is his religious fanaticism is used to give a better understanding for Christians regarding the attitude to take in facing the idea of religious fanaticism.
ABSTRAK
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA (2008). The Significance of Religious Fanaticism as Revealed by the Character of Silas in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas
Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang karakter Silas yang digambarkan sebagai seseorang yang fanatik terhadap agamanya di dalam novel karya Dan Brown yang berjudul The Da Vinci Code. Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk menemukan pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci code melalui penggambaran karakter Silas dan aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang digambarkan oleh karakternya.
Ada tiga masalah yang dirumuskan di dalam skripsi ini. Pertama adalah deskripsi dari karakteristik Silas di dalam novel ini. Kedua adalah penemuan dari aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang ditunjukkan melalui karakternya dan yang terakhir adalah pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci Code.
Untuk menjawab ketiga masalah tersebut, penulis menerapkan metode studi pustaka dan karena skripsi ini berhubungan dengan pokok persoalan tentang filsafat moral, pendekatan filsafat moral digunakan dalam menjawab masalah-masalah di dalam skripsi ini. Sumber utama daripada skripsi ini adalah buku The Da Vinci Code karya Dan Brown dan sumber lainnya adalah buku-buku dan beberapa referensi dari internet. Penulis menjawab rumusan masalah dengan mengidentifikasi karakter Silas terlebih dahulu. Setelah itu penulis menemukan aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang digambarkan di dalam karakternya. Yang terakhir, melalui aspek-aspek fanatisme agama tersebut penulis mencoba untuk mengungkapkan pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel ini.
Skripsi ini menghasilkan beberapa penemuan. Melalui analisa pertama, penulis menemukan empat karakteristik silas, yaitu Silas sebagai karakter yang menyedihkan, Silas sebagai biarawan yang setia dan patuh, Silas sebagai biarawan yang brutal, dan Silas sebagai biarawan yang beriman. Setelah karakteristiknya diidentifikasi, penulis menemukan lima aspek fanatisme agama di dalam karakternya. Yang pertama adalah penyerahan diri secara total pada organisasinya, kedua adalah kepatuhan buta terhadap pemimpinnya, ketiga penyerapan penuh terhadap kepercayaan kelompok, keempat ketidaktoleransian, dan yang terakhir adalah kesiapan untuk mengorbankan orang lain. Analisa terakhir menghasilkan penemuan terhadap pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci Code. Yang pertama fanatisme agama Silas di dalam novel ini digunakan untuk mengkritik masalah yang berhubungan dengan fanatisme agama di dalam masyarakat dan yang kedua adalah untuk memberikan pengertian kepada orang-orang Kristen berkenaan dengan sikap yang harus diambil dalam menghadapi pemikiran tentang fanatisme agama.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature offered human beings unlimited ways to express themselves in their own words. With literature, humans are able to write stories whether it is stories about themselves or stories that they have imagined and fantasized about. Poems, dramas, short stories, or novels of comedy or tragedy all enable humans to share memorable stories to other human beings around them, and even to generations after.
Literature and human life are two things that cannot be separated, because literature is the portrait of the human person. Humans are very complex creatures and in literature we can find many examples that illustrate how complicated human lives are. Literature is one reliable source for the study of human characteristics because it always attempts to capture humans in their truest characteristics. Wellek and Warren inTheory of Literaturealso mentioned that:
Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely related to human experience through which we can learn the image of human being that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as the work of arts that represents human life (1956: 94).
Since literature is an imitation of human life, the story that appeals in literary works, such as novels, poems and plays always deals with human experience.
Despite the many controversial claims to the otherwise, one persisting characteristic of the human person is his spirituality. Human beings tend to turn to religious beliefs in search of ‘inner peace’ and this – in fact – is a universal phenomenon. Seeing that there is no place in the whole world that does not have some form of a religion with dedicated followers.
Religion, however, seems to be a double-edged sword. It does not always offer spiritual peace to the world. First of all, religious diversity has caused uncountable bloodshed throughout the ages. It is true that a particular religion would offer some kind of peace of mind to its followers. However, what sort of attitude would it display to the followers of other religions? Secondly, even within the same religion there are various clashes between groups holding differing versions of “truth”.
In our modern world of great technological achievements, religious strife may seem to lose its relevance. Yet, the recent 9/11 tragedy shows the exact opposite. Religious strife is still a very significant issue and has brought about the loss of hundreds of lives and incited terrible years of warfare. What, then, do we say about religion? Should we blame it for all the problems its followers have caused throughout the history of mankind? The answer is definitely “No”.
It is not the religions that are problematic, it is the followers. The core of all these religious strives is simply fanaticism. Religious beliefs are, in itself, good. But then people would project their twisted perspectives into their religions, for various personal gains, and make it into a murderous belief system with murderous fanatical followers who would use their religion as a basis to justify terrible acts of violence against people they see as different, unfit and separate.
Religious fanaticism is not a new subject. However, the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on the September 11th 2002 gave people new interest regarding religious fanaticism. People start to discuss it via various media, including literature. Religious fanaticism is still one of the most popular themes in current literary works. It is interesting to look into these literary works, because it often depicts the real example of a religious fanatic.
indebted to. It is toward this character that this paper will focus its study. This paper aims to observe religious fanaticism as demonstrated through the character of Silas and its significance in this novel.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the explanation above, there are three problems formulated: 1. What are the characteristics of Silas?
2. What are the aspects of religious fanaticism shown through Silas?
3. What are the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci
code?
C. Objectives of the Study
D. Definition of Term
To avoid ambiguities of certain terms, definition of terms is needed. Therefore, here are some explanations about the terms in this study for a better understanding of this thesis.
1. Religious Fanaticism
Religious fanaticism is a term that is used to describe a concept about one’s understanding of the word of God which is absolute and ultimate. Religious fanatics consider themselves as the defender of God’s law. They believe that their understandings of the word of God and their ways of applying it are identical to the word of God (Wijaya, 1997: 2-4).
2. Character
Character is one of the intrinsic elements of literary work. According to Abrams inA Glossary of Literary Terms, character is the person who is presented in a dramatic or narrative work. He or she is illustrated with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in the dialog and in the action (1993: 23).
3. Philosophy
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
There are some reviews which are talking about Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and the writer will discuss three reviews. The first one is a review by Valerie MacEwan in PopMatters website which was published on March 2003 entitled Try Putting This Book Down. This review discusses about how The Da Vinci Code has intriguing fictional background and two major components that will always create popularity which are the myths surrounding the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. This novel combines myth and reality and combines into a great composition. The conclusion of the story seems to successfully answer many of the myths, which is why even though the book is fiction, it is hard for one not to believe a lot of it. The Da Vinci code will probably create an unintentional effect, and that is the trend to reanalyze many of the wrong biblical interpretations and misquotes which are often misused in churches to gain financial and political power. This, the writer notes, is a very accurate speculation, with the emergence of so many books that attempted to debunkThe Da Vinci Code, forgetting that the novel is a fictional work (http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/d/da-vinci-code.shtml).
The second review is by W. R. Greer. In his articleThe Da Vinci Code is Intelligent and Fun, W. R. Greer praises the book for the ingenuity in the character design. Each character brings clarity to the story, makes the story easily
understood by even those who know nothing about the international cultures and the myths regarding the Holy Grail, and at the same time presents a critical statement regarding each of the cultures involved. The scenario in this novel brings a story of global proportions that makes the conspiracy theories around the secret societies and religious groups seem perfectly believable to the readers. Mystery thrillers are weaved around clumsily-made-characters. This usually creates defects in the storyline. However, W. R. Greer seesthe Da Vinci Codeas one novel that successfully brings about a beautiful storyline with effective use of characters (http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/da_vinci_code/review/).
were raised, and finally, readers can rest knowing they have participated in a
thrilling and thought-provoking adventure
(http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/nytimes.html).
However, this study is trying to analyze something new and different from other related studies. This study is focused on the issue of religious fanaticism in
The Da Vinci Code; therefore this study gives a new contribution to literary review.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this chapter, the writer will describe some theories that will be used as the background in doing a research. The theories are Theory on Character and Characterization, Review on Religious Fanaticism, Divine Command Theory, Review on Christian Morality, which includes Several Catholic Approach to Morality and a Contemporary Catholic or Christian Ethic, Review on philosophy, and last is the Relation between Philosophy and Literature.
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
Forster in Aspects of the Novel mentions that the character in the story is real when the author knows everything about it. He can tell all of the facts and he can hide some of them (1974: 44).
E.M. Foster in his book Aspects of the Novel introduces new way to differentiate a character, and those are flat and round characters. Flat characters are characters that are created around a single idea and quality and they are presented without many characteristics details. Whereas, round characters are usually presented with subtle characteristics and this kind of characters are more like people in real life (1974: 57).
In A Handbook to Literature, Holman and Harmon state that characterization is the creation of imaginary persons in fictions (drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem), in order that they exist for the reader as lifelike. They define three methods of characterization: firstly, by the explicit presentation from the author of the character through direct exposition; secondly, by the presentation of the character in action; and thirdly, by the representation from within a character (1986: 81).
There are several ways to make the characters understandable to the readers as mention in Murphy’sUnderstanding Unseen(1972: 161-173):
a. By personal description: the author describes a person’s appearance and clothes to build the character.
c. By speech: the character is recognized by the readers from what other persons in the story say about it.
d. By past life: letting the readers know and learn something about a character’s past life surely can provide clues as to what shape the person’s character. e. By the conversation of others: when other characters talk about the character, it
can give some clues to recognize the character being talked about.
f. By reactions: considering a person’s reaction toward some situations or events may give the readers some clues about the character.
g. By direct comment: the author can also describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. By thoughts: by knowing what a person is thinking about, the readers will be able to recognize the person’s character.
i. By mannerisms: the author can describe a person’s mannerisms or habits in order to tell the readers some things about his character.
Little, in hisApproach to Literature,adds that characters may be presented mainly through descriptive and dramatic methods. By the description and discussion, the character and even the story will be easier to be understood. On the other hand, using the author’s reporting on the character’s speech and action in the dramatic method, it will make the character and the story more vivid and lively. Unfortunately, it will be relatively difficult for the reader to understand if the dramatic method used in extreme forms (1981: 89-90).
vital to development of the plot. Therefore, even in a fantasy, an essential element is truth to life. The character should be real, believable, and based on possible variations of human nature so that the readers are able to identify themselves with the human creatures, to maintain the interest and concern with the theme of the story (1981: 92).
2. Religious Fanaticism
Religious fanaticism is a term that is used to describe a concept about one’s understanding of the word of God which is absolute and ultimate. While some people would believe that fanaticism is a form of faith steadiness, some others believe that fanaticism is an intolerant action (Wijaya, 1997: 2-4). Winston Churchill stated that "a fanatic is one who cannot change his mind and will not change the subject". This means to say that fanatic person is someone who only believes in his ideology. Religious fanaticism is considered by some to be the most extreme form of fanaticism. It is notable that religion followers are the target of accusation of religious fanaticism.
will allow one to murder or torture people when they stand in the way of the religious goals” (http://rightreason.ektopos.com/archives/2007). In brief, religious fanatics will allow themselves to torture or even kill people to gain religious goal. Ghassan Rubeiz in his article entitled My God is Better than your Godposted on April 20, 2004, stated that this kind of fanaticism defeats the main purpose of religion which is to give our life meaning. In short, this kind of fanaticism is very dangerous.
Gretty M. Mirdal in his seminar paper on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies entitled The Psychology of Terrorism: Fanatical Identities stated that:
In the original sense of the word a fanatic (fromfanummeaning a holy site in Latin) is a person who is passionately engaged in a religious cause. His belief dominates all other aspects of life, and signs that contradict it are ignored. Earlier alliances are deserted and feelings of compassion blunted. Individuality is replaced by allegiance to a group of co-believers, and by obedience to its leaders. To a fanatic the world is divided into two categories, those that are with him and those that are against. There are either allies or enemies.
Jacob Van Flossen, in his article entitled Selected Studies in Fanaticism
that is published in his web site Return of the Gods web site, writes:
The fanatic,as we use the term, displays a myopic intolerant fervor--with sense neither of proportion nor of normal social priorities. For his cause of the moment, his weapons are usually chants and slogans, not reasoned arguments. Yet, make no mistake, he may be quite prepared to lie and cheat; to undermine the social values and destroy the traditional institutions of his own society; to sacrifice friends and family (http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/fanatic.htm).
This says that a fanatic is an intolerant person who does not listen to good reason. All he needs are simple slogans and chants to channel his beliefs. They are, however, not simple in the sense that they are traditional, or that they do only the good things. On the contrary, they are ready to do all sorts of things that violate social norms, and even to sacrifice their friends and families. Nothing must stand in the way of their belief, not even their humanity.
from time to time. The true believers are always trying to improve, expand, and advance their understanding of the word of God and the ways to apply the truth in order that it becomes more relevant to the current society and more universal to mankind. Therefore, the true believers are able to be more open to other understandings or ways. On the contrary, the fanatics believe that their understandings of the word of God and their ways of applying it are identical to the word of God. Therefore, they become infallible and ultimate. They will not hesitate to remove those who challenge their understanding. More often than not, these people are very excited to involve themselves in murder and warfare. Thus, in their attempt to defend the law of God, they break it, “you shall not kill” (The Ten Commandments, Exodus 20: 13, RSV) (1997: 1-4).
3. Divine Command Theory
This theory assumes that God is the source of all morality; He can change the moral rule simply by His will.
Hinman in his bookEthics: a Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theoryalso added that:
Moral decisions are ultimately made on the basis of what God commands, not on what reason tells us. We have to turn to God for the answer to all our questions about how to act. No matter what God commands, it is right just because God commands it (1994: 98).
In brief, according to this theory, moral decisions are based on God’s command. Human being must act just like what God commanded and the action are definitely right simply just because God has commanded it.
Thus, this theory believes that to say that God is good is as simple as to say “what God wills are God wills”. Human beings are not able to know the reasons behind God wills. Therefore, human beings must accept God’s command on faith. Lack of faith is shown if human beings question or need independent nonreligious reasons for accepting God’s command (Boss, 2000: 154).
4. Christian Morality
Kohmescher stated in his book Catholicism Today that “Morality has reference to the way a person acts in order to attain the goal of human living as set down by God, the creator itself” (1990: 150). Human beings will act in moral manner when they know that their action will lead them to their life’s goal.
follower of Jesus Christ we are demanded to love others and to give up our lives for others.
It cannot be denied that laws are a good guide for human beings to act normally under normal circumstances, but as we grow up, we have to be responsible for something we do. We have to make a good decision in many particular cases. It is very clear stated in The New Testament that “Christ called us to love not to observe laws”, therefore, a good Christian “who has a good grasp of love and the demands it makes should be well equipped to make good decision”. This means that a good Christian will do all the best for the sake of God and others.
Christ’s teaching is an ideal ethic for Christians. Christ never gave us minimum standard to be followed. He told us to be perfect just like God – our creator – who gave us certain talent, which must be used to the fullest. As human beings, we realize that we might not be able to gain the fullness of the ideal, but we must never give up, we always strive to do our best until we can be perfect just like our Father in Heaven (Kohmescher, 1990: 150-152).
individual talent. The followers of Christ are responsible to their social community. They must put their personal abilities at the service of God. They must also share His Kingdom and teaching to a community. Commandment and Law are the living words of Christ, the invitations of the grace of Christ. They are the maximum standard of the commandment that must be followed. They also make the followers of Christ to be responsible for carrying out his commandment. Followers of Christ realize that the self-perfection and the supernatural value of the soul’s salvation are not by themselves the key values, but it is when they are “committed to the following of Christ that these values are best realized”. Christian realizes that following Jesus Christ does not simply mean saving their soul, but “in the light of one’s love for the savior, the soul’s salvation suddenly takes on a new importance”. Christian morality centered only on Christ because Christ is “the word by which the Father seeks and calls us” (1960: 53-54).
a. Several Catholic Approaches to Morality
Human beings are different; therefore what is good for one to follow is not always good for other. Below are several approaches that are used by Christian today: 1. Authority: Catholics do something as told by some people who have the
authority to make the basic decision so that the trouble of making a decision in the midst of conflicting value demands can be avoided.
3. Love: Christians believe that love can make people become the best person so that they have to use their talent to the fullest to serve others.
4. Tension: In life there must be a tension between the principle and the circumstances. Therefore, Christians must create a marriage between them in order to maintain the full integrity of both (Kohmescher, 1990: 152-153).
b. A Contemporary Catholic/Christian Ethic
There are ten contemporaries ethic that can be accepted and followed by Catholics or Christian:
1. God is our creator
2. A Catholic’s morality is the free response to God who invites us to enter into a mutual personal love-friendship
3. A Catholic morality is a morality of love of God, of others, and of self 4. A Catholic morality is a challenging morality
5. A Catholic morality is responsible for the full impact of his or her action 6. By realizing that human beings are not born mature, a mature Catholic must
be properly formed
7. A Catholic operates within the context of a dynamic constellation of value 8. A Catholic gets to know Christ by both study and acquaintance with scripture
and personal prayer
10. A real Catholic can make the best decision but at the same time can also remain open to growth and change (Kohmescher, 1990: 153-156).
In other words, Catholics or Christians believe that God is their only creator, but it is free for them to give personal response to God. The only way for Catholics or Christians to get to know more about Christ is through both the Holy Bible studying and personal prayer. Basic morality of Catholics or Christian is a morality of loving God, of others, and of self, and it is a challenging morality. Catholics or Christians always tries to act inside their value of Christianity but in their live, Christians or Catholics must be able to balance their principle as the followers of Jesus Christ with their circumstances. Catholic or Christian must also be fully responsible for the impact of their action, and by realizing this, they must be properly formed so that they can be mature Catholics or Christians that can make the best decision and at the same time can also remain to grow and change to be the best of themselves.
5. Review on Philosophy
Randal in his bookPhilosophy an Introductionstated that:
It is difficult to give a satisfactory formal definition of philosophy. Every definition turns out to be the expression of an individual and limited conception, reflecting the practice of that enterprise in the definer (1942: 1).
One basic concept of philosophy, which regards philosophy as life’s view, is that human beings use philosophy as the constant effort to make their life meaningful. To explain more about it, Liang Gie in his book Philosophy as an Element of Human Existencecited J.A. Leighton words who mentioned that:
Philosophy seeks a totality and harmony of reasoned insight into the nature and meaning of all the principle aspects of reality. A complete philosophy includes a world-view or reasoned conception of the whole cosmos and a life-view doctrine of the value, meanings, and purposes of human life (1998: 12).
In short, philosophy tries to find out the nature and the meaning of all life’s principle and the complete meaning of philosophy includes the concept of the whole world, the value, the meaning and the purpose of life. Randal also mentioned that it is very definite that the central issue of philosophy is about human’s life and its connection with the reality. Philosophy tries to reveal some basic question about life, such as what the meaning of life is and what makes life worth living (1942: 5).
In his book The Philosophical Journey an Interactive Approach, Lawhead mentioned that philosophy has four basic goals. The first one is the search of self-understanding, the second is love and pursuit of wisdom, the third is the question about our basic concern meaning, such as God and happiness, and the last is the search for beliefs that can be justified (2000: 6).
6. The Relation Between Philosophy and Literature
15). In other words, literature can be seen as the historical record of many philosophical thoughts. The idea of philosophy also can be used by the authors of literary works as their basic ideas. Thus, literature can also be considered as one of the philosophical teaching. Therefore the existence of literature itself is very important.
As cited from Guerin’s A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Plato and Horace mentioned that the basic function of literature is to reveal philosophical issue to the society (1999: 25). Knight also mentioned in his book
Literature Considered as Philosophy that philosophy and literature have some things in common. First, both philosophy and literature try to criticize the issues that occur in the society, and second, philosophy and literature use the criticism to find the truth and goodness (1962: 14).
C. Theoretical Framework
This study attempts to reveal religious fanaticism that is illustrated by the character of Silas and the significance of his religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code. Therefore, in order to support the analysis, the writer will apply some theories. First, since this study deals with one of the characters in this novel that is Silas, theories on character and characterization are applied. The applications of these theories are intended to get a better understanding on the characteristics of the character of Silas.
about religious fanaticism by quoting the expert’s saying and also divine command theory. Review of religious fanaticism is used to reveal the aspects of religious fanaticism that is shown within his character. The divine command Theory is applied in order to discuss Silas’ belief as a religious fanatic and his justification for killing innocent people.
Third, review on Christian morality is applied to help the writer to find the significance of Silas’ fanaticism in The Da Vinci code. First, this theory will help the writer to analyze the contradiction between Silas’ belief as a religious fanatic and Christian morality. Second, by using Christian morality the writer tries to discuss about Christian’s best attitude toward the idea of religious fanaticism.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is The Da Vinci Code. This novel is written by American author, Dan Brown. It is published by Doubleday in 2004. This novel consists of 489 pages and it is divided into 1 prolog, 105 chapters, and 1 epilog. This detective, thriller and conspiracy fiction genres is the second book of Dan Brown. This novel combines the detective, thriller and conspiracy fiction genres. Since it is first published, The Da Vinci Code has become the most controversial novel. One of the reasons that make this book controversial is because this novel draws an illustration about the strictness and the cruelty of Opus Dei, a fanatic organization, which is represented by Silas who is willing to kill people in order to keep this big secret.
The Da Vinci Code drew glowing review from the New York Times,
People Magazine, and the Washington Post
(http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/reviews.html). The Da Vinci Code becomes the fourteenth best-selling book of all time. It is worldwide bestseller with more than 60.5 million copies in print and has been translated into 44 languages (Daily News, http://tqnyc.org/NYC051308/dailynews.htm). In November 2004 Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition ofThe Da Vinci Codewith 160 illustrations (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Da-Vinci-Code-Dan-Brown/dp/0385504209).
In 2006, a film adaptation,The Da Vinci Code, was released by Columbia Pictures. It was first previewed on May 17, 2006 at the opening night of the Cannes film Festival and it was then released in many countries on May 18, 2006. The Roman Catholic Church criticized this film; even some bishops boycott this film. However, in its opening weekend, the film earned over US$224 million. The film's soundtrack of The Da Vinci code, composed by Hans Zimmer, was nominated for the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/da_vinci_code/#).
Here, the writer will give a brief summary of the story that is related to the topic. The story begins when Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, as the leader of Opus Dei, knowing the truth that the Vatican will revokes its sanction to Opus Dei. Desperate with this condition, this bishop puts Silas in contact with the mysterious guy who calls himself as the Teacher, Teacher—a title common in the prelature.
The bishop orders Silas to obey all the Teacher commands fully, because the
knows that he is only used by the Teacher or soon known as Sir Leigh Teabing to both gain the Teacher’s goal to find out the location of Holy Grail and also ruining Opus Dei’s name. Yet, it is all too late for Silas. He has already done a sin of murder, and even worse he already becomes a criminal. Having a fight with the police who are trying to catch him, Silas is shot. In the end of his life, Silas then asks for God’s forgiveness. He also asks God to give the bishop second chance. After he finishes his prayer, he dies tragically.
B. Approach of the study
This study is a reflection of the moral problem that is reflected by the character of Silas. The writer wants to analyze Silas’ action and philosophy from moral point of view, whether his action, his thought, his goal can be morally justified or not.
Therefore, dealing with this study, the moral-philosophical approach is applied. This approach emphasizes that the function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. InA Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature,Guerin states:
The basic position of moral-philosophical approach is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. The readers would interpret literature within the context of the philosophical thought of a period or group. The important thing is the moral or philosophical teaching. It insists on finding out and stating what is exposed and thought (Guerin, 1999: 25).
philosophical thought based on morality concept. The writer chooses this approach because this approach will help the writer in analyzing moral problem that is depicted by the character of Silas. So this approach will help the writer in answering the problem formulation from the morality point of view.
C. Method of the study
This study used some methods to complete the data and the main step was library research. The primary source of the study was Dan Brown’sThe Da Vinci Code. The secondary sources were the books and the internet online references. The writer collected the data from secondary sources to support the analysis.
Theories of character and characterization that was applied in this study were taken from Robert Stanton’s An Introduction to Fiction, Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature, Murphy’s Understanding Unseen, and
Little’sApproach to Literature.
The writer also used the some review on religious fanaticisms in order to support the analysis on Silas’ fanaticism. The reviews were taken from Wjaya’s
Iman atau Fanatisme, Winston Churchill’s quotation, and some internet references. those internet references were Ghassan Rubeiz’s article entitled My God is Better than your God (http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0420/p25s01-cogn.htm), Gretty M. Mirdal’s seminar paper entitled The Psychology of
Terrorism: Fanatical Identities (http://www.psy.ku.dk/mirdal/terrorisme1.htm), Jacob Van Flossen’s article entitled Selected Studies in Fanaticism
article entitled Consequentialism and fanaticism (religious and otherwise)
(http://rightreason.ektopos.com/archives/2007).
The Divine Command theories were taken from Boss’ Ethics for Life (2nd edition) and Hinman’s Ethics: a Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory (2nd edition). The writer took the review on Christian Morality, from Kohmescher’s
Catholicism Todayand Bernard Häring’sThe Idea of Catholicism.
And last, to support the analysis about the moral-philosophical study in this literary work, the writer applied the review on philosophy and the Relation between Philosophy and Literature. Review on Philosophy were taken from Randal’s Philosophy An Introduction, Liang Gie’s Philosophy as an Element of Human Existence, and Lawhead’s The Philosophical Journey an Interactive
Approach, and The Relation Between Philosophy and Literature were taken from Knight’s Literature Considered as Philosophy and Guerin’s A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.
fanaticism, focusing on the differences between the true believers and the fanatics, and Christian Morality. In this part the writer analyzed Silas’ twisted mind as a fanatic. Silas, as a fanatic Opus Dei’s monk, lived his life to do anything for his organization. However, his dedication was misused and he was led to do things that are against Christian Morality. The writer applied this review on religious fanaticism focusing on the differences between the true believers and the fanatics to discover his tendencies as religious fanatic, after that the writer contrasted it with Christian Morality to reveal his violation toward Christian Morality value.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
A. The Characteristics of Silas inThe Da Vinci Code
As mentioned by Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen, there are several ways to discover the characteristics of a character; those are by personal description, by presenting the characters as seen by another character, by speech, by past life, by the conversation of others, by reactions, by direct comment, by thoughts, and by mannerisms. In this analysis, the characteristics of Silas is traced out by his personal descriptions, his past life, his conversation with other characters, his speech, his reaction toward some situations, his thoughts, and his manner. The writer also tries to find the characteristics of Silas through other characters’ – Robert Langdon, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa and the Teacher or Sir Leigh Teabing – opinion and point of view about his character.
1. Silas as the Pitiful Character
Before the writer moves to a deeper analysis, the writer realizes that it is important to portray Silas as a pitiful character in order to give a better understanding regarding Silas from which his underlying motives as a religious fanatic can be further understood. The writer categorizes Silas as a pitiful character for two reasons, first is because of his miserable life as an albino and second is because of his desperation of protecting his new life leads him to be used by people to do bad things that soon will bring him into sin and tragic death.
The portrayal of Silas’ past in this novel tries to illustrate the pitiful life of an albino. Albinism – the term refers to certain people with lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair – can be so difficult, especially for young people because the society might isolate and be so cruel to them, just like what Silas experiences in this novel.
Silas’ real name is unknown. He is an albino who originally lived in Marseille with his parents. His condition as an albino makes him being rejected by the society and even by his own father. His father who cannot accept his physical condition often beats Silas and also his mother for an accusation of having an albino son.
His drunken father, a burly dockworker, enraged by the arrival of an albino son, beat his mother regularly, blaming her for the boy's embarrassing condition. When the boy tried to defend her, he too was badly beaten (p. 60).
Not only beats Silas’ mother, his father also eventually kills his mother. Silas feels so guilty for his mother’s death and thinks that it is his entire fault. Enraged by his father, then Silas murders his father.
Without a word, the boy stabbed him in the back. His father cried out in pain and tried to roll over, but his son stabbed him again, over and over until the apartment fell quiet (p. 60).
There are two crimes committed by Silas before he becomes the monk of Opus Dei that is narrated in this novel. First is when he is twelve years old, he almost kills a drifter girl who is twice older than him for mocking his condition as an albino and trying to steal his food. Second, at eighteen, he kills one of the two sailors who catches and beats him for stealing a case of cured ham from a cargo ship just because the sailor smelled of beer, just like his father did. Silas had a traumatic experience with his father, so that when he finds this sailor similar with his father, his traumatic experience begins to haunt him again. Being so afraid of it, he unconsciously commits the same thing like he did to his father.
At eighteen, in a port town, while attempting to steal a case of cured ham from a cargo ship, he was caught by a pair of crewmen. The two sailors who began to beat him smelled of beer, just as his father had. The memories of fear and hatred surfaced like a monster from the deep. The young man broke the first sailor's neck with his bare hands, and only the arrival of the police saved the second sailor from a similar fate (pp. 81-82). Driven by his violence, Silas grows as an albino with horrifying look. People are more afraid of him than before and see him as “a ghost with the eyes of a devil” (p. 61). Some are just mocking him as a ghost. The society has made him feel like he never existed. He starts to lose his individuality by also considering himself as nothing but a ghost, “and he felt like a ghost... transparent... floating from seaport to seaport. People seemed to look right through him” (p. 61).
It is from Bishop Manuel Aringarosa Silas finds refuge and love. This Bishop gives him shelter and also name. From the story of The Book of Acts chapter 16 about the prisoner named Silas who is also freed by an earthquake, this bishop finally gives him name Silas. Treated like a man, Silas feels like he finally has an identity as a human being.
Acts 16. The verses told of a prisoner named Silas who lay naked and beaten in his cell, singing hymns to God. When the ghost reached Verse 26, he gasped in shock. “...And suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and all the doors fell open.” His eyes shot up at the priest. The priest smiled warmly. “From now on, my friend, if you have no other name, I shall call you Silas.” The ghost nodded blankly.Silas.He had been given flesh.My name is Silas(p. 64).
Silas’ years had pass without anyone who care or show any kindness to him, but Manuel Aringarosa is very kind to him and since then he is the only person that Silas trust most. Later Silas becomes very loyal and obedient to the bishop and to the organization that is lead by this bishop, Opus Dei. This attitude of him that soon will lead Silas to be misused to do bad things.
Indeed, had it not been for this desperation, he would not have been so eager to do his murders.
As the pitiful character, Silas is one that a lot of people can relate to. Having a past as miserable as his will lead anybody into desperation. His cruelty and murders, though fearsome and terrifying, shows just to what extent a person will protect the things that are important to him. Silas may have taken the wrong advice and done the wrong things, but that is what makes him feel more human. In desperation, most people make the riskiest decisions only to find things becoming even worse. This desperation is also testified by the character of Leigh Teabing after he learned Silas’ attack on The Priory of Sion, “men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire. I sense a desperation in this assault on the Priory” (p. 288).
Silas’ mistake is that he takes the advice from the wrong person: Leigh Teabing as the Teacher, who seeks to destroy the very foundations of the Christian faith. Had he received the guidance from a different person, a more trustworthy person, then perhaps things would not have become the way they are, and Silas would not have had to die.
2. Silas as Loyal and Obedient Monk
Silas, as a person who had been saved by Opus Dei, shows his loyalty and to the organization, or to be more specific to the leader of Opus Dei, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, by always obeying all the bishop’s commands to him. There are two actions of his loyalty and obedient that will be explained in this chapter, first is his action of obeying the bishop’s command to obey the Teacher fully.
Silas’ contact with the Teacher happens since Bishop Manuel Aringarosa knew that the Vatican will revoke its sanction of Opus Dei. This revocation happens because His Holiness has become uneasy with Opus Dei aggressive recruiting policies, practices of corporal mortification, and also with Opus Dei policies regarding women. Vatican considers Opus Dei has become a liability and an embarrassment for the Catholic Church. Knowing this news, Manuel Aringarosa feels that all his effort to build Opus Dei is threatened. He does not want to lose all his power in Christendom. Therefore, he asks Silas to follow the Teacher’s way to perform the mission of saving Opus Dei existence. The mission is about uncovering the hiding place of a sacred relic that will bring Opus Dei great power that can even make the Vatican bow before Opus Dei, the Holy Grail. Very loyal to Opus Dei, Silas is willing to sacrifice his life to perform this mission and agree to obey the Teacher fully just because the bishop orders him to do so.
How the Teacher gathered his information, Silas did not know, but Aringarosa had placed enormous trust in the Teacher, and he had told Silas to do the same. "Do as the Teacher commands you," the bishop told Silas. "And we will be victorious” (p. 213).
ignores the fact that he is breaking the Law of God, “you Shall not kill” (Exodus 20: 13, RSV), simply just because he is blinded by his loyalty. All he cares about is that he can help the bishop to gain the victory for Opus Dei.
When Silas finds that he and the bishop are deceived by the Teacher, he actually becomes really angry and is willing to sacrifice his lifetime to take revenge to the one who has deceived them. But the bishop tells Silas to forgive the Teacher and prays for forgiveness. This request will lead Silas to his second action of obedient; he loyally obeys the bishop’s command to pray in his last breath. He prays to God for forgiveness and above all for the bishop’s second chance to live and to run Opus Dei.
With every living cell in his broken body, Silas prayed. He prayed for forgiveness. He prayed for mercy. And, above all, he prayed for his mentor...Bishop Aringarosa...that the Lord would not take him before his time. He has so much work left to do. The fog was swirling around him now, and Silas felt so light that he was sure the wisps would carry him away. Closing his eyes, he said a final prayer (p. 459).
3. Silas as a Brutal Monk
Silas is a brutal monk because he is willing to do everything to gain his goal. As a monk, he allows himself to torture people, “if they did not reveal where they had placed the keystone, Silas would have to enter and persuade them with force” (p. 285), and from Robert Langdon’s statement to Silas, is insisted that Silas is even willing to commit a murder to get what he wants, "You're wrong. You want it much more. You've proven you're willing to kill for it" (p. 387).
threatens his informers, the four top members of the Priory of Sion; the three
sénéchaux and their Grand Master Jacques Saunière, by death, “The prospect of death is strong motivation” (p. 13). After he gets the information, then he really murders his informers.
The attacker aimed his gun again.”When you are gone, I will be the only one who knows the truth."The truth.In an instant, the curator grasped the true horror of the situation. If I die, the truth will be lost forever.
Instinctively, he tried to scramble for cover. The gun roared, and the curator felt a searing heat as the bullet lodged in his stomach. He fell forward... struggling against the pain. Slowly, Saunière rolled over and stared back through the bars at his attacker (p. 4).
When he is trying to find the keystone in Saint-Sulpice church, Silas also kills Sister Sandrine Bieil brutally because he is so angry knowing the fact that this sister helps the priory to keep their secret and moreover because this sister criticizes Opus Dei’s way.
A sudden explosion of rage erupted behind the monk's eyes. He lunged, lashing out with the candle stand like a club. As Sister Sandrine fell, her last feeling was an overwhelming sense of foreboding (p. 146).
Silas stated that “She was working against God! She scorned the work of Opus Dei!”(p. 233).According to Silas this sister is one of the enemies of God, and the enemy of God deserves to be killed.
4. Silas as a Faithful Monk
From the day he had been saved, Silas always dedicates his life to God. In everything he does he always prays for God guidance. When he is in a mission of getting the Holy Grail, he offers his work to God, because he is strongly believes that he is doing the work of God, ”Dear God, I offer up to you this work I do
today....” (p. 96).
Silas does not care about people judgment toward him. According to him, people can judge him not worthy for God because of his sin, but he believes that it is “God alone judges the worthy” (p. 300). He knows that his service to God requires the sin of murder, but still he has faith that God will forgive him because he is willing to sacrifice himself to be sinful just to do the work of God.
One hour, he told himself, grateful that the Teacher had given him time to carry out the necessary penance before entering a house of God. I must purge my soul of today's sins. The sins committed today had been holy in purpose. Acts of war against the enemies of God had been committed for centuries. Forgiveness was assured. Even so, Silas knew, absolution required sacrifice (p. 14).
As the follower of Opus Dei, it is a must for Silas to practice Corporal Mortification, a kind of Opus Dei ritual which requires its follower to do self-torture. Silas always puts so much appreciation to this ritual. Moreover it is a pleasure for him to do this ritual, because through this ritual he feels that his faith in God can grow, “The measure of your faith is the measure of the pain you can endure” (p. 80).
With every living cell in his broken body, Silas prayed. He prayed for forgiveness. He prayed for mercy. And, above all, he prayed for his mentor...Bishop Aringarosa...that the Lord would not take him before his time (p. 591).
After he prays, He believes that God will forgive him because he has faith that God is merciful, He will always forgive those who admit their sin, “Our Lord is a good and merciful God” (p. 459).
B. Aspects of Religious Fanaticism as Shown by Silas
Through the characteristics of Silas, the writer finds five aspects of religious fanaticism by applying the review on religious fanaticism and the divine command theory.
1. Total Submission to His Group
A fanatic will leave other aspects of life behind and give his total submission to his group in order to see a religious goal as his only purpose in life (Mirdal, 2002, http://www.psy.ku.dk/mirdal/terrorisme1.htm). This attitude is depicted clearly through Silas. After meeting Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas feels that he has been reborn. He considers Opus Dei as a symbol of the beginning of his life.
He pictured a younger Bishop Aringarosa, standing before the small church in Spain... the church that he and Silas had built with their own hands.The beginning of my life(pp. 377-378).
Yet, even as a monk of the Opus Dei, the memories of his past still haunt him from time to time and whenever that happens, Silas always tries to suppress it by performing corporal mortification.
At the moment, though, in his room at the residence hall, it was his father's disappointed voice that whispered to him from the past.
Tu es un désastre. Un spectre.(you are a disaster. A ghost)
Kneeling on the wooden floor, Silas prayed for forgiveness. Then, stripping off his robe, he reached again for the Discipline (p. 181).
He feels that the Discipline can erase the violent memories of his past and clean his soul from his past sins, and enable him to rebuild his new life as a part of Opus Dei.
His application of the Discipline is extremely harsh, so much harsher than what is required of an Opus Dei monk, because he feels that the blood that is resulted by his version of the ritual can free him from his memories of past violence, cleanse his past sins and enable him to fully became the Silas of Opus Dei.
Five hundred miles away, the albino named Silas stood over a small basin of water and dabbed the blood from his back, watching the patterns of red spinning in the water.Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean,he prayed, quoting Psalms.Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Silas was feeling an aroused anticipation that he had not felt since his previous life. It both surprised and electrified him. For the last decade, he had been followingThe Way, cleansing himself of sins... rebuilding his life...erasing the violence in his past (p. 34).
Silas is also willing to let go of many of his life aspects, including his sex life. He does really have sexual desires, but he is willing to leave all his indulgence and choose to live a celibate life in order to follow Opus Dei.
return. A vow of celibacy and the relinquishment of all personal assets hardly seemed a sacrifice (p. 79).
Silas’s total dedication to The Way causes him to give his entire self to be used for any purposes of his organization. He sees his leader as the only one who has the right to determine his path. Therefore, when Manuel Aringarosa asks him to be a “soldier of God” to get the keystone in order to save Opus Dei’s power, Silas easily obeys it. For Silas, the bishop’s command is the same as a command from God and it is his duty to make any necessary sacrifices.
The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time.”Silas,” he whispered, “God has bestowed upon us an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be a soldier of God?” Silas fell to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa—the man who had given him a new life—and he said, “I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart commands” (pp. 212-213).
2. Blind Obedience to His Leader
questioning and considering the consequences and the effects behind his action of obeying the command fully.
To begin this analysis, the writer will point out the cause of Silas’ blind obedience. As mentioned in the previous analysis, Silas has a very horrible past. People are cruel to him and he always finds himself rejected by the people around him. It is Manuel Aringarosa who saves his life. Manuel Aringarosa is the first and the only person who is really kind to Silas. He is not only his caretaker but also the only person who considers Silas a friend. Not only being a very good person to Silas, Manuel Aringarosa also gives him name. Silas is the name that the priest gives after being considered a ghost – fleshless – by people for a very long time. In a sense, it is Manuel Aringarosa who gives Silas flesh – an identity as a human being, education, and purpose of life. It is also Manuel Aringarosa who builds Silas’ self confidence, teaches Silas to appreciate himself for what he is – an albino – and tells him that God will use Silas to do His work, just like He used Noah of Ark, who was also an albino, to save all of life on the entire planet. Over time, slowly but surely, Silas begins to learn to appreciate his life. He learns to see himself as precious; an angel and not a ghost.
“My friend,” Aringarosa had told him, “you were born an albino. Do not let others shame you for this. Do you not understand how special this makes you? Were you not aware that Noah himself was an albino?”
Silas is blinded by his gratitude toward Manuel Aringarosa. His thankfulness toward Manuel Aringarosa soon makes Silas willing to obey all the bishop’s words. He sees the bishop as equal to God, the one who had given him a new life, “It had been Aringarosa who gave Silas life in the first place... in that small rectory in Spain, educating him, giving him purpose” (p. 181). According to his belief, the bishop’s word is the same as the word of God; it must be obeyed without reasoning or excuses.
The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time. “Silas,” he whispered, “God has bestowed upon us an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be a soldier of God?” Silas fell to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa—the man who had given him a new life—and he said, “I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart commands” (p. 213).
After being a member of Opus Dei, Silas is taught the Bible. From the Bible, he knows exactly that there are three basic teaching in Christianity, those are love, peace, and non-violence. Never having had any other education, Silas is uncritical; he strongly believes that this message should be protected from the enemies of Christ, and anybody who “threaten God with force will be met with force” (p. 34). His belief is also strengthened by the bishop request to be the “soldier of God”; to perform the mission to save the power of Opus Dei.
“The Teacher promised me there would be no killing, and I told you to obey him fully” (p. 446).
In this case, Silas is blind obedient because although he actually knows that killing is strictly forbidden in his religion but still he ignores the fact that he is breaking his religious law because all he cares about is that the bishop had ordered him to obey everything that the Teacher commanded, that it is therefore his duty to obey the Teacher. He does not want to disappoint the bishop’s desire to make Opus Dei become more powerful, as if he does not want to disappoint God himself.
according to his belief still performs the truest value of Catholicism, which he feels is pleasing God tremendously. He thinks that the murders he made are in accordance to God’s will because he treats religious goals – helping Opus Dei to save the true faith of Christianity by finding the Holy Grail – above anything else, including the innocent lives. Killing people is, of course, breaking the laws of God. However, Silas believes that God can make exemptions in His rules and judgments whenever God wills it. Therefore, even though he knows that his action is breaking the law of God, he still ignores it and believes that God will forgive him and justify his actions because according to his understanding he must act just like what God commands and the action of obeying the command is definitely right simply just because God has commanded it. God can simply change the moral rule simply by His will (Hinman, 1994: 98).
3. Absorption of All the Group’s Belief
beliefs that Silas holds throughout the novel as the result of his interaction with the Teacher. The first one is that the enemies of God must be exterminated.
After becoming the member of opus Dei, Silas is taught the Bible by the bishop. He knows exactly the basic teaching of Jesus Christ is peace, love and nonviolence. However, his fanaticism to Opus Dei prevented him from truly understanding the true meaning of the message and then he steps in to offer a conclusion that this is one message that must be protected at all cost, even if he must murder and kill.
Jesus' message is one of peace... of nonviolence... of love. This was the message Silas had been taught from the beginning, and the message he held in his heart. And yetthis was the message the enemies of Christ now threatened to destroy.Those who threaten God with force will be met with force. Immovable and steadfast For two millennia, Christian soldiers had defended their faith against those who tried to displace it. Tonight, Silas had been called to battle (p. 34).
He absorbs this group belief that in order to be a soldier of God he must exterminate those who endanger his faith, just like what some Christian soldiers did in the past.
organization, as it will no longer be considered an official Catholic prelature. This will greatly endanger Opus Dei’s existence.
Silas’s attitude towards this situation is very extreme; he must do whatever is necessary to save Opus Dei, including murders. Silas knows that his action of murder means breaking the law of God and it is definitely a great sin. However, he feels that it is all right, because the sin of murder that he is committing will be forgiven as it is done for a holy purpose, and that is performing a mission from God to protect the existence of The Way, the true faith of Christianity, “I do the work of God. The Way is in peril” (p. 311). This belief is taught and reinforced by the Teacher, whom he sees as the highest leader, “the one who had assured him his actions were ordained by a higher power” (p. 80). Silas believes that his final goal of getting the Holy Grail will justify his action. Therefore God’s forgiveness is assured.
I must purge my soul of today's sins. The sins committed today had been holy in purpose. Acts of war against the enemies of God had been committed for centuries. Forgiveness was assured (p. 14).
The last group’s belief that he absorbs is that The Way is the only way to be close to God and it can be seen from his action of giving so much attention to Corporal Mortification. His group’s belief emphasizes that the pain and the blood caused by Corporal Mortification ritual will bring believers close to God and therefore will clean him from his sins.
