What Role Does Allen Play In Dante's Inferno?

Frank Herbert once wrote that “Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” By this, he means that something must awaken, or change, inside of us in order to be able to change as a person. In the novel Inferno, by Niven and Pournelle, the main character, Allen, is a sleeper. In the novel, Allen has died and gone to the vestibule of hell and was trapped in a bottle. He asks for help and a man named Benito comes to his aid and wants to help Allan get out of Hell. As they start going through the circles of Hell, Allan judges the punishments he sees in Hell before learning anything about the people who are facing the punishments. Allen faces many internal conflicts while trying to first accept that

In this part of the novel, Allen is still a “sleeper”, because he still has not accepted that the punishments in hell are fair. All throughout the novel, Allen has been rationalizing what he has seen in Hell. After finally accepting that he was actually in hell, he made a replacement for God, who he called “Big Juju”. Allen does not believe that God would put people through these punishments, which is shown when he thinks “Would God torture people?”(Niven and Pournelle 107). This proves Allen as a ‘sleeper’ because he has not awakened to the meaning of these punishments, and how they are not tortuous or excessive unless the person being punished is also a sleeper. Allen continues through Hell to find more punishments he deems unjust. He continues to try to prove that “Big Juju” is wrong, by thinking about how he “knew better.” and that “This couldn’t be justice, not even Big Juju’s exaggerated justice”(Niven and Pournelle 136). Allen even continues to say that the punishments are “monstrous”. Allen’s judging of Big Juju continues as he travels further through Hell. When they arrive at the circle for people who sinned against nature, Allen thinks “This, just for being queer? But it was no surprise to me that God’s justice and mine didn't agree” (Niven and Pournelle 144). Here, Allen has solidified his thought that the punishments are “too harsh” and that God’s justice is “monstrous”,

When Allen realizes that his guide, Benito, is Benito Mussolini, he puts Benito back in his punishment and leaves him. However, after this moment, Allen finally has his awakening. He begins to judge himself, as shown when he thinks “It was unreasonably easy for Allen Carpentier to enter the Circle of Traitors”(Niven and Pournelle 202). By being able to recognize that there is a place in Hell for him, Allen begins to change and starts to have faith in the punishments in Hell. Allen turns around and goes to get Benito, and therefore changes his perspective of Benito, and even larger, his view of people in Hell. When Allen and Benito travel through the next circle of Hell, Allen is a changed man. When two senators ask him about which one is right, he approaches their situations with an open mind, and helps explain to them, and himself, why they are traitors and therefore, that they deserve their punishment. He says “you were both traitors in your mind”(Niven and Pournelle 224). The final thing that Allen does to show how he has changed is admit that he is not ready to leave Hell. He knows that he has to better understand Hell, and that he can’t enter Heaven until he has complete faith in God. This theme of faith is displayed when Allen stays in Hell and states that “There were no doubt here. None at all”(Niven and Pournelle 234). Here, Allen tells himself that