Inferno

What has brought upon this madness? It is as though the entire town of Salem has been swept up in a wild inferno of vengeance – an inferno surely herding us all into the wrathful grasp of Satan. Surely, for all the years of learning, the wisdom I have found in my books I should have doused this folly before it began! I see the brand of condemnation on my hands, as bright and stained as it were the ink that with those hands sold the souls of the good Christian men and women of Salem. I have not…

In this passage, the book “Inferno: Good plot, Bad Science” by Dan Brown is the issue of which the author, Ricki Lewis is getting ready to give the speech in her local library. She is preparing herself to talk about this crazy geneticist who usually gets an “A” in his writings. After reading this book she is about to explain why this author gets an “A” in writings and an “F” in genetics. By using various example Lewis wants to prove her audience on why the book is wrong with the information…

In the seventh circle of Dante’s Inferno, Dante and Virgil travel through the woods filled with old, gnarled trees devoid of any greenery. Dante hears screams surrounding him but does not see anybody, which leaves him confused. Virgil suggests to Dante to pluck a branch of a tree and when he does, the tree cries out in pain, asking him as it bleeds: “Why do you rip me?/Have you no sense of pity whatsoever?” (13.35-36). All the trees and bushes in this forest represents humans who have committed…

Desire: that feeling or emotion which is directed to the attainment or possession of some object from which pleasure or satisfaction is expected (OED). Boethius writes in his Consolation of Philosophy that the human person is left unsatisfied by false goods and is guided by Lady Philosophy to recognize the ultimate good to satisfy his desire. Dante places himself as a pilgrim in the Divine Comedy by using descriptive imagery of the contrapasso to demonstrate the effect that straying to sin can…

Dante’s Fraudulence: The Lessening of a Punishment In Dante’s Inferno, readers see that Dante believes fraudulence is a worse crime than violence. I understand why he may have thought it needed to be punished more—he wanted to teach the politicians of his time to be more honest—but in reality, violence is a much worse crime. When we look at societies jails today, who has the longer sentence, the thieves and liars or murderers and rapists? It is the latter. I disagree with Dante when it comes…

While Shakespeare’s King Lear and Dante’s Inferno were written in very different time periods, they both make similar statements regarding human suffering and the consequences of our actions. Both of these works share the same thematic ideas of lament and admonition. Shakespeare derived King Lear from the legend of Leir, a pre-roman Celtic King. The play is about a King who gives his kingdom to his two deceitful daughters and disowns the one daughter who truly loves him. The rest of the play is…

Dante’s Inferno was one of 3 works that was compiled into his major work the Divine Comedy. He lived around the 1200-1300s and discussed some of the Florentine Politics he either witnessed or participated in including his exile from Florence. This can be found in the 6th Chapter of Inferno when Dante is in the 3rd Circle of Hell. In the book it referred to the spring of 1300, which is the fictional date of Dante’s journey. Dante being born in 1265 is what people at the time call the “halfway…

I am reading Dan Brown’s Inferno, and I am on page 567. This book is about the American Harvard professor Robert Langdon while he is on a journey of mystery, ancient symbols, and the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In this journal I will be evaluating and explaining. In this novel the author, Dan Brown, uses irony. This book is the last in a small trilogy and throughout the other two books the main character has relied mainly on his semi-identic memory but in this one he cannot recall the…

The idea of an EMP attack or disaster is a strong concept for a film. Disaster films were once very popular, lost their appeal, but may be on the resurgence. The idea of an EMP attack is definitely relatable and relevant to today’s society. One can envision a movie that dramatizes the consequences and outcome of such an event. The outline has several strong elements that work. One is that the protagonist, Hayes, is an electrical engineer described as an alarmist. He fears this scenario and…

Throughout the poem Inferno Dante uses the outline of a hero’s quest to complete his character’s journey through Hell. The hero’s quest is often used because it is familiar to readers. Dante uses an abstract idea of a hero’s quest by departing Earth, descending through Hell, and finally realizing the mistakes he makes in life can lead to eternity in Hel Dante’s departure is the beginning of his journey through Hell. Dante is in a dark time in his life, known as “The Dark Wood of Error” (I.3).…