Dante's Inferno is a very good relatable source to use when speaking about the definitions of hell. While reading Dante's Inferno, I was reminding of similar themes of why individuals are said to go to hell through my experience in Sunday school as a Roman Catholic. The different levels of hell I feel represent the different definitions of sinning that lands souls in hell to begin with. It seems as though the different levels of hell represent a certain type of punishment for certain types of souls.
Each circle of hell has various different pockets and depths that indentify the appropriate punishment for each type of sinner. Throughout the story we see sinners of different degrees, from blasphemers all the way to the biggest sinners in Lucifer's eyes within the book being those who betrayed Jesus and Julius Ceasar. In the beginning of the journey Dante reads a quote before entering the different levels of hell, "through me you enter the city of woes, through me you enter eternal pain. Through me you enter the population of loss. Abandon all hope those who enter here." (Dante) This was the foreshadowing of what was to come of the disparity these souls felt on each level of hell Dante entered.
Dante's Inferno is a very accurate representation of how the definition of hell is really in the eye of the beholder. Although it interprets the idea of hell based off of a classic definition of what the Roman Catholics and Christians believe hell to be, each level of hell seems to take a form of punishment based of the sin the soul has committed. Much like I discussed in my journal statement, everyone has a different idea of what their hell would be like. In the Ante-inferno, the souls who never committed to good nor evil, and continued to lead a life that they felt best suited themselves. "These are angels who were neither for God nor Satan, but only for themselves." (Dante) these souls were forced to chased a banner around in a circle naked while enduring the pain of the stinging and biting of wasps and hornets. This is my interpretation that sine thee individuals never chose God nor Satan, are now forced to recklessly chase something for all eternity that is not tangible.
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