Similarities Between The Lion King And Dante's Inferno

The Lion King is actually Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Chi-Raq is actually Aristophanes' Lysistrata. The concept of basing current works on classics is not a foreign idea, and similarly Gloria Naylor writes Linden Hills based on Dante’s Inferno. Naylor includes similarities from emphases on certain details to character development that bridges the two stories superficially; in fact, she has significant differences to The Inferno like her motives for writing Linden Hills.
Similarities include the descriptions of the devil, the parallel character identities, and the direct relationship between Drives in Linden Hills and Circles in Hell. The ice and coldness that shrouds the lowest layers of Hell become more prevalent as one moves down toward Tupelo Drive. For example, Dante describes the devil as being fixed in the ice where the rivers of guilt meet and having

bat-like wings that freeze himself and sinners into place. Luther Nedeed may not have a river of guilt flowing to him, but he has the similar effect of draining the warmth from the people around him, as Luther follows Reverend Hollis’ speech and “Hollis stood back behind the pulpit. The warmth in his body was draining, leaving a chill that caused him to tremble (184).” The theme of icy coldness in both stories symbolizes Satan and how those around him are frozen in place, frozen to the sins they committed. Beatrice, who in heaven decided to help Dante, as “There is a Lady in Heaven [Beatrice] so concerned for him I send you to, that for her sake the strict decree is broken…(13),” and Virgil is then invited to join Dante on his journey. Similarly, Ruth insists on page 41 that “‘I was just thinking-you guys might not want to do it, but there’s plenty of spare jobs around Linden Hills right now.’” where she essentially gives Lester and Willie the idea to go down Linden Hills/Hell together. Limbo is for those who were opportunists in life. First Crescent Drive happened to also have Roxanne who did anything she could to attract Xavier. Circle VII of Hell includes sinners who commit violence against theirself, like Laurel in Tupelo Drive who decided that “Once she got down, she’d be free (248).” Whether it is the framework of Linden Hills as a neighborhood or who the Devil is in Linden Hills, the similarities drawn between the two stories seem to be surface level. Naylor includes similarities in the plot, but fundamentally has a different central idea that she conveys through her book.
What sets Linden Hills apart from The Inferno is beyond physical settings.

Both authors each are conveying a different idea to the public. It is true that both authors are venting their frustration against society through their work, but the origin of their distress is different and in the end yields two different conclusions. For Dante, it includes the frauds in Florence and the Roman Catholic Church. The most iconic people like Filippo Argenti in Circle V who was a political enemy of Dante is targeted (65). “After Filippo Argenti! All cried together. The maddog Florentine wheeled at their cry and bit himself for rage. I saw them gather. And there we left him (62).” Dante is trying to humiliate a lifetime enemy in his book. Going lower into Dante’s hell, the people closest to Satan are simoniacs and those who betray. As Dante even included Popes like Boniface VIII and Clement V below murderers, he saw the Catholic Church as a huge threat to society. The purpose for Dante writing The Inferno was to take revenge on his enemies while also pointing out significant flaws he perceived permeated Florentine

society.
On the other hand, Gloria Naylor seems to be less focused on pointing out social issues and more centered on promoting individuals to retain their passions, feelings, whatever makes them be real and unique. Despite having an emphasis on women and gender roles seen through changing fonts and elaborate side stories, her main idea of retaining individuality applies to everyone. Naylor made Linden Hills into a place that surface level looks perfect but really drains the life out of its inhabitants. As Willie puts it, “If anything was the problem with Linden Hills, it wa that nothing seemed to be what it really was (274).” By just being there, “His [Willie] poems only made sense in his ears and mouth. His fingers, eyes, and nose. Something about Linden Hills was blocking that (275).” Willie realizes that especially down in Tupelo Drive that just by working for Luther, there is something affecting his soul. The main idea Naylor conveys is that nothing is worth as much as keeping what makes you human. On page 59, Grandma Tilson says “there’s gonna come a time when you’ll look at the world and not know what the blazes is going on...so you keep that mirror...and you’ll always know exactly where you are.” Grandma Tilson expresses through her mirror example Naylor’s central idea and how important it is to know oneself are in today’s society. The ultimate demise of losing oneself is seen when Luther’s neighbors simply watched the Nedeed house burn down. His neighbors seemed to lost contact with their humanity after selling their silver mirror to be so far down in Linden Hills.
Despite having many similarities ranging from motifs like ice and parallel blueprints between Linden Hills and Dante’s Hell, there are striking differences between the authors’ main purpose for writing their books. As Dante focuses more on taking revenge on his enemies and criticizing Florence, Naylor hones in on the importance of knowing, maintaining, and loving oneself no matter what. As Claudius throws Mufasa off the cliff and Lysistrata reduces Chicago gang violence, Dante and Virgil jump the chain fence onto Patterson Road away from Tupelo Drive.