62 pages • 2 hours read
Dan BrownOrigin
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Artwork
The plot of Origin relies heavily on Langdon’s understanding of and ability to interpret art in order to discover and decipher the passcode that will unlock Edmond Kirsch’s revelatory presentation. From the inciting incident of Kirsch’s murder to the climatic broadcasting of the presentation in the third act, Langdon’s sole aim is to find the poem that is the password. To do so, Langdon explores a wealth of sculpture, architecture, art, literature, and poetry. As a Harvard professor of symbology, Langdon has utilized his expertise in the realm of code and symbol deciphering in four prior Robert Langdon books. Origin diverts slightly from this skillset, focusing instead on Langdon’s ability to read art as symbolic language. The motif of art as a coded, symbol-rich language appears throughout the novel and serves to enhance Langdon’s characterization and reenforce the theme of Dialogue as the Foundation of Progression.
Dan Brown entices readers to consider a deeper appreciation for and understanding of modern art by using a reluctant, classicist Langdon to decode modern art in the context of the language of classical art. For example, the massive spider statue titled Maman at the Guggenheim in Bilbao is “the perfect example of the classical notion of juxtaposition,” which Brown likens to Michelangelo’s David statue (38). Likewise, Brown describes an elaborate fog sculpture as the “perfect example of conceptual art,” wherein the idea is valued above the execution (36). Finally, Brown describes The Matter of Time, a Richard Serra creation at the museum that allows people to explore the interior of the sculpture: “Two visitors standing at opposite ends can whisper faintly and hear each other perfectly,” making art quite literally a means of openly communicating across space and distance (44).
Nature
Nature appears throughout the novel as a means of foreshadowing the third-act conflict of human versus technology. A quote by Gaudí hanging in Casa Mila reads, “Nothing is invented, for it’s written in nature first. Originality consists of returning to the origin” (238). A deeply religious man, Gaudí used inspiration from nature to honor God, touching on the spiritual connection between creation and creator. To Gaudí, humankind’s most perfect creations were those that mimicked nature.
Edmond Kirsch’s AI creation is the result of “returning to the origin,” and was made possible once Kirsch studied the human bicameral mind and designed his E-Wave supercomputer taking the right and left brains into account. Winston mimics nature in output as well as design, utilizing human humor, sarcasm, misdirection, and deceit. The AI is so convincingly human in early interactions with Langdon that Langdon believes he is speaking with a person. Here Kirsch, a fan of Gaudí, has “returned to the origin” in the design of his creation.
In the Epilogue, Langdon listens to Father Beña explain, “I came to God through a deepening reverence for the physical universe. It’s one of the reasons Sagrada Família is so important to me; it feels like a church of the future…one directly connected to nature” (455). Through Beña, Brown asserts that while art and science can mimic nature, even to the point of creating life, it is the God element that is lacking from Kirsch’s creation of Winston because Winston lacks a soul. His creator neglected to install one, thus failing to fully mimic creation, which has an inherent spiritual element.
Cellphones
The dangers of humankind’s reliance on technology appears in Origin most notably in the form of Edmond Kirsch’s cellphone, which acts as Langdon’s direct link to artificial intelligence and a supercomputer.
Upon Kirsch’s death, Langdon quickly steals and unlocks Kirsch’s phone, knowing it will be the key to accessing Kirsch’s whole world. Indeed, the phone is used to escape from Bilbao, start Kirsch’s Tesla, unlock his apartment door, and communicate with Winston. The phone is then shattered, leaving Vidal and Langdon feeling helpless as they struggle to find and decode the passcode without Winston’s help.
After helping Winston reveal Kirsch’s presentation to a massive global audience, the AI gifts Langdon with a new cell phone, one that belonged to Kirsch. To Kirsch and Winston, who favor the idea of a world where humans become a hybrid with technology, this gift is ideal. Kirsch’s phone is the most advanced in the world, untraceable and with supercomputing power. The phone represents the coming merger of human and machine.
However, when Langdon became aware of Winston’s misdeeds in service to his directive, “he hoisted a heavy stone over his head and heaved it down violently, shattering the device into dozens of pieces” (451). After tossing the phone in the trash, Langdon admits he feels “a bit more human” (451). Through the symbolic act of shattering the cell phone, Langdon positions himself firmly against the idea of a human-machine hybrid evolution.
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