Dante & Virgil

Dante is an Italian poet who wants to convey to all humanity the consequences of human actions and the levels of hell that he believes exist for different levels of sins. I think he wants to show that there is no escaping doing wrong, whether if it is doing wrong against God or doing wrong against someone else. Dante divides Hell up into ten different circles, and there is an upper and a lower level of Hell. At first the upper part of Hell does not seem so bad but then each level of hell gets worse the deeper you journey into hell. The lower part of Hell was where lay the real horrific punishments. In Dantes book, the main character is Dante himself; however Dante the character and Dante the author are quite different in reality even though they are supposed to be the same person. When we begin to read the book we realize that the main character is just as ignorant as the reader concerning what is yet to come. That is very surprising as you would expect that the author would know what is going to happen in his book. This is where we are introduced to a new yet old character, Dante the character. Dante the character has lost the true path of life and finds himself in a dark forest. He tries to climb the sunny mountains to escape where he is, however he is stopped by 3 beasts. After that we meet Virgil, the character who Dante is solely dependent on. Virgil was most admired by Dante the author and had a major influence on him. Dante respected him to such an extent that he turned him into the guiding character, and the only other character we see a lot in this book. Virgil becomes in this book the symbol of human reason. Dante praises Virgil for his wisdom and considered himself blessed for having such a person to guide him through the most terrifying journey of hell. Dante calls Virgil his master and author in the first canto which emphasizes how important Virgil has been for Dante as a poet and a philosopher. Early in the story, Virgil tells

Dante that he is there because Heaven wanted him there and that he can take Dante only part of the way. Unfortunately Virgil can't enter Heaven or see God because he lacked a faith in God because Virgil had lived before the time of Christ therefore he was ignorant of the true faith. Someone more worthy will take Dante to God. I think what Dante would want to express here is that man's reason is finite, while God is infinite, and man's reason and wisdom will get him started on the right way, but the ultimate way to God is to be guided by a higher power and having faith in the higher power. We also see an example of this when Virgil was unable to open the city gates of Dis without the intervention and help from God himself. It showed that Gods power is more powerful than everything in the universe. Virgil is Dante's only friend and guardian in his journey through Hell, and with the help of Virgil's wisdom and guidance, Dante journeyed through hell more easily. I believe that Dante would have never lasted a day in hell if it was not for Virgils word of power. For example Dante kept fainting at the end of the chapters when he saw what hell was like for the first time and I think Dante would have died if Virgil just left him sleeping there alone. I think Dante looked up to Virgil as a father figure and as a parental guidance for him, for example in the beginning of the story where he was frightened and lost faith in himself to start the journey, we saw Virgil giving him words of comfort and encouragement just like how a parent would encourage a child before their first day of school. We also see that Virgil could pass through most of the circles by convincing the guardians of the circle to let them pass through. In those situations, Virgil would use his word of power which was a word sent from God therefore it was essential that Virgil would be given what he asked for. As we go on with the story, I think Virgil tries to teach Dante moral lessons about hell, the sinners, and their punishments, and when Dante appears slow to learn these lessons for example when he feels pity for the sinners or wants to stay more in a

region of Hell, Virgil gets a bit mad and reasons with him to see that these sinners deserve their punishment and it is true Gods justice, and you should not stay in one part of hell for too long because there is no guarantee of your coming out from it. I think Virgil was a constant reminder to Dante and the readers that Hell was fair as we have not seen Virgil so far even pity one of the sinners. Even though Virgil is in Hell, he still believes in Gods justice and is angered when someone speaks ill of him. I think what Dante is trying to show us is that Virgil would have been a true follower of God if only he was aware of him when alive. I think Dante is sad about the fact that Virgil was in Hell but at the same time he put Virgil in Hell which showed that Dante was more a believer of Gods religion than Virgils wisdom. As we go on through the story we see that Dante pities the sinners less and less, and he sees the sinners for who they really are; people with dirty morals and ambitions. Virgil most happily approves of Dantes change towards the sinners, and I think what that symbolizes is the fact that the real author is happy with the changes because since Virgil is human reason and wisdom, then Dante the author made Dante the characters change of heart as true, wise, and the correct thing to do. I believe that Virgil liked Dante, and that he was not helping him only because he was asked to from God. I think Virgils main priority in this book was to keep Dante safe even though Dante would be safe anyway because it is a fictional story anyway. Virgil is very careful to explain patiently all of the functions of Hell and its various structures. Virgil is constantly attentive of Dante's welfare, and he knows that Dante is dependent on him. At times, when Virgil himself is having difficulty with some of the shades, he tells Dante to wait behind, because he does not want to frighten Dante, who is completely dependent upon him, as both a guide through the geography of Hell and as a spiritual guide. I think the only reason Virgil was chosen to be the

guide was because Dante the author really loved Virgil and his poetry, and Dante the poet knew that no one could journey through Hell without some outside help so it was necessary to have a guide in the story, and who is more perfect for the role other than the person who has guided him in reality.