Read and annotate this scholarly article about Crime and Dante's Inferno. Write a thesis statement that clearly articulates a plan to debunk the underlying assumption of this article.
We are entering Hell this week, so it is time to reflect upon life choices . . .
Over the next couple of weeks, we will follow Dante and the Roman poet Virgil into the depths of the Inferno: Hell. We will meet some of the denizens of Hell and will come to understand what sins Dante (and the Church) considered most vile. However, before we get there, I want to know what sin you think to be most vile. Here are some of the sins/sinners that Dante enumerates, but you may consider other "sin" if his do not seem vile enough for you: being a good person but a non-Christian, lust/adultery, gluttony (self-indulgence), greed, pride, wrath (anger/violence) and heresy (angry at God), destruction of property, suicide and spendthrift (violence against self), blasphemy (violence against God), sodomites, the fraudulent (pimps, seducers, fortune-tellers, politicians, thieves, liars, and cheats), and finally treachery (traitors against family, country, guests, lords and benefactors, etc.). You should explain the sin you think to be the most vile, provide an example of the sin, and explain why you think it is the worst thing a person could do (or not do). If no sin is graver than another, how do you reconcile how humans mete their moral judgement? (An example of this is that we are generally morally forgiving of minor transgressions, "White lies," but take much more seriously sins such as murder, lust, etc.). |
InstructionsPlease respond to the weekly question in a comment. Your response must be thorough (200 or so words), and it must show significant intellectual engagement. You also must respond to at least two of your cohorts by the closing date posted. Archives
April 2016
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