the end of time
Dante's Inferno What Dante Gains By Going Through Hell The Inferno is a work full of imagery that describes the horrors of hell through the words of the author. What does Dante gain by all of this by taking himself through such an experience? I believe Dante gains three elements of life. The character Dante gains two of these and they are confidence and a clarification of his faith. The author Dante gains the last element, which is a release from his own personal hell of isolation. In the beginning, we see Dante as a somewhat scared and untrusting individual. He questions his worthiness and purpose several times. As Virgil leads Dante though hell, Dante becomes less scared and more trusting of his guide. Dante never seems to become synthesized to the horrors of hell. He becomes more confident and less scared but not to the point where hell is no longer shocking to him. Dante allows himself to feel the emotions of the inhabitants of hell without accepting their behavior. This final point takes his confidence to a higher level. The faith of our character seems to be waning in the first canto. He has to trust in his God and does not look to his God for support during the appearance of the three beasts. On the appearance of Virgil, Dante questions why the mother of God would find him worthy of a tour though hell. Dante claims he is not worthy of such an honor. Dante gains more faith by allowing himself to see how his god has structured the punishments of hell. As we read the cantos, Dante becomes less questioning and more accepting of the severity of the punishments. He moves from being questioning the inhabitants to kicking ones’ face near the end of the book.