Examples Of Allegory In Dante's Inferno

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The topic of Heaven and Hell is a widely discussed topic due to the fact that no one has been able to experience either destination and provide insight on what it is about. Many Catholics believe that it is your actions on Earth that determine where you will end up in your after life. By living a righteous, moral life you will secure a spot in Heaven, but if you live a life of deceit and corruption you will secure a spot in Hell. In the allegory, Dante’s Inferno, one experiences Dante’s journey through Hell, and sees how his opinions of the sinners change the further he gets into his journey. At the beginning of the allegory, you meet Dante wandering around the woods. He seems to have lost his way, become so consumed by his sin, that he is lost in the world. As he encounters a mountain that he tries to climb into ‘Paradise’ or Heaven he encounters a leopard, lion, and she-wolf. Each of these beasts represents Dante’s biggest sins, which prevent him from entering Heaven. Each circle of Hell is particularly planned out, …show more content…

This circle is for those who are consumed by lust. They are consumed and stimulated by swirling winds as they were consumed and stimulated by others during their time on Earth. “While one spirit said this, the other was weeping so that for pity I fainted as if I were dying, and I fell as a dead body falls” (Durling, pg 93, line 139-142). Dante faints because he is overcome by guilt and pity to those in this circle of Hell. As we saw earlier, when he was trying to climb up the mountain into Heaven, he encounters a she-wolf, which is supposed to represent lust. Lust is one of Dante’s greatest sins, so after passing through this circle of Hell he feels pity for these people because he understands their struggle. He also is beginning to understand that if he does not find his way and turn to the right path, he may end up spending eternity in this circle of

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