Fraud vs. Violence

      In Cirlces 7 and 8, Dante puts violence as a less severe sin than fraud. While it is still one of the worst of the sins, its order in Hell is very interesting compared to someone who was considered a flatterer. Dante continually refers to his once home of Florence and the politics within the city. The order of these to sins seems to reflect his political opinions regarding the overall welfare of the state, and how detrimental each can be to society.
      Within the rounds of the Seventh Circle are the sinners who have committed many different varieties of violent acts. These include those who have committed suicide, blasphemers, and even murderers. In today's society, these are about the worst of the worst. So why does Dante give them a shred more of respect than someone who had simply told someone a white lie to make them feel better? It goes back to Dante's idea on politics. Flatterers conceal the truth from those who may very well need the truth more than a false since of happiness. While it could be something as small as complimenting someone on their shoes when in reality they are hideous, it can be as large as a fake sense of trust between political leaders, "Down to this have the flatteries I sold/ the living sunk me here among the dead, "(148). This is spoken by Alexander Interminelli, a Florentine noble from a prominent family. From this Dante's judgement appears questionable unless you look at Dante's underlying opinions.
      This false sense of a stable relationship between leaders or nations could eventually lead to turmoil when crisis arrives. This is a ploy that is seen in politics today. Leaders of almost all nations will pretend to support another nations while face to face with their leader, there is an underlying sense of distrust between the two that can lead to trouble. Dante understands this particular aspect of politicians and how it can eventually disrupt the balance within the state.
      While Dante may not approve of violence, it appears as though he understands its place in politics and human emotion. In the text, Dante feels sorry for those who committed suicide, partly because that could have been a very real option for him after he was exiled. However, he puts Alexander the Great, a mass murderer and a conqueror farther up the scale than the flatterers, "These were the kings of bloodshed and despoilment. Here they pay for their ferocity," (96). Despite its horriffic nature, Dante realizes that it is a part of politics. No successful state has been able to survive without fighting some sort of battle. While those who are most successful tend to avoid war, they have established their power through some sort of violent struggle.
      Many believe that the order that Dante arranges theses groups of sinners in is flawed. Today's society may think differently than Dante did regarding these issues, but during this time period many would consider Dante spot on. It's the political side of Dante that determines the order of Hell, which is why almost all characters are political figures. While the order may be flawed to humanists of the day, politicians believe that Dante's order represents the order of how damaging these sins can be to the state.

                                                                                                                     

The Wood of the Suicides

      In Round Two, Dante and Virgil find themselves in the Wood of the Suicides. It is here that those who have committed violent acts upon themselves are punished for their sins.The poets are surrounded by dark, ominous trees, gnarled and twisted every way imaginable, "Its foliage was not verdant, but nearly black. The unhealthy branches, gnarled and warped and tangled, bore poison thorns instead of fruit." Each tree was a soul of a sinner, trapped within its bark for all of eternity.
      Feeding on the foliage of the trees are creatures known as Harpies. Dante describes them as foul beasts who mercilessly feed on the souls, "Their wings are wide, their feet clawed, their huge bellies covered with feathers, their necks and faces human." Every time the Harpies feed, cries of lamentation ring through the forest for all souls to hear. Their appetite never ceases, inflicting constant pain on the sinners.
      The punishment of this group of sinners is symbolic of how self destruction was their only form of expression in life, and now is what causes them pain and lamentation in Hell. These screams make Danye curious about the source of the sinners' pain, "If you break off a twig, what you will learn will drive what you are thinking from your head." Dante experiments, "Puzzled, I raised my hand a bit and slowly broke off a branchlet from an enormous thorn: and the great trunk of it cried: Why do you break me?" Dante realizes the type of pain that is being inflicted upon these souls. Even breaking off the smallest twig causes the sinners merciless pain.
      This round has a more depressing feel as opposed to fearful like the other rounds. The dark woods and constant cries of mercy from the souls makes Dante feel for these sinners, but is not in fear as he has been before. The trees inspire a different emotion within Dante that we had yet to witness.

The Punishment of the Gluttonous (Circle 3)

After Dante recovers from his fainting spell, the poet finds himself in a truly foul smelling place. A place where snow and freezing rain create a fetid slush underfoot. It is here that the gluttons will spend eternity. The gluttons are those who have misused God's gift of food and drink to overindulge themselves. These people will suffer for the rest of their days half buried in the filth that covers the ground, while the three headed canine Cerberus mauls and ravages those who attempt escape from their fate, only to be replaced right where they were before. They can not leave this place. This is where they will remain forever.

The gluttons are forever cold in this place of punishment, unable to enjoy the sense of warmth and comfort that these souls once knew, "I am in the Third Circle of the torments. Here to all time with neither pause nor change the frozen rain of Hell descends in torrents. Huge hailstones, dirty water, and black snow pour from the dismal air to putrefy the putrid slush that waits for them below." The constant weather conditions of this place contradict their desire for the warmth that food gives when consumed. Not only are they to just deal with these conditions, they must endure the freezing slush that they are stuck in for all of eternity.

Those that do attempt an escape from their icy prison will be torn apart by Cerberus, a mythical three headed dog. Cerberus constantly mauls and destroys those who try to free themselves, "And they, too, howl like dogs in the freezing storm, turning and turning from it as if they thought one naked side could keep the other warm." Dante is listening to the screams of those being eaten by a beast with three throats, similar to the way these sinners would have eaten. Cerberus also tears through his food in a gluttonous way, comparable to how they ravaged food with total disregard for manners.

The gluttons also wallow in garbage along with the freezing slush. This is the justice that they receive for tearing through food and drink, worrying only about themselves and their craving for more, and not cleanliness. They have abused God's gift to mankind. It is in this horrid place that they shall forever pay for their sins.