More Inferno..what is confusing me this time.

I find the eighth circle to be particularly interesting. In all of the different “pouches” we see the different sides to Dante and his feelings toward the punishments. Now I don’t want to go into some great detail as I am writing about this topic in my paper.  I am slightly confused on how Dante feels about the second pouch. I am also confused on how this punishment has anything to do with the “flatterers” sin. Oh well maybe I can figure it out in class tomorrow. In the third pouch Dante is more than happy that these people are being punished the way they are. I mean I agree, these are the people you basically tried to buy their places in the church. However I am still having difficulty with the rest of the pouches and figuring out how the punishments are “symbolic” of the sins that are committed. I mean I can understand some like the one in the 4^th pouch where they are forced to look behind them because they spent their whole lives trying to look ahead and into the future. It is rather clever if you ask me. However, some of the others aren’t as clever. I don’t know I might feel differently once we discuss it in class and I feel like an idiot because people will be explaining the underlying meanings and I’m sitting there thinking “How the heck did you come up with that” and “Are we sure we are all reading the same thing”. This section was still the most interesting to me though, because even though I don’t understand the symbolism, I can still be intrigued by the different ways in which one can be punished for the sins they commit.  

Dante and Limbo

The most interesting and I guess I should say confusing passage for me was the “Canto IV.” I am a Christian; however, I was raised under the southern Baptist denomination. My mother is catholic so I have been given a little bit of information about Limbo. I understand that this is the place where unbaptized infants and the “virtuous” people that did not have the opportunity to know about God and Jesus. However, I do not understand what all Limbo entails. According to the passage (from what I understand at least) these people are just wondering around and are not allowed to enter neither Heaven nor Hell. Why is this though? I guess that might be why I have never completely been able to understand when my mom tries to explain it to me. Why are these people that never had the opportunity to know and worship our Lord sent into what I would consider punishment. I mean don’t get me wrong it is nothing compared to Hell, but in a sense it could be this group of people’s perception of hell. They are stuck in this abyss and are only allowed to hope and wish that they were able to be in heaven. That sense of longing must be a severe form of torture. I can only imagine what it would be like to long for something and know that I will never be able to reach it. However, I cannot tell If Dante is having the same thought process as me or if he is trying to make fun or show a flaw in the Christian religion, but at the same time is a flaw is what he is searching for, I don’t understand how this one could be one since it isn’t even considered in the Baptist denomination (at least not where I grew up). Maybe someone can explain this to me in class. Well until tomorrow I will be left wondering.

The Ramayana

I love the differences that are presented here with Gilgamesh and Rama. First, I like Rama way more. Gilgamesh to me seemed way too over confident and had too much pride. Rama is almost here to simply do what is asked of him. He does not disrespect people and he seems to be pure of heart almost. It is funny how they are both heroes but are so different at the same time. They represent the far ends of the spectrum almost. You have Gilgamesh who is this man who is stronger than any man on earth and I would say doesn’t care about his people as much as he should being a leader. Rama on the other hand is yes extremely strong and a warrior, but he is also very kind hearted and cares about his people. You can see this in the way he is loved by everyone (not feared). He also has such a different way of looking and treating women. Yes the women in the stories are not “equal” to the men. However, Rama treats Sita like a man should treat his wife. He loves her and he values the husband/wife relationship while Gilgamesh had to sleep with every wife before their husband did.  Gilgamesh was all about him going off and battling all these different “opponents.” Rama’s epic tale is about fulfilling Dharma and making sure you are doing what you are meant to do on earth. Yes he has his fair share of battles, but the ultimate goal of his is to fulfill his life’s meaning. Overall, two great epics, but with two different perspectives on the types of “heroes.”