The White Devil

Was Dante Trying to Scare the Hell Out of Us? (A discussion of how Dante’s The Inferno, is used as a moral propaedeutic) “Heaven would be wonderful, but it looks even more wonderful when there is also a threat of Hell. People probably believe in Heaven more when they have just been threatened with Hell.” (Heflick). People of the church are often known for their ability to make individuals who do not attend church feel lesser and more sinful than themselves. This seems to be the case because…

faith is what keeps one from temptation and the Devil. Goodman Brown has not been married to Faith for long which symbolizes he does not have strong faith in God yet. This helps the reader understand why he was so willing to leave his wife that night. Faith also represents an innocence untainted by temptation. When Goodman Brown thinks he has lost his wife Faith, he also loses his faith in God. One can see the precise moment he gives into the Devil when he says, “My Faith is gone! . . . There is…

Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter helps to construct the novel through his pursuit of evil. His name, physical appearance, and his actions show his negative intentions for Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. His character is portrayed as an entity of the devil, who works toward the main goal of exposing Dimmesdale. Chillingworth is Hester’s husband, who she had planned to leave England and start a new life in Boston with. Hester and him are a part of the many people who emigrated from Europe for…

“Farewell, good strato. Caesar now be still: I killed not thee with half so good a will” (5.5.78). “Julius Caesar” is a historic Roman story about the genius scheme Marcus Brutus conspires against Caesar. Brutus conspires to kill Julius Caesar and deals with the consequences in a rather brutal way. Brutus is the definition of a tragic hero and demonstrates the qualities a tragic hero needs. A tragic hero is a character that makes a decision that leads to their fate.The characters actions often…

The Tragic Ending of Faust: An Interpretation of Faust II, Act V, Lines 11678-11829 In Part II, Act V, line 11678-11829 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, Faust’s soul is rescued by angels. There have been many scholars that have interpreted this scene as representing the redemption of the protagonist after a life of evil and destruction (Van der Laan, 67). That view has now largely been rejected. An alternative reading of this scene would be to deny Faust any identity at all,…

John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” has been enjoyed by readers because of the different point of view in which he depicts Satan. People generally know Satan as the bad guy who opposes God and corrupts mankind, but Milton gave everyone a new perspective in which to look at Satan. Satan shows promise as a protagonist as he commands the world of Hell but also at the same time people still think of him as the embodiment of evil and all bad things. However, as the story progresses the…

Many view Satan as an abstract concept, but what is not realized is that Satan is real and that he wants our human souls. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a novel of thirty-one letters, written from an experienced devil, Screwtape, to his inexperienced nephew, Wormwood. In these letters, Screwtape suggests various ways Wormwood can distract his “patient”, specifically a middle aged male, from his faith in God. Screwtape's instructions include tempting the patient to rely on realistic…

The poem “January”, written by poet William Carlos Williams, uses imagery to paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. Williams also uses descriptive language and the metaphor of wind and the sentences the narrator is bound to, to exemplify the picture in the reader’s mind. A particular example of imagery in the poem is when William states “And the wind, as before fingers perfectly it’s derisive music.” In this quote, Williams expands to the senses of auditory and touch. He expands to…

Curated within a text, an authors word choice often ascribes an emotional tag, or connotation of a word rather than the literal denotation. In analyzing diction, a reader’s perception of a character is often strengthened not by the specific words themselves, but rather the suggested meaning attached. This powerful element of style used within writing further influence a readers understanding, and the stories tone. Within Joyce Carolyn Oats where are…. , diction is used throughout the text with…

Throughout the history of literature, countless authors have attempted to capture and offer unique interpretations on the concept of Hell. Many texts differ in their imaginations of Hell, largely because there is no definitive explanation as to whether Hell is a physical place or a mental experience. One of the most fascinating descriptions of Hell, and one which offers a stimulating perspective on Satan, is the Old English poem Genesis B found within the Junius Manuscript. Genesis B follows…