In the Inferno, Dante uses many examples to demonstrate the theme of justice. Dante starts at the Gate of Hell and will eventually find his way down to circle nine. The circles are organized according to the gravity of the sin involved. The worse the sinner, the farther down into Hell they will fall. God created Hell as a place to put sinners because they do not deserve his love.
The word “monster” has come to define a variety of interpretations; for example, modern media will use it to describe crime perpetrators in an appeal to the community to dehumanize them, thus making them easier to ridicule and condemn. In Christian medieval culture however it held less sinister notions, but rather loosely referenced anyone or thing that had a defect of the body. The medical sciences of the time attributed these blemishes to God's fury over some transgression of the afflicted; it was an ominous indication of foul things to come if the sinner did not beg forgiveness immediately. The epic poem Beowulf is a heroic tale of the endeavors of the warrior Beowulf, who possesses herculean strength and stoic courage. Some of the most important climactic scenes of the poem are Beowulf's fights against three different monsters; these creatures are vicious and bloodthirsty, deserving of death at the skillful hands of Beowulf because they are condemned by God - or at least that is what readers are led to believe.
All of the previously stated features can be found in “Ethan Brand” and “Young Goodman Brown”. These two stories both deal with the uncomfortable idea that mankind itself is evil at the core, that no matter who you may be, or how good of a person you are you still harbor evil and sin within your heart. Whether you chose to accept the fact is up to you. The characters of “Young Goodman Brown” attempt to hide the evil within them. They lead lives based on lies and are soon exposed for the sinners that they really are.
All people are born sinners. Natural men must be reborn to be saved; “…hell is waiting for them…” (Edwards 46). These views are that of Jonathan Edwards in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Edwards belonged to a religion that was lingering and was close to disappearing due to the growing numbers of Christians, so he used figurative language and imagery in order to scare people back into the Puritan way of life. “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downward with great weight and pressure toward hell.” (Edwards 47).
For example when Benvilio says “I do but keep the peace.” To which tybalt replies “…peace? I hate the word. As I hate hell, all montagues and thee.” Tybalt clearly expresses his anger towards the montagues by comparing them to hell. The word “hell” is very powerful and is used to insult the montagues. To be compared to hell in those days would have been extremely bad, because hell is the ultimate punishment and there is nothing worse than hell.
Dante’s Inferno Relevance to Today Dante created a hell in Dante’s Inferno that portrays what Dante believe hell was. Dante’s hell is outlandish to many readers, but in some instances the text does have relevance to today’s society. In other cases, the times have changed therefore the relevance of Dante’s Inferno to today’s society has decreased. Gluttony is one of the most persistent issues today. In Dante’s hell, people that were accused of this sin constantly get rained on by fecal matter to punish them for what they have done.
Because the poem places a large emphasis on Satan and the fall of man, it could give a sense of rebellion to an uneducated reader, which it certainly did with the monster. However, if Paradise Lost was replaced with the Bible, this influence would be reversed with many positive influences, including “Thou shalt not kill,” and “Love thy neighbor as yourself.” Plutarch’s Lives is a collections of historic retellings of the lives of famous Greek and Roman figures. While there are many positive stories, there are also many negative influences. Many tales of betrayal create negative precedents that the monster followed. However, if a different selection of Lives were chosen, then the monster could have learned of valor and honor.
Some people use their power in a wrong way, and commit crimes because they want even more power that they already have. The blinding act marks a turning point in the play, because some actions like cruelty, betrayal, and even madness may be reversible, but blinding is not. Gloucester reflects the profound despair that drives him to desire his own death, after being blinded by Cornwall and Regan, “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport” (4.1.37–38). More important, he emphasizes one of the play’s principal themes, the question of whether there is justice in the universe. Gloucester’s philosophical musing here offers an outlook of miserable despair, he
To think after all the years to past, things would have gotten better! How can someone be fueled with so much hatred, that it will make them cause harm or even kill an innocent human being? They are often referred to as bias crimes. Majority of the time, hate crimes are committed,
They believe this was a right that they were given by our Four Fathers, which is clearly not true. Yes, they have the freedom of speech but when should the freedom be taken away? What about the rights of the innocent victims and their families? Hate crimes, because of their nature will always lead to violence and this is not a freedom that people should have. In my opinion, the penalties for hate crimes should continue to be more severe than that of a regular crime because so many innocent people are injured and even killed simply because they are different.