Comparison Of Dante's Inferno And Linden Hills

Gloria Naylor’s “Linden Hills,” and Dante’s “Inferno” are about characters who take a journey through the spiritual or social dimensions of life. In “Linden Hills,” the main characters Lester and Willie get to view the true forms of oppression that the people of Linden Hills have to experience in their daily lives. In “Inferno” Dante has to travel through the underworld in order to fully understand the punishments of living in sin and how important it is to live a virtuous life. Gloria Naylor wrote “Linden Hills” based off of the principles of Dante’s “Inferno.” Both works explore the themes of sin, punishment, and redemption. “Inferno” focuses more on the spiritual side of the theme while “Linden Hills” focuses on the social aspects of the

While both works have similarities in their portrayal of sin, punishment, and redemption, they have their own distinct approach in the themes and literary style.

To begin with, Dante’s “Inferno” is a piece of literature that describes Dante’s journey through the underworld with his guide Virgil. Dante and Virgil journey through the nine circles of Hell, and within each circle people are being punished for a sin that they committed in their earthly lives. Each circle serves as a different punishment depending on the sin that that person committed. In the first circle of Hell, this is known as Limbo where people who were not able to be baptized or not taught about God have to go. In this circle, the punishment is not as harsh as the other circles because the people who are in this circle are not bad people, they just were not able to receive salvation. The second circle is home to the lustful. The lustful are blown around by strong winds which represent the restless nature for their desires. The third circle of Hell is where the gluttons reside. The punishment for the gluttonous people is that they are forced to lay in and eat nasty, slimy mud and slush

Both characters embark on a journey that takes them through the struggles of the world they live in. In the “Inferno,” Dante is guided through the underworld by his friend Virgil. Like Dante, Willie also has his own guide named Lester. Just as Dante, Willie gets to confront his own sins and go through the process of self-discovery and redemption. Another parallel between characters in the two works is Carver and Minos. Carver is the gatekeeper of Linden Hills who judges people based on their wealth and status to determine whether or not they can enter Linden Hills. Similarly, Minos is the judge of the underworld who will decide which circle of Hell each soul will be sent to based on their history. Many characters can be compared to each other in both works; however, in my opinion, these are the most