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Faith And Justice In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy

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In the “Divine Comedy” the writer, Dante Alighieri uses his own namesake to create a character, Dante, whose moralistic qualities change dramatically as he journeys through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In the beginning, Dante finds himself lost on the path of sin and is sympathetic to others who have strayed as well. As he begins his journey, Dante shows concern and sympathy to the suffering sinners. It is only once Dante ventures deeper into the circles of Hell, when his demeanor changes and hatred begins to show. Dante, once weak and blindly empathetic to the sinners who turned their back to God’s love, becomes consciously aware of the importance of faith and justice. In the upper circles of Hell, Dante displays his weakness of pity when he responds to the sufferings of the sinners. Dante is “swept by pity and confusion,” …show more content…

Purgatory fills Dante with relief and hope. As Dante travels through Purgatory, his mind becomes pure through Virgil’s teachings. In Canto III, Virgil teaches Dante “to be satisfied with the quia of cause unknown.” Dante learns to have trust and faith in God and not question His power. Dante confront sinners in a completely different way than in Hell. He is able to show forgiveness because the sinners opened their heart to God’s love and admitted their sin. Dante is washed from all of his sin at the end of Purgatory, “I came back from those holiest waters new, remade, reborn.” Now enlightened, Dante is no longer consumed with empathy, hatred and forgiveness. He is only filled with the love of God. Through Dante’s exposure to sin and rebirth, he transitions from being sympathetic to being hostile to ultimately becoming enlightened. Dante learns that his pity is useless, to have faith, and to not question God’s justice. Alighieri is conveying the point that sin is persuasive and it is one’s choice to turn their back from

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