4.2 The Game between Personal and national 13

5 The Connotation About Human Nature of The Lost Symbol 20 

5.1 The Humanity of Robert Langdon.. 16

5.2 The Humanity of Malakh.16

5.3 The Humanity of Catherine..16

6 Conclusion...23

Bibliography  25

1 Introduction

Dan Brown, an American thriller fiction author born in June 22, 1964, is best known for the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. He also wrote other famous novels like Digital Fortress and Deception Point. And after these two books, he kept on recounting the life of one protagonist in his works—Robert Langdon. His novels are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour period, and feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories. His books have been translated into 52 languages, and as of 2012, sold over 200 million copies. Three of them, Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), and Inferno (2013), have been adapted into films. Dan Brown’s characters, whether evil or not, are always full of toughness and marked with a positive spirit. They fight all the time, for what they want to get and what they want to save.论文网

In The Lost Symbol, the latest stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world’s most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol, one of the series of Robert Langdon, is a masterstroke of storytelling—a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths, all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object–artfully encoded with five symbols–is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon—a prominent Mason and philanthropist—is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations–all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

In the process of saving his friends, Landon must use all of his knowledge to crack the password which the villain who named Mal’akh wants to gain. And at the last, we will know that Mal’akh is Peter’s son. He did those things just because Peter did not save him when he makes mistakes and go to jail. He thinks his father has abandoned him. Then he decides to become a totally stranger and gain the Solomon family’s secret.

As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown’s novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. Since the novel came out, it has aroused great repercussions and controversy. Although the evaluation of this book differs a great deal , many people think that this book is far behind his fame as Da Vinci Code. 文献综述

Some scholars have carried out different aspects of researches and analysis on this novel. However, since The Lost Symbol was released in 2009, critical studies on the novel have not been found much in China. So far, the researches on this novel are still under way.