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Christian Themes And Values Of Dante And Dante's Inferno

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Fenwick High School is a Christian institution; Dante is a Christian writer and reflects the views of the faith in his work. The Inferno deals with Christian themes and values, including Heaven and Hell. In addition, getting to Heaven by living a prosperous life and helping everyone in all aspects of life are also themes. Even with The Inferno's darkness and despair, the inner messages still are similar to the Fenwick Inclusion Statement. The Fenwick Inclusion Statement explains that in our Christian education, together without discrimination, we can achieve our goals. The Inferno shows that people can achieve their goals as well; the ultimate goal of Heaven. The Inclusion Statement shows that everyone will have an equal opportunity to learn in the tradition of Saint Dominic. "Fenwick High School continues the great Dominican tradition of inclusion and welcome for the common good," (Inclusion Statement) and also pledges that "no one will face discrimination based on race, …show more content…

Heaven is the goal of all Christians, since when we want to live at peace with God and not suffer for eternity in Hell. The Inferno shows a man's quest to get to Heaven, while the Inclusion Statement shows how an inclusive education begins the process of going to Heaven. The Inclusion Statement says, "all people are called to the same eternal destiny in the Kingdom of God," (Inclusion Statement), which shows that no matter who you are, you can get into Heaven. The Inferno shows getting into Heaven through the journey of Dante, making up for what he has done wrong and working his way to Heaven. Sin can get in the way of this journey, like the she-wolf of self-restraint, "the beast pursued, forcing herself against me bit by bit till I slid back into the sunless wood," (Dante, 33 58-60). When faced with the temptation to sin, one has to keep going and, like Dante, make it to

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Dante’s Inferno is an epic poem by Durante “Dante” degli Alighieri, written in the 1300s. He wrote a trilogy, known as the Divine Comedy, consisting of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was inspired by many events and issues happening at that time, such as the war between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Battle of Montaperti, and Christian religious beliefs. In this paper, I will explore the first book, Inferno, on the topic of Hell and how the sinners had a significant impact on Dante’s journey through Hell. In Circle 5: Styx, Canto VIII, Filippo Argenti, a sinner of Wrathful, helped Dante to symbolize to readers his anger towards Black Guelphs, political enemies of the White Guelphs.

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The fear of denouncement to hell terrified them and focused them on their path for righteousness. The thought that “hell is gaping for them” creates a strong motivation to do God’s will (Edwards, p.11). Their life, therefore, becomes a mission and they must live their life trying their best to pursue the highest form of

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Dante’s Inferno utilizes imagery throughout it’s text to conceptualize religious ideas otherwise without. This is accomplished on each level but in the case of the Vestibule which houses the undecided, he uses the imagery of the people chasing after but never being able to catch what it is they chase. By having the people literally chasing after something it illustrates there sin of being fleeting and of being neither bad or good. Instead of going from one thing to another, the persons should have sought a higher purpose for living and not what was merely their desire. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, specifically the fourth is another work that seems simple and yet is broad in meaning (Sayre 251).

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In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri's depiction of Satan at the bottom of hell reveals the theme that in Hell the punishment is always befitting of the due to the fact that the lower you go, the farther that person is from god. The picture of Satan satisfies the reader because he shows that he is the opposite of god and that he is full of evil. Lucifer is the demon in the circles of hell which he has three faces, and bat like wings in which he creates the cold wind where the sinners suffer. “The face in the middle was red, the color of anger. The face on the right was white blended with yellow, the color of impotence.

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In Inferno, Dante is the main character who is fighting between good and evil, which translates to be the theme of the story. Dante explores deeply the Christian hell and heaven, which includes the immediate Purgatory. This experience makes him cast his allegiance to good and God. The differences between these two stories are depicted when comparing the epic conventions, epic characteristics, and when comparing the various religious backgrounds of the times in which these two stories were written.

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If I truly want to be forgiven, I can be, Dante showed me that. He showed me that the path to salvation is a long one, and a trip that not everyone is willing to take. This trip outlines

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In Canto IV, Dante addresses two theological issues of salvation. According to Christianity, all souls that lived sinless life but were not baptized, are denied salvation. Dante designates his first circle of hell, called Limbo, for those poor souls. In Limbo, they are not tortured, but the cannot have salvation. It was a very simple and brilliant solution.

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Before entering Hell, Dante sees a stone sign that holds the message “Abandon all hope ye who enter here” on it as a warning for anyone entering into Hell (I, III, 31). Hell itself is a hopeless place filled with hopeless souls. Every single soul that has been damned to stay in Hell for all eternity shares a single punishment with all other damned souls: the loss of hope. From the “nearly soulless” that run in the Vestibule of Hell to Satan in the center of Hell, hope is abandoned in their sufferings (I, III, 31). However, the souls that do not reside in Hell and have not been damned still possess hope through divine salvation.

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As both Dante and Virgil leave the Vestibule of Hell, they enter into the first circle of Hell, which contains the virtuous pagans: those who believed in more than one god before the times of Christ. As Dante enters the first circle, which he describes as a glowing light, he is greeted with four prominent figures that appear to stand out from the rest of the sinners. As Dante sees them, Alighieri describes the encounter with them elaborating: “So I saw gathered at the edge of light the masters of that highest school whose song outsoars all others like an eagle’s flight” (IV, 64-66). Even before the readers are introduced, Alighieri's diction toward Homer and the rest of the figures help to construct an idea of a positive connotation. The phrase “masters of the highest school,” displays how Alighieri feels that Homer is the best writer of the “highest school,” or the world.

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Dante and Virgil escape hell and realize the importance of their journey is being free from negativity through enlightenment. Alighieri describes enlightenment when he says, “Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars” (Alighieri 34.140). Alighieri is exiting hell and entering purgatory which guides him towards salvation. This resembles Alighieri’s enlightenment of being released from a self-built prison. The journey to enlightenment is rigorous, but the reward is always worth the effort.

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Inferno explores the descent of mankind into sin. The work’s vast usage of imagery and symbols, a powerful allegory, and well known allusions highlight political issues whilst dealing with the nature of sin and the road to salvation. In Inferno, Dante is forced to take a journey through hell. With the help of Virgil, his personal tour guide, Dante sees the different kinds of sins, as well as their contrapasso, or

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