Self-Interest In Dante's The Divine Comedy

Words: 1038
Pages: 5
Open Document
There is a lot that Literature can reveal about human nature, from common desires, despairs, and struggles, However, there is one aspect of human nature that can be observed all too often, and that is we are motivated by our own self-interest. Just as suggested by Ralph in “Indiana” when he defends his being a selfish character, even the kindnesses we do for other’s is often derived from our self-interest that they should hold us in their favor, or at least not do damage to us. This can be observed in many ways throughout literature such as Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” was written not only to appeal to the self-interest of the reader for the sake of their soul to question religious authority, it was only written after his he was spurned by the Pope’s …show more content…
While most Christians believe that hell awaits those who offend God readily enough, it is the appearance of the Pope’s throughout the story as well as the suggestion that even love, if of the wrong person such a corrupt and sinning Pope, can result in the eternal suffering of your soul. This is a direct appeal to the self-interest of the Christian reader ( the audience he seeks) to consider who’s laws they are obeying? As well as why? But another question the reader must ask, is why did Dante write such a story? While a less informed reader may see the “Divine Comedy” as a suggestive work of fiction penned by a devout believer to promote decent and holy behavior, it was actually inspired by Dante’s own self-interest. Dante wanted to point out political abuses of the Pope’s, but only after being banished from Florence by the current standing Pope who he is sure to mention in the “Divine Comedy.” Had the Pope used his political authority to assist Dante in some way, would he have still written of the Pope’s abuse of power? We can never know for sure, but it certain would have no longer been in his
Show More

Related Documents: Self-Interest In Dante's The Divine Comedy

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions Essays

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions 89S. Imagining War. Instructor M. Maiwald. WF 8:30-9:45 In this course, we will consider how the experience of war has been represented in American fiction, non-fiction, and film. We will investigate how attitudes toward war have evolved throughout American history: our timeline begins with the Civil War—the traumatic event that birthed the modern American state—and ends with the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In particular…

Words 9501 - Pages 39

Essay on Renaissance and World

an intellectual movement. It is this intellectual quality which gives it so large a place in universal history] Using the word in a somewhat broader sense, we may define the Renaissance as the reentrance into the world of that secular, inquiring, self-reliant spirit which characterized the life and culture of classical antiquity. This is simply to say that under the influence of the intellectual revival the men of Western Europe came to think and feel, to look upon life and the outer world, as did…

Words 7531 - Pages 31