How Does Hell Affect Different Sinners? In The Inferno by Dante, Dante is lost and does not know what to do with his life. The first line reads, “Midway in the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost” as Dante tries to connect with the readers. He uses the phrase “our life” to show it is a common feeling for people to be unsure of where to go in their lives and how there is no clear path to take. This creates the idea that Dante is taking a journey with the reader and they are trying to find the correct path to take throughout the book. Dante fears like most humans at that time that he would take the wrong path and end up in Hell. Once Dante meets Virgil, he claims Virgil to be his “teacher” and “author” …show more content…
For some sinners, this is due to being defeated by their punishments for the countless amount of years that they have been tortured and the infinite more to come. However, some do not think they deserve the punishment they were given and they disagree with God. For example, Dante can see someone who is not affected by the punishment: “Who is that hero who seems to scorn the fire and lies there grim and scowling so that the rain seems not to torture him?” Dante sees him as a hero because he does not seem to be tortured and is enduring all of the pain while showing no signs of weakness. Dante is impressed by the soul and wants to know more about him. Throughout the book, almost all of the souls need to be asked questions first in order to speak. However, Capaneus is similar to those at the start of the book such as Homer because he can speak consciously and seems to still have his humanity. When Dante asks Virgil about Capaneus, Capaneus was able to understand the situation and answer himself: “And he himself, who had discerned that I had asked my guide about him.” Capaneus has the awareness to recognize the situation around him and act like a normal human. Despite the famous people before, the thing that keeps humanity in Capaneus is his mindset and how he believes that he can defy God’s word. His arrogance and ego allow him to preserve the self validation that is seen among the sane people in Hell. In addition, he does not feel the pain of Hell because he can tolerate the fire that is raining on him. The reason that Capaneus is able to differentiate himself from the other sinners in Hell is because of his confidence. In the notes of the book, it talks about how Capaneus’s overconfidence leads him to making a fool of himself. However, his overconfidence also allows him to continue to think that he lived his life correctly