When thinking of someone having a purpose, what comes to mind? Is it a teacher helping her students to graduate high school, or is it a member of a basketball team knowing their role on the team in order to win? In Dante’s Inferno the idea of purpose can be seen in the selected number of cantos with the interaction of the keepers of the different circles of hell and the souls in the indifference circle. Dante dives into this topic with raising the question in the reader's mind of whether or not it is better to have a purpose or to not exist even if you are condemned to hell. Although in many scenarios people would say that being in hell is not the best for an individual or being, however Dante argues that with these individuals having a purpose it brings their predicament to the best it can possibly be.
In Dante’s Inferno, Virgil and Dante travel through the different circles of Hell. Yet before they get to the first circle of hell, they travel to an area called indifference. Virgil states that “This state of misery is clutched by those sad souls whose works in life merited neither praise nor infamy” (Dante 25 lines 34-37). Virgil says this in order to show Dante that these individuals did nothing with their lives. These people sat back and allowed for life to just pass by them. This also allows for the reader to see that there is pain and misery for those who do not possess a purpose in life. Without having a purpose in life, an individual might as well not exist at all, because they are not making any impact in the world and are wasting the limited time they have on the earth going with the flow of the world.
The scenario that Dante has depicted of having a purpose is better than not existing can also be seen in the creatures and beings that guard the different circles of hell. The centaurs are the keeper of the seventh circle of hell, where they “shoot arrows at murders standing in the river Phlegethon” (Dante 117). These centaurs are half horse and half man, which means they possess animals instinct type traits. They are not fully human, so there animalistic side is what their purpose is placed in. Even without knowing why these creatures are in hell to begin with, making them guardians of these souls gives them a purpose. This will in turn allows for their lives, whether good or bad, to be fulfilled in some aspect or another.
An example of Dante’s argument about an individual needing a purpose in life, whether good or bad, can be found in the Bible as well. God is seen throughout the Bible detesting people that do not pick a side in the battle against good and evil. In Revelations 3:15-16, it states that God will spit out lukewarm people from his mouth. This allows for the readers to see that God does not want people to show indifference to the world around them and most of towards Him. In many ways, the statement is showing exactly what Dante is advocating for that purpose is one of the most important aspects of an individual's life.God understands that because humans are beings of free will that there will be some individuals that will choose evil over good. Yet if they choose to be on the fence about whether they have faith in God than not, then God will want nothing to do with them. This will then in turn cause the people on the fence to have no purpose in life due to their actions not advocating for a particular side of the spectrum of good and evil.
Throughout an individual's life, they are desperately searching for a purpose. Many people find their purpose and once they grab a hold of it, they are very reluctant to let it go. It gives them a life worth living. However there are individuals that either do not find their purpose or do not want to possess it. These are the people that should be worried, because whether they believe in an afterlife or not; their lives will be dull and full of misery either in this life or the next. So individuals need to pursue a purpose in life, because it allows for them to feel as if they are apart of something bigger than themselves because without it they are just inanimate objects that are allowing their precious time to slip away. Once your time is up, there is no way to ever fully know what your purpose truly is.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteAs you’ve stated, purpose helps us feel whole and like a part of something bigger than ourselves, and knowing the importance of this is essential to a spiritually fulfilled life. Dante shows the significance of having purpose through the creatures in hell and the pain of not having a purpose through Limbo. The people that ended up in Limbo didn’t necessarily live without purpose, but rather had misdirected purpose. Virgil was virtuous and checked all the boxes of heaven except for that of faith; this shows that even though one might have purpose, it’s most likely not worth it if it’s not God’s purpose. Dante warns us of the result of misguided purpose through the levels of Hell by starting with Limbo. I like how you not only pointed out the manifestation of those who lived lukewarm lives, but also how you pointed out the creatures in Hell.
Hell’s creatures were most likely made specifically for their purpose in Hell, as centaurs and three-headed dogs are not found on Earth; this is assuming the world he will eventually go back to is the same, realistic world that we live in. The text helps us conclude that the creatures don’t have any other desires besides fulfilling the jobs they need to fulfill. The Evilclaws, who appear within cantos twenty one and twenty two, exhibit this through their immature, reckless behavior while doing their work. They also try bring down fellow Evilclaws to make themselves look better in the sight of their leader, as seen through Tramplefrost and Harlequin: “Tramplefrost took the joke in a rage, and flew / right after Harlequin, eager to see / that soul escape so he could start a brawl..” (Inferno, 22.133-135). Their mannerisms and actions show they have a sole purpose within their rings.
One of the quotes from your paper that can perfectly summarize it as a whole is: “ Without having a purpose in life, an individual might as well not exist at all..” The people in Hell wish they didn’t exist at all, even those in the least “painful” part. Though some might think that Limbo is all fun and games because there aren’t any physical or direct punishments, we also need to think about the fact that they’re still in Hell. They are completely vacant of the presence of God, and though they might not be feeling pain through wasps or the slicing and amputations of body parts, they still feel empty and void without God’s warm presence and light, which in and of itself is Hell.
All in all, Dante makes many illustrations and metaphors through his writings that can apply to us and our journeys to find the right purpose.
I enjoyed reading your interpretations and observations as they made me think for myself and my purpose!