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Onward we walk; my master and I, until the sight of a small footbridge stops us in our tracks. With its haphazard stones that form a conglomerate arch upon which to cross, I freeze in fear. Directly beneath the bridge, I hear the interjections of water snakes hissing and slithering through the mosquito infested water. Virgil takes the lead and tests the bridge's sturdiness, signaling for me to follow. The bridge wobbles beneath us with each step taken. Its slipperiness and lack of walls to prevent the looming creatures under the water from consuming me strike fear in my heart. Crossing the bridge, I am met by the base of a mountain, fashioned with a tall, narrow opening that fades to eternal black. I enter. A rhythmic thumping grows louder …show more content…
It is because of their inability to listen, absorb new perspectives, and live life without regard to other possibilities that their brain is turned to mush. The twists and turns of the maze diverged, with every sinner who believed that their single idea could trump the multitude of different ideas that were birthed. Virgil led me out of the narrow puzzle and as we squeezed through the passageways. In the shadows of the dark cave, I could see the swift movement of the crocodile's mouth as he crushed Sarah's head. A blood-curdling scream was released and echoed, bouncing off the walls. Virgil and I reached the end of the procession toward the light and looking back in a mirror I see the face of a young girl, Nicole Waddington, whom I had only known through books. Virgil explains that she is the ultimate sinner, who in her life, failed to listen to those who opposed her beliefs. She never accepted that other people had different answers to the world’s biggest questions; therefore, she must remain trapped in her own reflection on the cave wall, watching all those who she put down be torture as her own head is set on fire. Virgil led me out of the maze and the screams faded into the distance. We come upon a passage of broken rocks and enter Circle 7, Round
The drive to cross the Kentucky border had taken hours and hours of strenuous patience to finally arrive in another state. The view was by far country like as hints of cow manure could be smelled far from a distance. We drive through small towns, half the size of our hometown of Glen Ellyn had been the biggest town we've seen if not smaller. The scenery had overwhelmed us, as lumps of Earth from a great distance turned to perfectly molded hills, but as we got closer and closer to our destination the hills no longer were hills anymore, instead the hills had transformed to massive mountains of various sizes. These mountains surrounded our every view as if we had sunken into a great big deep hole of green pastures. Our path of direction was seen, as the trails of our road that had followed for numerous hours ended up winding up the mountainous mountains in a corkscrew dizzy-like matter.
Psychology attempts to provide insight on our lack of self-belief; however, the studies are mostly to no prevail. Subjectively, I believe our subconscious represents a more complex function than what is often portrayed. After all, it acts as a defense mechanism that has been pre-built into our neural network. As such, the capabilities of such a feature are near endless, though difficult to comprehend. To better understand our subconscious, we often simplify it through symbols - most commonly, heaven and hell. Studied throughout the text, symbolism of such representation is easy to interpret as it is presented through distinct quotes from the primary speaker - such as: “I heard sounds from Heaven and I heard sounds from Hell.” Incidentally, the quote also marks a set crossroads on the protagonist's journey of choice as he chooses which side to listen too - guilty or innocent. As expected, his later continuation in the text to commit heinous acts such as assault and murder, solidify his standings with the rebellious side of his conscious - as well as supporting the continuation of heightening the challenge presented by lack of self-trust. In support of this, renowned academic leader Douglas Horton is quoted speaking: “Conscience is the window to our spirit, evil is the curtain”. However, in select cases, the
My life so far has been like a good hiking path. A path that is winding and twisting and encompassed with plenty of beauty. A path that is lined with trees like angels protecting you from the mysteries in the deep forest and that keep you rooted on the path you are destine to take. One that is filled with deep troughs and the most beautiful peaks you could ever image. Sometimes the path is rocky and hurts the soles of your feet until they crack and bleed, but other times it’s covered with a soft green moss that lifts your steps and revives your spirits. Through the last 17 years of my life, I have traveled that path and endured every step. I have gone into the dark abyss of the trough and have found in it the most precious grace of light. As I have gotten older I have come to recognize that the scary and shaky steps of my path have indeed been “fearsome blessings” (Buechner, 92).
Circle five is deep down in hell and you’d think by now the souls are being tortured by demons, but wrong, circle five is only terrible because of the sinners themselves. The circle is full of the wrathful, who are using anger as a tool to disembody each other and the sullen, who are doing nothing about it but watching and crying. These souls make their own hell with their own emotions; no one is making them so mad and so sad but themselves. Virgil says in Canto VII lines 115-121, “Now see the souls of those whom anger has defeated;..underneath the water are souls who sigh and make this plain of water bubble.” Circle five is filled with its own demons, one group shrinks into the darkness with its sadness and the other group erupts into flames with its adrenaline. This circle showcases, once again, just how fair hell is. The souls don’t need someone to make their lives miserable because they already do it for themselves. God simply puts all the wrathful and sullen souls together, and these souls build their own hell and that is why the punishment is just for them because God just allows them to continue to be
The transition to becoming believers was very mentally exhausting for some people. There were many times during Jonathan’s stay in Transylvania that he thought he was going mad. Renfield knew that Dracula was in his mind on several occasions. At the very end of Lucy’s life there would be moments where she would act as a vampire before she had officially died. Mina called herself unclean on many occasions even though she exemplified exceptional character everyday. These characters were constantly struggling with their own thoughts and did not know how to control the things they were thinking. Many of the main characters in the novel felt as if they had gone insane, but in all reality their fears had become terrible realities.
...tory, allowing those familiar with the older works to see where the alterations were made and how important these differences are to his characters. To really drive his point home, Virgil writes his underworld in such way to allow his reader to see what horrors await those who fail to adhere to these specific traits. During these scenes he at times speaks directly to the reader, warning them of the dangers of ignoring his lessons. This had such a profound impact that Virgil's version of the underworld has been used as the basis of many works and is the source of a vision of hell that many people adhere to even to this day.
Reading and understanding literature is not as easy as it sounds. Being able to dissect each piece of information and connect it to the overall theme of the story takes lots of rereading and critical thinking. Reading the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” takes lots of critical thinking and understanding the literature in a different point of view than the average reader would. The theme of this particular story quickly came to mind after initially concluding the reading, the author is trying to convey that nobody can escape death and how thoughts in the mind are so substantial in the consciousness that it can take over the reality. The author comes to this theme by incorporating specific literary elements such a symbol, irony, and narration. These are important because they make up the theme by bringing the necessary elements together.
Virgil represented Dante and his humanity, that he still has sin that is holding him back, and when he must stay behind it shows Dante’s change. Virgil is stuck in hell, not able to move past the sin from his life on earth, like how Dante was at the beginning of the novel. When Dante crosses the river to Beatrice the reader is shown how Dante is leaving his sin behind him and is changing into something greater. The reader can tell that he is being transformed because the guides teach him different aspects that needed to be changed. When a person is changing, he must realize his past, which is what Virgil is teaching him, and then how to use this change for the better, which is what Beatrice is teaching him. They each represent the two stages of Dante’s transformation; Virgil showing Dante the effects of sin and Beatrice helping Dante learn and see the truth in purity. Dante the poet also want the readers to realize with this change that Dante in the novel has overcome his sin. When Virgil leaves him in the hands of Beatrice he is confident that he has done his part, that Dante is freed from his temptation, and he is confident that now Dante can follow his heart and not let it lead him to sin. When Dante follows Beatrice, the reader knows that his selfish ways have been wiped away, that Virgil and Beatrice know that Dante is on his way to holiness. The different things the guides teach Dante highlight this change. Virgil taught Dante more about the effects of his lifestyle now, that if he did not change he will be crushed by his sin in the afterlife. The Dante that was with Virgil was very proud and cared too much for the sinners in hell, and Virgil needed to show him how wrong he is being. When Dante meets Beatrice, we can see the change Dante has made, that he is less caught up with himself and sees the effects of his actions. Beatrice reprimands Dante,
Halfway through his life, DANTE THE PILGRIM wakes to find himself lost in the dark wood. Terrified at being alone in so dismal a valley, he wanders until he comes to a hill bathed in sunlight, and his fear begins to leave him. But when he starts to climb the hill his path is blocked by three fierce beasts: first a LEOPARD, then a LION, and finally a SHE-WOLF. They fill him with fear and drive him back down to the sunless wood. At that moment the figure of a man appears before him; it is the shade of VIRGIL, and the Pilgrim begs for help. Virgil tells him that he can not overcome the beasts which obstruct his path; they must remain until a ‘GREYHOUND’ comes who will drive them back to Hell. Rather by another path will the Pilgrim reach the sunlight, and Virgil promises to guide him on that path through Hell and Purgatory, after which another spirit, more fit that Virgil, will lead him to Paradise. The Pilgrim begs Virgil to lead on, and the Guide starts ahead. The Pilgrim follows.
Descending from the first to the second level of Hell, Dante witnesses the transition to greater agony and greater punishment for the damned. Overwhelmed by the sinner’s harrowing cries and the extensive list of seemingly innocent souls given to him by Virgil, Dante beckons for two lovers to approach him, desperate for some sense of comfort. The souls are known to be the historical figures Francesca de Rimini and her lover Paolo, forever trapped in the circle of lust due to their sinful adultery. Through her words spoken to Dante, Francesca shows how she feels she has been unjustly punished and is deserving of others’ sorrow, and Dante, despite his awareness that she is a sinner, pities her. A close reading of this passage is necessary to better understand Dante’s internal battle with showing compassion where it is not deserved and Francesca’s incessant denial of her sins.
The first thing to see, looking away over the water, was a kind of dull line - that was the woods on t'other side; you couldn't make nothing else out; then a pale place in the sky; then more paleness spreading around; then the river softened up away off, and warn't black any more, but gray; you could see little dark spots drifting along ever so far away-trading-scows, and such things; and long black streaks-rafts ... and by and by you could see a streak on the water which you know by the look of the streak that there's a snag there in a swift current which breaks on it and makes that streak look that way; and you see the mist curl up off of the water, and the east reddens up.
While reading this poem I was able to visualize the speaker looking far down both paths to see what each of them would bring. Though the speaker's sight is somewhat limited, on...
It is early morning and he walks alone. The iron gates, crusted with rust, clang in his wake. Fog washes over the tombstones in waves. His feet crunch upon the ground. The fog obscures his vision, but he could walk here blindfolded. This journey to the cemetery has become a routine, anticipated but not enjoyed. The call of a loon sails through the milky air; the sound ripples along his spine. He walks onward, head forced down, eyes riveted to the ground.
"I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the
“The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky – seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” (96)