American prison fail again

After reading the “Bresha Meadows thought you’d understand” article I was left very unsettled. It has been clear that the American prison system is in serious need of reform, but I was fairly shocked by how much it has turned its back on the abused children of America. Brehsha was only 14 when she decided that she could no longer bare to be severely abused by her father. She had tried to escape, only to be taken back to her abuser. To Brenda, there was no other way out. She decided that she, and her family, would only be safe if she was able to completely stop her father. She made the decision, and rightly so, to kill him. She believed that people would understand. Most people understood why she did, and believed that she was okay in her actions. However, the court system believed otherwise. In America, we do not really care about why people commit crimes, we only care that they committed them. We need serious prison reform in America, especially for juveniles. Do you think that juveniles should even be allowed to go to prison? Do you think that they should just have to go through mental illness treatment instead?

Dante & Beatrice's "Transcendental" Love

The background information on Dante refers to the love that he had for Beatrice as transcendental. Knowing the reality of the situation, this statement takes on a new meaning. The love that Dante had for Beatrice was transcendentally creepy. According to Dante's Vita Nuova, Dante and Beatrice met a grand total of twice. I personally think that it's a little odd to write 42 chapters and a universe-spanning self-insert Christian fanfic about a woman you have met twice. While it is more likely that Dante simply used Beatrice as a sort of medium about which to write his poetry, I personally just think its funnier to imply that Dante was really creepy. Dante and Beatrice were also married to different people the whole time, which isn't great and its also a sin. All in all, Dante's love for Beatrice was odd at best and incredibly unsettling at worst. Thoughts?

God's Favorite was so good!!!

I went to the play Thursday (above is a picture of Nic, Erica, Tanner, and I after the play) and it was so good! Also, just wanted to say to Nic and Tanner y'all did great!

THERE'S A SONG

Guess what guys....... I FOUND A SONG ABOUT DANTE'S INFERNO. It is actually just called "Dante's Inferno" and it is by a group called Iced Earth. I have never heard of them before but maybe you all have. The whole song is kind of just a summary of all the cantos in the Inferno. Here are the first couple lines that we should be familiar with after reading multiple cantos:

"Through the fiery caverns we sail, Virgil at my side my guide and master, Questing through the nine plains of hell, Infernal wisdom shall fill my soul, Slowly now the days departing, The darkened air releases me, Frightening visions of my journey, Entrance me to Limbo, I'm not free"

This first stanza really talks mostly about the first Canto when Dante meets Virgil and Virgil tells him how he will lead him through Hell and be his guide. Also, the last line in this stanza says they are entering Limbo, which is the 1st circle of Hell, and is where Virgil lives in Hell. The song continues just as their journey does and if y'all would like to look more into it here is the link for the song lyrics: https://genius.com/Iced-earth-dantes-inferno-lyrics  (you can also play the song off this website, but I will warn you it is very long for a song: about 17 minutes!)

Punishments for Crimes

While responding to a previous post on possible misplacement in the circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, I realized that punishments and crimes are not only subject to influence by the time period in which they are committed, but also by the culture/religious beliefs of communities, even in modern times. For example, if you are caught stealing in certain nations, such as Saudi Arabia and many other Middle Eastern countries, you can have your hands cut off as a punishment. By contrast, in Western nations, stealing is considered a minor crime and at most the perpetrator will be given a misdemeanor charge, resulting in community service. You may recall Liangelo Ball, who while representing the United States in a basketball tournament in China, was caught stealing clothes from a Gucci store and was looking at ten years of labor-intensive prison sentencing before our President used diplomatic channels to get him pardoned. Thus, punishments for crimes can differ from country to country, and it mainly depends on the culture and religious backgrounds of nations which can influence peoples’ outlooks on crimes’ severities.

What do you guys think about this?

Who belongs where?

As I was reading cantos 4 and 5 last night, I was intrigued by who was in the first and second circles of Hell. I began to wonder why some people were placed in a certain group if they were guilty of committing far worse sins. For example, Paris was responsible for killing Achilles at the end of the Trojan War, however he is placed in the second circle of Hell. If it were up to me, Paris should be placed with the other killers not with those who are lustful. Yes, Paris was lustful, however murder is more severe than lust. With that said, I understand that Paris killed Achilles in war and that makes it “acceptable,” but I don’t see it this way. I would place the person in the circle of Hell according to their most severe sin no matter the circumstance. 

In addition, I think that some of these characterizations show the subjectivity of the circles of Hell. Depending on your connections, you might fall within a less severe circle of Hell. For example, if you had connections to the Roman Empire or were a warrior in battle, your chances in hell might be a bit better off. Overall, I just found some of the characterizations a bit strange. 

What other people do y’all think should be placed in different circles? And do y’all agree?

Cosmic Horror

So, I had a question: where and is a sense of helplessness felt strongest in both Medea and Oedipus Rex?  I want to draw a comparison between H.P. Lovecraft (well known author and RAVING racist [like, total xenophobe]) and these two Greek tragedies in terms of their usage of "fear of the unknown" or fear of being helpless.  More specifically the former, because a major theme in Lovecraft's works is the scary lack of control the characters feel.  The "gods" in Lovecraft's works aren't so much interested in and controlling humans' lives behind the scenes, but the general idea is that humanity is totally worthless in comparison to them.  Much like with the Greek gods, humans generally are the lesser beings, and they may determine a person's fate entirely.  The parallel may break when considering the characters feelings towards or reactions to being controlled or helpless.  In Oedipus one could say that the audience (specifically Greek polytheistic audience) and other characters all understand Oedipus's fate, and part of what makes Oedipus fall so hard is the fact that he can't accept his own lack of free will.  Therefore the lack of free will is part of the status-quo.  In contrast, pretty much any character in H.P. Lovecraft's works that seems to accept their lack of control and worships the "Great Old Ones" is shown as being insane.  What are some examples of this, or contradictions to it?  cthulhu bad