The Alabama Children

  
     In modern times, there are many stories that relate to Dante's Inferno and the sin of the people in hell. The one that i choose to talk about in this blog is about a guy who supposably murdered two of his own children but right now they are just considered missing.  

     The news article I chose is titled "Alabama Children" and it takes place in mobile, Alabama. A man named John DeBlase supposably killed his 4 year old girl Natalie and his 3 year old son Jonathan. The remains of the little boy were found near Vancleave, Mississippi but the remains of the little girl have not been discovered, although, police believe that they are in Citronelle, Alabama. The father claims that he did not kill them but he did bury the bodies once he discovered them; "It was the father who gave us the general area, but he wasn't real sure exactly where he was. ... He claimed he had taken a lot of sleeping pills and didn't quite remember exactly where he was." Heather Keaton, the stepmother, is also being convicted but she claims that John did it and she asked for police protection from him "I feel he may have murdered his children, because he said they were non-responsive. He would not let me check on them." However in the end, Heather was arrested and charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child and John was also arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse. This article really strikes a chord of moral outrage in me because when i hear about people doing stuff like this to their own children, I can't process how they are okay with it. To me this crime is very disturbing and wrong and I don't see how someone could do that. What bothers me the most is that the people who were murdered were just children and didn't even get the chance to live out their life. Also that they were helpless and could do nothing to stop it. 

     Dante does in fact address the issue of murder in The Inferno. However even though Dante address this issue, he does not tell his exact emotions and moral beliefs regarding the murderers. It can be assumed though that Dante does not feel pity for the souls because he did not swoon and it sounded like he just walked through this part of hell. Dante however does talk about fraud in general; " Even now the pain of it in memory turns me cold. (127)" To me this quote represents that Dantes is frightened by these people and is in disbelief of what they have done. The punishment for the murderers is that they are submerged in boiling blood that represents the blood that was spilled out from those they killed. In John DeBlase's case the blood he would be submerged in would represent that of his daughter and son. I believe that Dante and I would be in agreement over this issue because Dante put these sinners in Hell and this shows his dislike for them by doing so.I would also do the same.

     In the end the murder of the two kids really goes against my moral beliefs and Dante also does not believe murder is right and find it disturbing and wrong.. So all in all this article relates to The Inferno by the sin of murder and the emotions of each.  

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2010/12/06/dnt.al.missing.siblings.cnn 

-this is a video

 (http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/08/alabama.missing.children/index.html?hpt=T1)

- this is the source 

The Hell-dog

     "May you weep and wail to all eternity, for I know you, hell-dog, filthy as you are."Then he stretched both hands to the boat, but warily the Master shoved him back, crying, "Down! Down! with the other dogs!" Then he embraced me saying: "Indignant one spirit, I kiss you as you frown. Blessed be she who bore you.In world and time this one was haughtier yet. Not one unbending graces his memory. Here is his shadow in slime.... And I: "Master, it would suit my whim to see the wretch scrubbed down into the swill before we leave this sinking sink and him." And he to me: "Before the other side shows through the mist, you shall have all you ask. This is a wish that should be gratified."And shortly after, I saw the loathsome spirit so mangled by a swarm of muddy wraiths that to this day I praise and thank God for it. "After Filippo Argenti!" all cried together. The maddog Florentine wheeled at their cry and bit himself for rage. I saw them gather. And there we left him. And i say no more. But such a wailing beat upon my ears, I strained my eyes ahead to the far shore. (p. 61-62)"

This is Virgil pushing Filippo back into the mud

     While I was reading circle 5, I found that these lines were very significant to the relationship between Virgil and Dante. It also shows a different tone and mood in Dante then before and uses strong diction.
     When Dante realizes that it is Filippo Argenti, his mood changes very rapidly," May you weep and wail to all eternity, for I know you, hell-dog, filthy as you are." In the earlier circles, you saw how Dante would feel pity for the souls and would sometimes swoon from all of the emotion. This marks the first time that we actually see Dante agree with the punishment and want the soul to suffer. He even goes to the extent of saying: "I praise and thank God for it." when telling just how much he dislikes this soul. When the passage says; " Then he embraced me saying: " Indignant one spirit, I kiss you as you frown. Blessed be she who bore you.", it shows both the tone and mood of Virgil. The tone of Virgil is actually kind of proud and happy that Dante is finally realizing that God gave these souls their punishment out of love and he should not disagree or feel pity for them because when he does he is putting down God and saying that he is wrong. His mood also switches from being kind of annoyed with the way Dante was acting to being excepting of him and blessing him.
     The diction used in this passage is very strong. When Dante uses the words "hell-dog" and "maddog", it shows his aggression towards Filippo. Also it shows just how much Dante despises him. You would not use those words to describe someone unless you really do not like them. Another use of diction would be "Down! Down! with the other dogs!", but this shows Virgil's reaction and hatred towards Filippo. Both of these examples show how much emotion they felt for this one person and it gives us a clear tone and feeling of what both Virgil and Dante are thinking.

     Overall this one passage gives us a definite description of the feelings towards Filippo but it also shows us the first step of Dante to learning that the souls deserve their punishment and should not feel sorry for them.

The Gates of Hell

     In the Inferno, when Virgil and Dante reach the gates of Hell, the inscription symbolizes more than what it actually says. In my opinion it was inscribed to show how hell was created in more of a loving manner and not out of despite for the sinners.

This image symbolizes the gates of Hell

     When I first read the inscription on the gate, I truly believed that Dante was just trying to tell the sinners that what they were about to experience was something unpleasant in every manner. Also that you should have no hope of anything pleasant once you walk in. However once I read deeper and really thought about it I realized that Hell was created by God out of love and that the inscription was really implying that the perspective on the sinner is that they are about to enter into a place that is not filled with joy but rather the want to punish them self. So all in all Hell was created with wisdom and ultimate intellect for the sinful to achieve justice. When the words "PRIMORDIAL LOVE" appeared in the inscription it brought some confusion because I have always thought of Hell just as a place of punishment and not as a place created in love. As the book continues, you can see that Virgil does not feel pity for these people because it was their on free will to sin so they were able to pick their punishment; "Here must you put by all division of spirit and gather soul against all cowardice (18)." This quote tells that Virgil does not want Dante to be a coward towards these people and feel pity for them because when you do, you are basically saying that what God has done to punish them is wrong. When the inscription states "SACRED JUSTICE MOVED MY ARCHITECT.", to me this states in an indirect way that Hell was created for the people because they themselves want justice for their sins. Another way that the inscription indirectly states that the people want to receive their punishment is through the word love. This to me states that God still loves the sinners and wants to give them away to try and earn justice even though they are not deserving of it, so knowing this the sinful wan to obtain their punishment.   

     The main message of the inscription is to tell that Hell was created by God out of love and that you shouldn't feel pity for the sinners on the inside. Also in away it is just a warning of what's to come.