Melissa Towery

Mr.Vazquez

AP English 4

Sept. 14, 2016

The crime of the uncommitted is that, the people who did not pick either good or evil but instead continued their life on without making moral decisions would be denied by both Hell and Heaven because of their lack of moral choices. Instead they would be sent to the Ante- Inferno which is in hell but not truly a part of it. There they would be forced to chase a blank banner while horseflies and wasps would sting them over and over again sparing none of the naked flesh, leaving them crying and wailing while worms would gather up the fallen blood and tears. Neutral angels were also given this torture due to not siding with either God or Satan in the war in Heaven. The penalty for this crime is creative at most but doesn’t seem completely relevant to the crime, the blank banner and chasing after it seems fitting due to their lack of decisions and wandering through life without making them however the insects are not relevant to the actual crime but some form of inflicted pain is needed so therefore is added into the penalty.

Within Cantos IV, the indications that Dante is lost and unknowing of where he is really going, is shown in his confusion when waking where he felt he had been in a “heavy sleep within [his] head” which he ended up trying to discern his location by “[staring steadily to learn what place it was surrounding [him]”. He hadn’t known that he was on the other side of the river. The obedient following of his mentor is also a big give away that he honestly doesn't know much of what is going on. From the chapters read, its clear that the character is very passive and submissive, willing to just go along with what he is told, only asking questions on things that are happening to others around him but not on the travel of his own journey.

The usage of mud for the punishment of the gluttons is that of having to lie on the ground while sewage rains down on them uncomfortable while senses are assaulted since when alive they had filled their life with whatever they hoarded away for themselves to pleasure those senses, while for the actively wrathful, they were crouched and covered in the mud while striking and biting at each other which the mud symbolized the dirty filled with hate people that they were while alive, the biting and fighting showing how violent and aggressive their anger was. The passively wrathful were the ones who were forced to gurgle and choke on the black mud at the bottom of the Styx because of their muttering and sulking when they were alive. These punishments were a lot more fitting to the crimes than the ones for those who were uncommitted.

General knowledge leads to the belief that Dante’s version of hell is way more detailed than that of Christian text and has a lot more creatures known in Greek Mythology, also with Pagan symbols and beliefs thrown in the mix, which in that time period was due to wanting increased followers since it was all about converting as many people as possible. That and controlling the masses. The depth of detail continues the more one reads and research furthers the lack of this day and age relations of what the Christian belief is defined as in 2016. Jesus wasn’t around in Dante’s time period, Plutus is a Greek god yet he is within the fourth circle of hell where “Virgil quiets the creature with a word”. Minos is also from ancient mythology and Cerberus from Greek stories of the afterlife, the three headed dog owned by hades who is a gate keeper and guard. All of this shows mixed religious and mythological traditions that Dante believes in. Overall the contemporary view of Christian believe is a lot more cut and dry with the simple, sin and get sent to hell while being good gets a one way ticket to heaven all mighty.