In Judith Guest´s Ordinary People and Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the main characters Conrad and Dante face very different challenges, but their responses to the situations show similar effects on them. In the stories, neither Conrad nor Dante reach their ideal state, but that does not mean they did not experience success. Although Conrad and Dante reach different forms of success, or achievements in personal goals, they both begin to reach it by accepting their emotions, the most prominent one being anger.
Anger is not as simple as it may seem, as it is experienced by people in different forms and expressed in unique ways. As no two people are the same, one's response to the feeling is not the same for every person. Conrad for example, does not like the feeling of being angry and chooses to hold it back in situations in which he is experiencing it. He believes that "Sometimes when you let yourself feel, all you feel is lousy" (Guest 100). Conrad does not like to get angry because he is afraid of how he'll feel afterwards. His psychiatrist, Doctor Berger, however, believes that "Maybe you gotta feel lousy sometime, in order to feel better" (Guest 100). He thinks
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For Dante to become as righteous as Virgil wants him to be, so Dante can be received by God, he is to cast away all sins. By doing so, he must fully reject them and show hatred towards any sins and those who sin. So, when Dante meets his old enemy Philippo Argenti in Canto 8, he wishes to Virgil that Argenti have further punishing saying, "My Master, much should I be pleased, / If I could see him soused into this broth, / Before we issue forth out of the lake." (Alighieri) When he says this, Virgil praises his comment and tells him that it will be done, as other sinners in the circle of the wrathful begin to chew at
Upon entering hell with Virgil, Dante becomes witness to the true perfection of the justice done to sinners after their earthly life is over. This divine justice inflicted by God chooses to punish the souls in hell in a way very similar or representative to how the souls sinned on Earth. For instance, those guilty of the sin of wrath "tear each other limb from limb" (133), a punishment which directly relates to the actions of the sinners. However, there are also punishments that are more symbolic of the actions of the sinners, such as th...
Dante's and Virgil's scorn seems at first glance to echo the sin of intemperate anger which infects the foul waters of the Stygian marsh. Filippo Argenti, the weeping sinner who emerges from the mire, is eternally punished for his anger. However, the pilgrim's denunciation of Filippo is not only permitted, but lauded by Virgil with the praise given Jesus: "Blessed is the womb that bore thee!" (VIII, 43-44) Even the pilgrim's further, seemingly sadistic request to see Filippo attacked by his brethren is granted and accepted as appropriate. This seeming discrepancy in behavior can be reconciled by understanding the underlying motivations of the speakers. The pilgrim and Virgil travel with Divine sanction through Hell. The pilgrim's entire being learns to become entirely subject to the will of God. Virgil's journey is in obedience to the three angelic women who are Dante's patronesses: Our Lady, St. Lucia and Beatrice. However, Filippo Argenti is described by Virgil as "full of arrogance" (VIII, 46) Filippo Argenti's primary concern is Filippo Argenti. The essential element that separates the pilgrim from the sinners in the marsh is his subservience to God. Due to their divergent natures, the treatment of Filippo Argenti by the pilgrim and Virgil reflects the supreme triumph of the righteous over evil and serves as a warning to the reader.
Here Dante is gassed on by Virgil because he shows pity to the souls in Hell. Since God is the one who sends souls to Hell, Virgil thinks that Dante believes God has made the wrong choice. Throughout the poem we see Dante change his views; he comes to realize that those who are in Hell truly belong there. We see people on the street and feel pity for them, but we don 't stop to think how they got there; it might just be part of God’s ultimate plan.
Dante and Virgil come across Filippo Argenti, a Guelph from Florence, and upon discovering his identity, they immediately treat him with great disdain and wish misery and harm upon him. Filippo is thought to be an enemy of Dante’s because he is from the opposing side in Florence and because his brother stole Dante’s possessions after he was exiled from the land. What this passage then poses is the question of whether Dante and Virgil are exhibiting righteous indignation or whether their wrath is unjustified. In other words, is it possible for anger to be legitimate or is it always wrong? Depending on how this instance is interpreted, the reader can either believes that they are justified in their vengeance or are committing the same sin they should be avoiding within the fifth circle of hell. Some may believe that their anger can be justified because of what Filippo did and who he was, since he was definitely not a very just man while living. They may come to the conclusion that Dante and Virgil did no wrong while harming Filippo and throwing him from the boat to be mauled because they had a reason for doing
Descending from the first to the second level of Hell, Dante witnesses the transition to greater agony and greater punishment for the damned. Overwhelmed by the sinner’s harrowing cries and the extensive list of seemingly innocent souls given to him by Virgil, Dante beckons for two lovers to approach him, desperate for some sense of comfort. The souls are known to be the historical figures Francesca de Rimini and her lover Paolo, forever trapped in the circle of lust due to their sinful adultery. Through her words spoken to Dante, Francesca shows how she feels she has been unjustly punished and is deserving of others’ sorrow, and Dante, despite his awareness that she is a sinner, pities her. A close reading of this passage is necessary to better understand Dante’s internal battle with showing compassion where it is not deserved and Francesca’s incessant denial of her sins.
Guyler, Sam. "Virgil the Hypocrite: Almost: A Re-Interpretation of Inferno XXIII."Dante Studies With the Annual Report of the Dante Society.90 (1972): 25-42. JSTOR. Web. 09 May 2014. .
When Dante and Virgil reach the gate of Hell, Dante is overcome with fear upon reading the inscription above the gate and hearing the screams and lamentations of those inside. He reacts to the inscription by crying out, " ‘Master,’ I said, ‘these words I see are cruel.’ " (III.12). By this he shows his fear of the unknown because he does not yet know exactly what he will witness during his descent. One of Dante’s truest display of fear occurs upon reaching the vile City of Dis. When the "fallen angels" deny the travelers access through the city, Virgil, usually unflappable, even appears shaken up. Understandably, this does not help Dante’s nerves at all. He actually makes a side comment to the reader declaring the terror he felt after the angels had defied Virgil’s request saying: "And now, my reader, consider how I felt / when those foreboding words came to my ears! / I thought I’d never see our world again!" (VIII.
Conrad’s coach had a discussion with him about his position on the team as well as Conrad’s time in the hospital and this is when we find out he underwent shock therapy as a means to help him. After this, Conrad calls the psychiatrist, Dr. Berger to set up an appointment and at this time he seems anxious and uncomfortable, maybe even regretting calling the psychiatrist in the first place. In their first session together, Conrad expresses that he is only there because he wants to learn how to control his emotions so that people will stop worrying about him, not to work on himself. Although this was initially what they worked on, Dr. Berger helped Conrad learn to express himself instead of holding his feelings back, even if that meant displaying anger towards others including his mother and his
This portion of the text begins in the seventh canto and in it the punishment of those who lived in wrath are discussed, when Dante and Virgil first enter the circle they see a marsh containing people who endlessly beat upon each other the idea being that because they lived their lives in wrath they will live out their eternity with pure hatred for any soul they may encounter. Also addressed in this circle is the punishment for those who lived their life in a sullen manner, ignoring the goodness that the world around them contained. “‘Sullen were we in the air made sweet by the sun; in the glory or his shinning our hearts poured a bitter smoke. Sullen we begun; sullen we lie forever i... ... middle of paper ... ...
...ld have been furious. But he stayed calm and by doing that Conrad could trust him and knew he was a good person. The third piece of evidence is when Conrad wouldn’t tell Dr. Berger anything about himself, he didn't scream at him saying you're wasting your money or anything like that. He opened him up with techniques and stayed calm. Conrad wouldn't tell Dr. Berger much. He kind of just painted a vivid picture in Dr. Berger’s head. But dr. Berger didn’t get frustrated he kept working at Conrad calmly and soon saw the picture in HD. So By Dr. Berger stays calm at all times made Conrad feel safer and better, faster even when Conrad would scream and swear at Conrad Dr. Berger stayed calm and content. In conclusion Dr. Berger helped Conrad and Calvin a lot by treating them as family, Dr. Berger being there for him at all times, and Dr. Berger staying calm at all times.
When “Dante” speaks to “Virgil” near the beginning of Inferno, he understands that he is not yet like Aeneas and Paul (Dante 1.2.32). He says that, unlike these two voyagers, his travels cannot profit others because of his soul's state of habitual sin. “Dante” briefly explains his reluctance to begin his odyssey, saying, “if I consent to start this journey, / I fear my venture will be wild and empty” (Dante 1.2.34-35). In this section, Dante uses Virgil's characterization of Aeneas to provide a strong contrast to the character “Dante” of Inferno. According to Dante, Aeneas completes a heaven-sent mission in founding his city, because Rome eventually becomes the home of the Papacy and the Church. In direct opposition to the mindset, at the start of the Commedia, “Dante” perceives himself as a man astray from the True Path; he does not believe that his voyage can ever ultimately lead to salvation in the way that Aeneas's did.
In Dante’s Inferno, the relationship between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide is an ever-evolving one. By analyzing the transformation of this relationship as the two sojourn through the circles of hell, one is able to learn more about the mindset of Dante the Poet. At the outset, Dante is clearly subservient to Virgil, whom he holds in high esteem for his literary genius. However, as the work progresses, Virgil facilitates Dante’s spiritual enlightenment, so that by the end, Dante has ascended to Virgil’s spiritual level and has in many respects surpassed him. In Dante’s journey with respect to Virgil, one can see man’s spiritual journey towards understanding God. While God loves man regardless of his faults, His greatest desire is to see man attain greater spirituality, in that man, already created in God’s image, may truly become divine, and in doing so, attain eternality.
The Inferno is a very captivating narrative poem by the poet Dante which describes his imaginary journey towards finding God after falling asleep in the middle of his real life journey. The relationship between God and man is depicted clearly in The Inferno, The Divine Comedy. It is clearly shown that God does not associate with the evil or those in between good and evil. Though we see that God has hope for some who were once lost but can be redeemed and he sends his angels to guide those who get lost trying to find their way like Dante (Auerbach, Erich, 1961).In this significant journey, Dante first encounters a dark place in the woods and is guided by the shade of Virgil who appears to him in the woods. Dante says,
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
Dante's "Inferno" is full of themes. But the most frequent is that of the weakness of human nature. Dante's descent into hell is initially so that Dante can see how he can better live his life, free of weaknesses that may ultimately be his ticket to hell. Through the first ten cantos, Dante portrays how each level of his hell is a manifestation of human weakness and a loss of hope, which ultimately Dante uses to purge and learn from. Dante, himself, is about to fall into the weaknesses of humans, before there is some divine intervention on the part of his love Beatrice, who is in heaven. He is sent on a journey to hell in order for Dante to see, smell, and hear hell. As we see this experience brings out Dante's weakness' of cowardice, wrath and unworthiness. He is lead by Virgil, who is a representation of intellect. Through Dante's experiences he will purge his sins.