Aristotle And Dante's Inferno Literary Analysis

In the novel by Benjamin Alire Saenz titled, “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” the novel is written in a first person perspective from the eyes of Aristotle, taking place during the 1980’s in El Paso, Texas. The novel itself has no direct plot, and it is mainly about Aristotle, a boy who is curious, angry, and solemn at the world, and his struggles about his adolescence and teenage mentality, along with his friend, Dante. Dante offered a unique perspective in contrast to Ari’s perspective; he was philosophical, outgoing and slightly dark mannered, as well as open and honest about his emotions. Dante “understands the world,” but mostly himself, unlike Aristotle, who doesn't understand anything about himself, his life, his family, or what manner he should undertake his life in. I really relate to the main character and his struggles with growing up, adolescence, and culture, as well as his overall loneliness. I can’t say the same for Dante however.

Dante's use of allegory in the Inferno greatly varies from Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" in purpose, symbolism, characters and mentors, and in attitude toward the world. An analysis of each of these elements in both allegories will provide an interesting comparison. Dante uses allegory to relate the sinner's punishment to his sin, while Plato uses allegory to discuss ignorance and knowledge. Dante's Inferno describes the descent through Hell from the upper level of the opportunists to the most evil, the treacherous, on the lowest level. His allegorical poem describes a hierarchy of evil.

This canto begins to delve into the more sublime, dark, and mysterious. Words like, "moaning," "screeching," and "lamenting" give this canto a sad and depressed feeling. Spatially, I can imagine a dark, black whole type of place that seems like a vacuum. A lot of the words refer to dark colors and describe the

What goes around comes around. When sinners reach hell they are forced to experience the counter-suffering of contrapasso. For each sin, Dante gives a specific punishment relating to that sin. Some of these sins include violence towards self, violence towards God, sorcery, and hypocrisy. For the despicable lives they lived on earth, they are doomed to suffer relating consequences for all of eternity.

Dante’s work Inferno is a vivid walkthrough the depths of hell and invokes much imagery, contemplation and feeling. Dante’s work beautifully constructs a full sensory depiction of hell and the souls he encounters along the journey. In many instances within the work the reader arrives at a crossroads for interpretation and discussion. Canto XI offers one such crux in which Dante asks the question of why there is a separation between the upper levels of hell and the lower levels of hell. By discussing the text, examining its implications and interpretations, conclusions can be drawn about why there is delineation between the upper and lower levels and the rationale behind the separation.

In Dante’s Inferno, the author Dante Alighieri described the journey of his fictionalized self going through Hell. Dante describes all nine circles as grisly and grave. Gustave Doré’s paintings relate the most to Dante’s descriptions. Doré’s paintings of the Inferno are dark and mysterious, which is how Dante explains Hell in his story. Doré does not use color in his paintings; all of his painting of the Inferno are black, white, and in some shade of grey. His paintings reflect the mood that Dante was trying to interpret in his story. This is why Dante would choose Gustave Doré to illustrate Inferno.

Virgil came to be regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid can be considered a national epic of Rome and has been extremely popular from its publication to the present day.

A novel written by Benjamin Alire Saenz titled Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, depicts the theme of coming of age. Coming of age has a lot of aspects to it such as, love, adventures, the unknown, and experimentation. All these elements are important to the main character, Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza, who is on a journey of self-discovery that even he does not know he is on. A common detail to coming of age are questions; the constant asking of them. The theme of this novel is attached to Aristotle and how he questions who he is.

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

Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri illustrates the idea of justice through the belief that with each action arise a consequence. What you sin above ground, you deal with under. Through this he gives examples of the sins done and the punishment that is inflicted from doing such thing as a disgrace to God. All through Dantes imagination and his views as to how it should be done, there is a punishment for each area of sin committed which is why a person who bribes will be in the further in the level of hell, as compared to someone who has killed an innocent.

Dante’s descent into Hell in Inferno, the first part of his Divine Comedy, tells of the author’s experiences in Hades as he is guided through the abyss by the Roman author, Virgil. The text is broken into cantos that coincide with the different circles and sub-circles of Hell that Dante and Virgil witness and experience. Inferno is heavily influenced by classic Greek and Roman texts and Dante makes references to a myriad of characters, myths, and legends that take place in Virgil’s Aeneid, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Some of the most important references, however, are the most obvious ones that are easily overlooked simply because of the fact that they are so blatant. Dante is being escorted through Hell by the

Literature is an art. It demands the imagination of the reader, and in return the literature will communicate the message at whatever level is desired. It is not uncommon for many literary works to operate on more than various level; there are facts and truths, which are immediately apparent, and in contrast, the symbolism or allegories that may be present upon deeper investigation and exploration. In works regarding religion or spiritual matters, oftentimes it is very common to find symbolism, and this is very true of Dante's 'Divine Comedy,' a work so full of symbolism that there is only time enough to concentrate on the first two cantos of the first book Inferno.

   In The Inferno, Dante explores the ideas of Good and Evil. He expands on the possibilities of life and death, and he makes clear that consequences follow actions. Like a small generator moving a small wheel, Dante uses a single character to move through the entire of Hell's eternity. Yet, like a clock, that small wheel is pivotal in turning many, many others. This single character, Dante himself, reveals the most important abstract meaning in himself: A message to man; a warning about mankind's destiny. Through his adventures, Dante is able to reveal many global concepts of good and evil in humanity.

Journeys can be taken many ways. Some people take the path less traveled and some people take the easy way out. Dante happens to be on journey that is less traveled, by exploring the depths of Hell in the Inferno. The epic poem’s story is about self-realization and transformation. It sees Dante over coming many things to realize he is a completely different person from the start of the Inferno journey. Dante sees many things that help him gain courage in order to prove to himself and the reader that accepting change and gaining courage can help one to grow as a person and realize their full potential. After seeing people going through certain punishment Dante realizes that he must not seek pity on himself and others in order to fully realize his true potential.

Religious people always fear that they will not make it to Heaven or the place their God resides. The bible and other religious text give advice on how to avoid the pain of Hell. Dante Alighieri, a famous Italian poet, wrote about the physical description of Hell and the punishments each sinner would receive for their sins. Although The Divine Comedy chronicles Dante's journey from the depths of Hell to the glory of Heaven it contains a deeper meaning. Dante reveals the true meaning of the Inferno through his leading motif, his interactions between the sinners, and the intertwining of other literary works into the Inferno.