The Inferno

The whole time while reading Dante's Inferno I feel trapped in a world of darkness with only a slim chance of hope.  As Dante travels through the stages of hell it only seems to get worse and worse each time.  It reminds Dante that he has sinned, and if he continues to do so then he will end up like all the people in the stages of hell.  One of the things that caught my eye is the imagery of the story, as you can almost see yourself next to Dante going through this journey to the stages of hell.  All the human sinners, and betrayers ripping eachother's heads off, and eating at one another creates a strong image in my head.  I picture these humans, or creatures being similar to Golum in Lord of the Rings because they have no hair, and nothing to eat but one another, and looking to be rescued by someone who has something more than they do.

I also think that the guide, Virgil plays a key role in the first part of Dante's Inferno.  In the beginning Dante is found "in the wood" or in the darkness of the forest, and seems lost and confused in search of virtue and faith, which will lead to his salvation.  Dante seems very timid as what to do in his situation at first, but when he is joined with Virgil his soul is comforted.  Along the journey Dante is in a total state of confusion, and Virgil does a great job as a guide to answering his questions and leading him on the right path to reach salvation.  Virgil seems to know his way around, and is there at Dante's side when he becomes fearful of what may happen.  All of the negativity that Dante is surrounded by is soon comforted by Virgil.  Virgil and Dante's relationship is similar to that of Gilgamesh and Enkidu because without one another they would have to discontinue their journey.  Dante's whole journey through the underworld reminds me of someone who may be spiritually lost and in search of God.  To reach the ultimate destination in Heaven one must first go through the stages of hell or in this case the life before eternal life.

The creatures of the different stages of hell are quite interesting to me.  First off, they may appear evil, but they do no harm to Dante I think because he is protected by Virgil.  Also, I find it odd that the conversations with Charon, and Paolo and Francesca are so brief.  It seems as if they can only spare a few sentences before they must get back to their suffering.  They are basically there as the nails in the toolbox to hammer in Dante's head what brought them to the certain stages of hell.  They teach Dante many lessons of what not to do, so he doesn't end up suffering himself.

Overall a very fun read, and it continues to get more exciting the further the travel into the underworld of darkness