Tyler Pontello

Ms. Skirtich
English 10
11 January 2019
Inferno Writing Prompt #1

At the start of Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri, Dante is rather mentally weak. He has

erred in his life, and now knows that he must journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, in

order to set his life straight. He is not prepared for the things he will experience as a human in

Hell, a place with elements beyond his control. He is also relatively young when he begins the

journey and still has many things to learn and wisdom to gain. The first example of Dante’s

mental weakness and humanity is the multiple instances during the first few cantos when he

faints after seeing some of the sinners and their punishments. He also feels compassion for some

of the sinners early on, even though they have sinned and deserve their punishment, “Then

turning top those spirits once again, I said: Francesca, what you suffer here melts me to tears of

pity and pain” (Alighieri 39). He is feeling bad for the sinners and letting himself be persuaded,

this shows how gullible he is at the beginning of his journey. He eventually gets caught up in the

terrible atmosphere and lets his emotions get the best of him, and faints, “As she said this, the

other spirit, who stood by her, wept so piteously, I felt my senses reel with anguish. I was swept

by such a swoon, as death is, and I fell, as a corpse might fall, to the dead floor of Hell,”

(Alighieri 40) These instances of immature behavior gradually disappear later in the text, as he

“toughens up.”

Virgil’s behavior is quite different early on in the text. He has lived in Limbo, which is

part of Hell, for many years so he knows what to expect. He is also much wiser. This is where
Virgil steps in to become Dante’s guide and quickly a father figure to him. Virgil uses the idea

that the passage is willed by God to help them make their way through the guardians. “And my

Guide to him: That is not your concern, it is his fate to enter every door.” (Alighieri 36) Virgil

guides Dante and does things like this for him that he is unable to do on his own. Virgil has no

sympathy for the sinners and hell and is unfazed by the extreme punishments. Under Virgil’s

mentorship, Dante slowly matures and comes to terms with the realities of Hell. He has less

sympathy for sinners in later circles and frankly “grows up.” In Canto VIII, “And I then: May

you weep and wail for all eternity, for I know you, hell-dog, as filthy as you are.” (Alighieri 61)

He is seen here having no sympathy for a sinner in the Styx river. He is now beginning to realize

why the sinners are in Hell in the first place. He goes from fear and anxiety to handling his

journey like a man. This strong-minded transition under pressure reveals to me the potential that

Dante possesses to turn his life around.