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The Much-Fantasized Journey Through the Many Layers of Hell

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The Much-Fantasized Journey Through the Many Layers of Hell
The amiable Mark Twain cleverly jokes, “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company”. Although this humorous quote can tickle the imagination and produce a genial chuckle, one might discover that there is an element of truth that can be observed in this statement. Everyone dies, that is a simple fact of life that must be acknowledged. The real question that lingers in the back corners of the mind is the next step after life. Is it Heaven or Hell? Shall the damned be cursed to wander throughout the scathing pits of Hell while the good be granted entrance into the heavenly pearly gates? The Throughout history, many authors and scholars have shared their own personal interpretations and thoughts on this speculation of Hell and Heaven. One recognized author is Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet who wrote a trilogy of books discussing the many themes of Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso). Of the three brilliant works written, Inferno can be established as the most intriguing as it addresses the mystery behind Hell, while leaving the mind yearning for more information to feed our eager imaginations. In the timeless classic, Inferno, one of the three books that consist of The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Dante Alighieri depicts in immense detail the many layers of Hell. Hell has been described as, “enclosed, and dark or artificially lighted, Hell has neither the cycles of day and night nor the cycle of the seasons; and changes of the weather are unknown up there,” (Fergusson 101). It is a true place of desolation and despair. Furthermore, Dante reveals not only the many inhabitants of these different circles, but the Guardians who patrol them as well. The Guardians are placed throughout Hell, ordered to keep the condemned souls in and the living souls out. Some are mythological creatures while others are merely previously deceased individuals forced to keep a vigilant watch on sinners. While at first glance these guardians seem to
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