Dante\'s Inferno Siddhartha City of Glass

Dante's Inferno / Siddartha / City of Glass

Discuss the role of process and travel in shaping the journey of the protagonists, comparing and contrasting at least two of the texts we have read.

In both Dante's Inferno and Hesse's Siddhartha, the process of finding the way to get onto the "path of Truth" as well as the journey to that Path are central to the stories. Religious doctrines mostly pretend to show a person the "Path." Christianism is often criticized for being exclusive since the follower is expected to take the teachings of this religion as the only way to gain salvation. On the other side, Hinduism is considered to count among the less restricting religions. This is, of course, subject to interpretation. Theat is why, both Dante and Hesse approach the theme of enlightenment from a slightly different point-of-view. In the case of Siddhartha, the idea is that one could actually attempt to reach a state of enlightenment only through a unique individual path. Dante travels through the Purgatory and the Inferno, both symbols of a Christian religion, but the ancient poet, Virgil, a pagan, accompanies him. Dante deliberately calls the aim of his enquiries: "the true path," avoiding more precise Christian references that would narrow his process of finding whatever he was looking for. Both Siddhartha and Dante go through the process of trial and error. It appears that both books are the expression of pondering doubt of the meaning of human existence, in the context of universal laws.

2. How does Divine Will vs. Free Will play into the texts we have read? How do the protagonists confront notions of chance and fate? What are the attitudes portrayed and what is the message being communicated by the narrative?

In Dante's Inferno, the Divine presence is a given. There is no doubt about it: "the sun was rising now in fellowship / with the same stars that escorted it / when Divine Love first moved those things of beauty." (Dante, 5) There is as much free will as there is God's will in the Divine Comedy's approach of the path of Truth. Knowing about God's will is necessary, but it is not enough. One is free to choose between God's law and a different one: "because the Emperor who reigns above, / Since I have been rebellious to His Law, / Will not allow me entry to His city." (Dante, 9) Virgil is not talking about having lived before the birth of Christianity, he talks about a Universal God who was always there, of course. There is Free Will, of course, but one chose, it will be God's turn to allow or deny admission into Heaven.

In Siddhartha's case, Siddhartha goes to his father, the Brahman, to ask him for allowing him to try a different path to reach enlightenment. After a long deliberation, the latter gives him his blessing. His justification for his decision is interesting: "Go into the forest and be a Samana. When you'll have found blissfulness in the forest, then come back and teach me to be blissful. If you'll find disappointment, then return and let us once again make offerings to the gods together."(Siddhartha, 12) He may sound like those fathers in a legend who know what their son or daughter wants is basically wrong, but choose to let him of her free only to repent and come back after having tried and failed. On the other side, he leaves his son a small window of opportunity when he acknowledges that there is a chance for the latter to actually find what is seeking for.

6. What happens at the end? Discuss the conclusion of each text, (if, in fact, they do have a conclusion) speculating about what happens to the protagonist, using textual analysis and evidence to support your ideas

In Dante's Inferno, the protagonist must go through Purgatory, then all the circles of Hell, to finally climb the very body of Lucifer to come above. By the end of his journey, he will finally be able to see the light of the stars again. His painful journey has finally led him back to God's light, but he is back where he was before he lost his way and found himself into the dark forest. What he will do with this newly acquired wisdom remains to be seen.