Open Post

From my readings of Dante's Inferno I've come to believe that its version of Hell is the scariest I have ever seen. Each level of Hell gets worse the deeper it goes. I still find it interesting as well as pretty cool that Dante sees  famous figures throughout his journeys through Hell. The fact that the devil is frozen in Ice is a different vision that I had developed in my mind. It throws out the saying "It's better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven". This interpretation shows that the devil is indeed not reigning in hell but being punished like the rest of the damned. The devil receives the worst punishment of them all and is not a "king of Hell".

The hell of Dante's Inferno serves as a individualized Hell where each punishment is matched up to crime. Hell in this story departs from the traditional norm of Hell being one place of fire, brimstone, and ash. It is very interesting to see that in some instances the damned is being punished by the very thing he loved the most in life. They must have loved this action or behavior to such an extreme point that it was even more then that of their love for God. This being the reason they were damned. Some punishments seem worse then others such as forced to live in a world of violence and killing for eternity. 

Hell seems to be the ultimate and final judgement for almost every version of Hell that exists. Once individuals are sent to Hell there is no coming back you are doomed forever and ever and ever and ever. I would imagine that a crime to receive this ultimate damnation of never being forgiven by god or allowed into heaven would have to be equally great. I find it interesting that humans were damned for many of the behaviors that were in their nature. I also saw that a majority of the famous figures were not Christians such as Paris, Achilles, Plato, or Socrates. This may be the reason they were damned because they did not repent and were non believers.  

I looked ahead a bit and found that the Paradiso was as equally as interesting as "The Inferno". Heaven has 9 levels just has Hell had its 9 levels. Each of the nine levels are based on similar but different levels according to actions and behaviors. The final level leads to God himself just as Satan was found in its deepest level. These levels are known as "Spheres". These Levels include:

First Sphere (The Moon: The Inconstant)

Second Sphere (Mercury: The Ambitious)

Third Sphere (Venus: The Lovers)

Fourth Sphere (The Sun: The Wise)

Fifth Sphere (Mars: The Warriors of the Faith)

Sixth Sphere (Jupiter: The Just Rulers)

Seventh Sphere (Saturn: The Contemplatives)

Eighth Sphere (The Fixed Stars: Faith, Hope, and Love)

Ninth Sphere (The Primum Mobile: The Angels)

The Empyrean

Response

What happens after death is a greater mystery for some than even the miracle of birth itself. The theories, beliefs, and disbelief's are as vast as there are people dying in this world. Some of these views of death are punitive and some of them rehabilitative. Some contain the idea of reincarnation yet others believe in misery, damnation, and the unknown. It is any ones guess on which one is the truth or if any of our theories about dying are even close at all. Looking through the blogs of our fellow classmates I can see the different beliefs and theories of what happens during life, before life, and after death. I find it very thoughtful that Jake's blog included different cultures and belief systems and how they may be different they still have much in common. I find it vital that the various beliefs and morals of different religions and philosophies are shared and have great respect for those who are willing to display their own beliefs on there blog without fear of judgement. Sharing knowledge about different viewpoints (which is much of what this class is about) is what helps us understand each other even if we do not agree.

I also agree with Nathanael that it would be interesting to study the biblical version in hell as well as further explore the reasons for the belief of a heaven or a hell. Dante's Inferno is indeed the one thing I have been looking forward to this semester. The concept of having 9 layers of Hell based on different crimes is very interesting. I find it impressive that Dante developed this image and story and wonder how many of these great writers develop some oaf these concepts. Concepts and stories that especially have nothing else to goof of. Like a person painting a picture without ever seeing an object. The theory's of what a "pear" might look like from those who have never actually seen one would be just as interesting as Dante's version of Hell. I agree with Scot ts reference to T.S. Elliot's saying that" There is Shakespeare and Dante and nothing else comes close". 

  I have never read Dante's inferno before but after looking over of some summary's there are many interesting things about the poem. In class where I heard that Satan was trapped in ice I pictured him completely engulfed as if frozen solid. However, he is only frozen from the waist down and is fighting vigorously to get free. The The cold wins only trap him more. I found this to be a mind opening moment. I have always had the picture in my mind that Satan "Reigned over Hell or at least was the chief individual there. From reading this my vision was changed from Satan being the ruler of Hell to him being punished just as much as the rest of the damned. I found this to be a very interesting view of things. I always pictured Satan being damned to Hell as a very bad place but him as somewhat of the chief of the damned.  

Open Post: Death and the Underworld

The discussions that are ahead of use for the last few weeks have been the one's that I have been waiting for all semester. I am excited to discuss Death and the underworld and especially Dante and The Inferno. I read The Inferno in High School and found it to be very interesting. The seven levels of Hell as well as the experiences of the people who are in "Limbo" or the waiting room between Heaven or Hell will be interesting to explore further. The word "Inferno" is actually "Italian" for Hell. It is interesting that this interprutation of Hell believes that there is multiple sections each being worse than the other. The levels make sense as they are based on the seriousness of cime or sin.  

The nine layers of Hell include:

1 Limbo

2 Lust

3 Gluttony

4 Avarice

5 Anger

6 Heresy

7 Violence

8Fraud

9 Treachery

It is interesting because it was rumored that several famous characters were seen in many of the 7 layers of Hell as Dante ventured through them. Famous names such as Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Paris, and  Lancelot and Guinevere were believed to be seen in the 2nd layer of Lust as Dante passed through. Death plays such a significant role in our lives and every human searches for answers to what might possibly happen when we die. Theories on death for pas civilizations such as the Greek's is fascinating to read about. It's mysterious how they developed the beliefs that they did and their interpretations of life after death.

It seems that the concept of Death is ever changing. Death evolves through the generations and comes to signify something that it didn't mean before. Throughout time people have learned to fear death, to embrace it, celebrate it, and dwell on it. In some cultures such as Grease there was no greater honor than dying on the battlefield. Dying in battle was so glorious that for some it was more valuable than living. For example Achilles was foretold by his mother that if he ventured to Troy it would be the end of him. His fame would walk hand and hand with his doom. Knowing that he went anyway as he would have rather died and have his name remembered for thousands of years then live a normal long life where people would forget his name.

Death seems further away to the people of the world today with the advances of medical technology and quilty of life. There are still things that we still can't over come with death such as old age or diseases. That doesn't stop people. There are some people with diseases that if they could would freeze themselves until a cure for a disease or the stopper of old age is dicovered. The answers to these impossible questions are connected with the many other questions of life. Questions that have plauged mankind for centuries such as what happens when we die, how did we get here, is there really a God led me to the disturbing question.

What if we Humans are the Aliens of Earth and that we came here from someplace else and somehow forgot how we got here?

 

Small group Discussions

I was looking forward to the small group discussion and was interested to see how they worked.  I think Beowulf was a great story and was worth discussing for our small group discussions. There are however, many other topics in class that I would be very excited to see integrated into small group discussions. I think the idea of small group discussions is a great idea. I think discussions like these at multiple times during a semester would be beneficial for the preparation of college reading and writing skills.

Graded exercises like these small group discussions are good for students whether they like it or not. It forces them to learn the material and come to class prepared rather then just let fellow classmates lead the way. A wise teacher once asked my class the question "Are you going to school for a degree or an education"? Most students want both things but others skate through their college years striving for nothing more than that piece of paper saying you know something about something significant. Students may get that degree by going through school and being "average" or skating by but they do not develop the skills and knowledge that there degrees represent to a certain degree. Many students can take quizzes, come to class, an BS there way through school but they are missing the very purpose of school. C's earn degrees but they don't earn careers as my Juvenile justice teacher tells us every day.

I prepared for the small group discussions by reading through Beowulf a couple times and taking notes as I went. I had no idea what to expect from the small group discussion but I knew I had to be prepared. I prepared for last Fridays class. I always like to be ready for my classes but sometimes things come up with outside of life  and from other classes. This excercise teaches students to bring out there potential and strive to do their best. I learned that it doesn't take much time or effort to succeed in life or class. The motivation and drive is what is needed to will yourself to do what needs to be done. I noticted that throughout my college career the fear of the unknown has clouded my will to succeed. questions like what if I fail or what if this happens constantley go through your mind and keep you from preparing for a task and being your best. Controlling your thoughts and handling your failures in college is just as important as being prepared and knowing your material. I have learned to use that "bad grade" or 'bad situation" as fuel to push me to do better. I don't let things get me down and I use them to get better, improve,and help others whith what i've learned. The small group discussions was very fun and I learned a great deal of new veiws and skills and it renfoced what I have been told about school for years.

The three most important things I learned from the small group discussion and that have been reinforced was that:

1. If you prepare and study for something you will succeed and the discussion will be enjoyable.

2. Coming prepared just doesnt help yourself it helps the students around by introducing them with new imformation and veiew points on readings.

3.  Talking in groups isnts as painful and scary as i once thought and its educational, fun, and enjoyable. It helps open up the minds of the class and discover multiple interprtations of a text which is very interesting.

The small group discussions was an enjoyable excercise that shows that a little bit of confidence and perperation can go a long way in a class or even the real world for that matter.

Beowulf Response

My fellow group members posted some very interesting questions on Beowulf. Jake posed the interesting question on whether Beowulf was meant to be taken for fact or if it was just another story made up for entertainment. David understandably made the assumption that Beowulf was a crazy individual. I agree with Jake that much of Beowulf is fictional and the creatures and events that take place in the text our that of fiction. I believe that the story could in fact be based on actual events and people. The supernatural creatures and events were probably incorporated into the story to make it exciting and "theatrical.". Beowulf after all was a story passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. I imagine that with each new generation the story of Beowulf got slightly altered based on that persons interpretation.

I respectfully disagree with David on the idea that Beowulf was crazy. I believe Beowulf was interpreted as nuts only because he had the power to be so "Super". Beowulf acted so carelessly, arrogantly, and negligently because he had the power and skills to do so. Beowulf seemed to be quite the warrior and was able to conquer any threat of evil that came his way. The end result of the battle of with the Dragon which resulted with Beowulf's death proved that Beowulf wasn't "all powerful" and he was at least part human. The story of Beowulf reminds me much of the of Achilles and the siege of Troy. Achilles was considered invincible for the most part but a weakness was eventually discovered.    

Beowulf certainly has it's many inspirations but I think that the story was mainly made for entertainment. The inclusion of such works from Christianity could have been included to prevent the survival and acceptance of the story at a time when such works were forbidden. There certainly is a moral to the story of Beowulf which tells of a king to many good deeds for his people and country. Beowulf seems to be very different from our past readings where religion was a major influence. Beowulf is still nevertheless a great story that is remissant of Greek mythology which I find very interesting and enjoy. I look foward to my other classmates discussions and interprutations of the story during Fridays group discussion.