I Am The Way Into Eternal Sorrow

As I’m sure everyone noticed, I wasn’t in class today so my response is not filled with the literary terms and themes that were discussed.

Canto III is very intriguing. I had always assumed that Dante would choose to place all who are not good in hell. Instead, Dante creates a third category, not for good and not for evil; a place for people who “were neither for God nor Satan / but only for themselves” (35). The punishment for these souls is quite gruesome and severe; it makes one wonder how horrible the punishment would be for the souls who actually committed evil acts. This part of hell is more like a more terrible version of limbo.

The punishment for each sin is symbolic of what the sin is. In the case of the opportunists they chased after whatever it was they sought for themselves, therefore in the afterlife, they forever chase an unattainable flag. The analysis in the humanities packet suggests that the hornets are symbolic of a guilty conscience that constantly pursues the sinners. The opportunists are hated by the good and by evil. They have no place in the afterlife. Even Virgil tries to ignore them, and tells Dante never to speak of them.

The humanities packet further identifies the one who made the “Great Denial” as Pope Celestine V. Dante uses this canto to comment on the corruption of the Church and send a religious and possibly political message about the papacy. Like Dante, I would place prominent political figures in this limbo. Most importantly our current president. This person has sought out power and wealth for himself and his constituents, using fear to convince others to support his cause. Corrupt and cowardly our president serves neither good, nor evil. He only serves himself; this would place him just outside of Acheron along with Pope Celestine V.

The Gate to hell, through which Dante and Virgil pass, is symbolic in and of its self. The gate is made of stone and inscribed with writing. It a representation of the last piece of humanity the condemned souls will ever see. A stone gate constructed with human architecture in mind. Once the souls pass though it, all of their humanities will be lost.

Religious Views of Various Cultures

So the List doesn't seem to be working, so I'm going to post the research here for now.

Islam: The Quran has over 200 verses mentioning hell. Those who do not believe in what Allah has revealed will be sent to their doom.

Islam: not only will the nonbeliever be sent to hell but his family as well.

Islam: Similar to Christian hell; those sent to Islamic hell will be burned in the fires. Their souls becoming the fuel that keep them burning.

Islam: some of the torments include: force drinking of festering water, branding, and submerging in boiling water.

Buddhism: When someone dies they enter the first of three Bardo states, which is an after-death plane. (Craig)

Buddhism: The second Bardo state, known as Chonyid Bardo, is where someone may experience a personal hell. (Craig)

Buddhism: Evil karma decides whether or not someone experiences this. (Craig)

Buddhism: The person thinks they have a physical body and that demons are eating them alive. However, these are just thought forms. (Craig)

Judaism: Evildoers await their judgment from God and their punishment, but a specific Hell is not elaborated on (Craig)

Christianity: Gehenna or Tartarus are the names of hell for condemned spirits and is a place of wickedness. (Evan)

Christianity: Differs from the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades as a place of eternal punishment, not merely a underworld for the deceased souls. (Evan)

Christianity: People who refuse to repent are stuck in hell even, even after the millennium. (according to Latter-Day revelations they would have been given to chance to repent). (Evan)

Christianity: Many people commonly perceive hell as having a lake of fire that consumes of utterly destroys those who are sentenced their. (Evan)

check out the cool quiz about Dante's version of hell posted on the sidebar!

Bibliography

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/Quran/topics/hell.html
http://dwindlinginunbelief.blogspot.com/2006/10/for-disbelievers-painful-doom.html
http://www.litesofheaven.com/buddhist.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Hell_in_Christian_beliefs
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gs/h/26
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20020715/article_02.htm

Another View of Hell

Hey,
So a good friend of mine wrote this essay last year. It depicts his view of hell and how different people will be made to suffer. I think it is very creative and very good. Everyone should take a look at it. The link below should take you to it. If you do not have access, please let me know.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=ddh4mgb_0c758r7gg&hl=en

enjoy :)

Translation

I have to say, this is a very good translation. For the most part the English version captured almost all of what the original had. There are, of course, some important differences. What stood out the most were the differences in the romance. Everyone always says that French is the language of love, well it really is ;). Although most of the words were close to directly translated, the feeling and emotion behind them gets lost.

Some of the meaning is also lost in the translation. Garcin is talking about how they will be “naked as newborns”, in the French version he is saying “soon enough we will be naked as worms”. The difference in the wording changes the entire meaning and images associated with that phrase.

No Exit Responce

Each of the characters in No Exit (excluding the valet) relies almost totally on other people to define themselves and their actions. The characters are all in hell for committing sins of some sort or another. Garcin was horrible to his wife, Inez was horrible to her cousin, and Estelle killed her child. However, they all share one existentialistic sin: defining themselves through others (Giggie).

The character who most obviously defines herself through others is Estelle. She is consumed with how she looks and what other people think of her. She needs other people or other things to remind her that she exists: “everything that goes on in one’s head is so vague isn’t it?” (19). For Estelle, the mind does not provide a concrete enough foundation for her define herself with. Instead she uses mirrors: “I always made sure there was one [a mirror] near by in which I could see myself… it kept me alert, seeing myself as others saw me” (19). Estelle can not run her life without seeing herself in the mirror, all day everyday she needs a reference point to know what she is doing, and what or who she is. Estelle has her chance at escape, at salvation when the door to the room opens. However, Estelle chooses not to leave, horrified of being alone because if she is alone, she will not be able to figure out who she is.

Inez is also tied to other people. She cannot function in her life without dominating and controlling every situation by hurting other people: “when I say I’m cruel, I mean I can’t get on without making people suffer” (26). Inez bases her existence on other people, without another person to control and torment, Inez is lost. When the door to the room opens Inez fights as hard as she can not be thrown out. She would have been free of her hell if she had left the room, but she could not bring herself to do it because without other people she would not be herself: “when I’m alone I flicker out” (26). She needs to define herself though who she hurts.

Garcin is exhibits this characteristic the least of all the characters. He does not necessarily define himself in terms of the others, however he cannot think for himself. Garcin needs other people to judge him, because he can not judge himself. When Garcin gets the door to the room to open, he refuses salvation because he needs to know whether or not he is a coward. He can not decide on his own, he needs to hear it from someone else, and the only person who can do that is in the room: “It’s because of her I’m staying here… you, anyhow, know what it means to be a coward” (42). Garcin defines himself based on what other people think. If someone else thinks he is a hero, then that is how he sees himself, but if someone else thinks he is a coward, then Garcin sees himself as a coward.

No Exit Responce Pages 1 - 17

Considering that I have already read No Exit in French as Huis Clos, it is difficult to reflect on the first 17 pages knowing what will happen next. The first few pages are very confusing; the first time I read them I had no idea that this was going to be a play about hell. The character’s initial reactions did not help with this understanding. Garcin seems to be very calm and care free. One of the first things he asks about is the torture, but upon finding out that there is no rack, he asks the valet about his toothbrush: “But, damn it all, they might have left me my toothbrush!” (4). I was surprised by his reaction; one would think that he would be more worried about being in the hell than the lack of his toothbrush.

Reading the play for the first time, I got this feeling that Inez was not who she appeared to be. She seemed to know too much. At the time, I thought that Ines was a demon in disguise and that it was her job to turn the other two against each other. Inez would always seem to be inside the other people’s heads. In addition she claims that she has figured out why they are in hell. I believe that Inez already knew the answer and she was attempting to make herself look more innocent.

Sartre’s vision of Hell is very creative and untraditional. However, the more I thought about it the more it seemed to be a scary place. It is hard enough living with my siblings each day when I get home from school. I can’t imagine how bad it could get if I had to spend eternity in a room with nothing else in it but them and some chairs.

My View of Hell

My view of Hell has been greatly influenced by many of the games, movies, and books I have played, seen and read. When I picture Hell I see a vast red, brown and grey wasteland. The realm extends endlessly in all directions. There are fires burning everywhere, but it is not hot, in fact I see hell as being a very frigid place. There is a corroding wind that sweeps across the plane, carrying with it debris and lost souls. The wasteland is filled with demons and devils that are constantly at war with each other vying for control over the realm. For the most part, the demons and devils are too busy trying to destroy each other to concern themselves with human souls; however, the souls of the damned are swept away in the endless battles of Hell. Anyone unfortunate enough to end up there will not be specifically tortured, they will simply be thrown into the fray.

I don't know whether I believe in the Bible's type of hell, or if I believe in hell at all. I do believe that there is something out there, some type of supernatural power or realm, but I don't believe that the Christian Bible (or any other Religious text for that matter) accurately describes this otherworldly "thing".

Hey,
so I hope everyone already knows who I am, but in case you don't I'm Alex
I would have to say that my favorite quote of all time is:
"someone once told me that time is a predator who stalks us all our lives, but I would like to think that time is a companion who goes with us and reminds us to cherish every moment, because they'll never come again."
Now I'm sure none of you have ever herd that before, that's because its from Startrek

Something many people don't know about me is that i am an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in possible in Boy Scouts. I am a bit obsessed with Startrek (I happen to own every episode and movie ever :D) I enjoy politics, science, debating (especially the very controversial subjects). As you may have guessed I am a big fan of science fiction, some of my favorite authors include David Weber and Orson Scott Card.

I have to say, I love being at the top of everyone's "link lists"
This is a amazing class, and an amazing assignment.