When considering the effectiveness and logic of this, I do not think that similar methods should be used to punish those who have been judged guilty of crimes in our era.
The first reason I disagree with Dante's methods is that there seems to be no point to the punishments given. I believe that punishing people in a way that is fitting to the crime will only work to reinforce the kind of behavior that led to the crime. One clear example is with people who have committed wrath, with all these people placed together so they will be violent against each other. In considering these people, there is little chance that they will become better people because of the punishment. Instead, they will have little choice but to become increasingly violent. In this way, the crime fitting the punishment has no positive outcome, but has a negative one. It does not help people who have committed crimes, but is more likely to make them worse. I disagree with this focus and believe that forcing people to suffer is not a valid form of punishment if there is no potential for it to have a positive outcome.
The second reason I disagree with the punishment fitting the crime is that this focus will lead to people being defined by their crimes and will reinforce the idea that people cannot change. If an individual is guilty of stealing and then is punished in a way that constantly reminds him that he stole, the person will begin to see himself as being defined by his actions. Rather than seeing himself as a person who stole, he will see himself as a thief. The major difference is that if someone sees themselves as a person who committed a crime, they have the ability to choose not to commit the crime again. In contrast, if a person sees themselves as a thief, this is who they believe they are. It is easy to change what you have done; it is not easy to change...
For this reason, I think that a system where the punishment fits the crime will stop people from changing and create a world where people feel like they are defined by their crimes.
Finally, a system where the punishment fits the crime does nothing to make the person be responsible for their own actions. In the Inferno, individuals who steal are turned into vipers so they cannot steal and individuals who commit suicide are turned into trees so they cannot take any action at all. These types of punishment force the person to stop committing the crime. However, they do not force the person to consider what they have done and decide to change for themselves. This means that people are not forced to take responsibility for their own actions. If the situation changes and people are then given the opportunity to commit crimes again, it is likely that they would. This suggests that a system like Dante's would be ineffective in the long-term.
Overall then, Dante's system of punishment seems both ineffective and illogical. In considering how it works and what impact it would have on people, I believe that it would do more harm than good. It would stop people from changing, result in people being defined by their crimes, and would prevent people from learning to take responsibility for themselves. In the end, it would be more likely to lead to further crimes than to prevent people from committing crimes. Overall, I believe that a system of punishment should be created with the intention of helping people change and become better people. Since Dante's system does the opposite, it is not a system I agree with.
Works Cited
Dante, A. "Inferno." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Eds. Sarah Lawall and Maynard Mack. New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1999: 1293-1409.
