A hero is often defined as, “one who exhibits extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude or greatness of soul, in any course of action, or in connection with any pursuit, work, or enterprise” (Oxford English Dictionary). When going on a journey, the hero must express the inner strength needed to continue on for a greater good. In The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, a poet named Dante ventures on a journey through Hell in order to find Enlightenment. Although this was a difficult but rewarding experience, he goes on this journey without great inner strength and mainly relied on Virgil, his guide through Hell, for protection. Instead of showing the greatness of a hero, he to treat most of the souls with disrespect instead of feeling pity for their
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When first meeting Dante, he can be seen being chased by a beast, and he does not show any bravery when facing the creature. When he meets Virgil, he tells him, “See there, immortal sage, the beast I flee. For my soul’s salvation, I beg you, guard me from her, for she has struck a mortal tremor through me” (Alighieri 30). Dante relied on Virgil to show the strength that he could not. From this point on, Dante has acted as more of a follower than a hero to Virgil. Virgil simply says, “‘Follow’ and he moved ahead in silence, and I followed where he led” (Alighieri 32). Dante does not show any leadership here and instead wants Virgil to support him throughout his journey. The journey through Hell has not changed in terms of bravery much. When the two found Satan, Dante wrote, “I cowered for shelter at my master’s back, there being no windbreak I could find” (Alighieri 283). Even at the near end of The Inferno, Dante still needs to find comfort in having Virgil with him. Dante has not been able to develop any fortitude in his story leaving out an important aspect of a …show more content…
Since Virgil was the one who actually gave Dante the courage to carry on with his journey, Dante became heavily reliant on him without being able to focus on his own strengths. It becomes hard to view Dante as a hero when viewing the way he handled the different souls he met in Hell. Through his entire journey, Dante lacked any traits of, “extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude or greatness of soul” (Oxford English Dictionary) when he had to face situations common heroes would face. Overall, a hero should have the strength to face many kinds of dangers and to face fears. Because Dante failed to even maintain consciousness when confronting these dangers, Dante can not be seen as a great and true
When first meeting Dante, he can be seen being chased by a beast, and he does not show any bravery when facing the creature. When he meets Virgil, he tells him, “See there, immortal sage, the beast I flee. For my soul’s salvation, I beg you, guard me from her, for she has struck a mortal tremor through me” (Alighieri 30). Dante relied on Virgil to show the strength that he could not. From this point on, Dante has acted as more of a follower than a hero to Virgil. Virgil simply says, “‘Follow’ and he moved ahead in silence, and I followed where he led” (Alighieri 32). Dante does not show any leadership here and instead wants Virgil to support him throughout his journey. The journey through Hell has not changed in terms of bravery much. When the two found Satan, Dante wrote, “I cowered for shelter at my master’s back, there being no windbreak I could find” (Alighieri 283). Even at the near end of The Inferno, Dante still needs to find comfort in having Virgil with him. Dante has not been able to develop any fortitude in his story leaving out an important aspect of a …show more content…
Since Virgil was the one who actually gave Dante the courage to carry on with his journey, Dante became heavily reliant on him without being able to focus on his own strengths. It becomes hard to view Dante as a hero when viewing the way he handled the different souls he met in Hell. Through his entire journey, Dante lacked any traits of, “extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude or greatness of soul” (Oxford English Dictionary) when he had to face situations common heroes would face. Overall, a hero should have the strength to face many kinds of dangers and to face fears. Because Dante failed to even maintain consciousness when confronting these dangers, Dante can not be seen as a great and true