The Role Of Punishment In Dante's Inferno

In the eyes of religious people all sins are punishable; however, in different religions the punishment depends on the sin or crime. In the 1500’s convicted criminals were boiled for their crimes. In 1241 people were dragged by a horse for treachery and hearsay. In 1792 people were put to death by the famous guillotine. Lastly, in 71 B. C people performed intense crucifixion on people who wouldn’t “accept” the word of the lord. Not every crime is handled exactly the same, that’s clear if we look at the law system in California, depending on the crime you can get a ticket or life in prison. That’s exactly like Dante’s interpretation of Hell. Dante believes that there are circles of hell and as you go down the punishments and crimes get worse and worse. The fifth circle, seventh circle, eighth circle are the most fitting punishments for the crimes committed. The fifth circle of hell is anger. Anger is one of the most frowned upon emotions by religions and society. The angered are forced to be transported by a boat and then forced to argue with each other all day. They have no other choice but to criticize …show more content…
Violence is such a punishable crime, even today. If you were to commit a violent act against someone, you would be charged and punished for your crime. The seventh circle is divided into three rings. The first ring is people who committed a violent act against a loved one. This act is punished by the murders having to sink into a river of boiling fire. The middle rings are people who committed a violent act against themselves; such as, suicide. These people are turned into bushes and eaten by harpies. The last circle is blasphemers and sodomites, these people are punished by residing in a desert with burning sand and burning rain falling from the sky. I do believe that these are suitable crimes for these people because my own personal opinion is that violence is something that shouldn’t be