A Personalized Hell is More Effective

A Personalized Hell is More Effective

Hell has been described in many different texts, all explaining how Hell may be organized. There have been many examples in the Bible, myths, folktales, and music through out time. One example in particular is in Dante's, The Inferno, where hell is described as having many layers, which are categorized by individual sins, such as thievery, and are punished for an eternity. In Dante's model, more sin centered, a soul would be sent to a certain layer of hell for one sin that he had committed. However, perhaps a more personalized Hell, sinner-centered, that deals with each sinner individually for each sin committed and its severity, would allow for people to be punished more effectively.

In each specific section, people are punished for one sin in the same manner. This does not compensate for the severity of the sin itself. The people are punished in the same manner, despite the severity of their sin, such as thievery. For example, those who committed thievery are condemned to a pit of serpents, as Dante describes, "Serpents—of weird kinds….people were running, naked and terrified, without a hope of hiding or a chance at heliotrope for safety," (Dante, 201). All of the thieves are tortured by the same serpents in the same way. None are punished more severely if they had robbed a poor family to buy a new car, as opposed to stealing a loaf of bread to feed a family. This is an example of why a more personal model is needed, so that people can be punished according to the severity of their sin, as opposed to just the sin itself.

Furthermore, the model that Dante describes does not take into account multiple sins. Again, his model concentrates on the idea of the sin, not ...

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..., a thief that stole to feed his family would not be punished as harshly as one who stole to buy a new car. A personalized hell would suffice for multiple sins, as well as severity, by creating a more sinner-centered environment where people are punished for what they did, not just their sin.

There are many different ideas about how Hell should be organized; however, the idea of a personalized hell seems to capture all the sins and guarantee proper punishment. Dante's layered Hell appears to be focused on certain sins, and some people are not punished for all of the sins they have committed. It also does not allow for people to be punished for the severity of their sin, they are just punished. The more personalized hell would allow for sinners to be punished in a manner that would encase all of their sins.

Bibliography:

Dante. The Inferno.