Inferno Canto Guide 7

La Divina Comedia: Inferno

Canto VII

By Allison Tucker

Summary:

As Dante and Virgil continued on their journey in hell on the fourth circle, they came upon a demon named Plutus. Virgil calms the demon and proceeded on. There was a ditch within the fourth circle. Within the ditch, there were two groups of tortured souls.  These souls were called the wasters and the hoarders. Both groups were forced to push weights around in a semi-circle until they rammed into each other. Then they turned the opposite way and started again. Virgil explained to Dante that these dead souls were condemned to hell for not following Fortune’s wishes. “For all the gold that is under the moon and that ever was could not give rest to even one of these weary souls” (Dante 115).

Dante was still thinking about Virgil’s explanation as they continued to the fifth circle. The muddy river Styx was the border between the fourth and fifth circle. There they witnessed people who were covered with mud, biting and hitting each other. “So we wound about a large arc of the filthy swamp, between the dry bank and the wetness, our eyes turned on those who swallowed mud” (Dante 119). These souls were called the Wrathful. Their punishment was being submerged in the mud for eternity.  They also came across the Sullen who were those who complained about everything.

Sins of this Canto:

The sins of this Canto are greed, wastefulness, self-pity and anger. All of these sins are thought to come from the Bible. Greed is “the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Punishment/Cantrapasso:

As we read in the book, the two groups of souls, the Wasteful and the Hoarders, had to continually push weights around in a semi-circle until they smashed into each other and then go the other way.  All of the sinners were people of God that were supposed to be pure but had fallen to selfishness.

For the fifth circle, the punishment was to live forever in the black mud and to be buried where no one can hear you. This was because you lived a cruel and hateful life.

Important Characters:

The Hoarders	Were mainly dishonest priests and religious men who didn’t share their goods with those less fortunate than they were.
The Wasters	Wasteful with their worldly goods.
“Fortune”	A person’s true nature: either giving or greedy.
The Wrathful	Were the souls of people who were filled with anger their entire life.
Sullen	Muttered, sulked, bad tempered. Choked on mud

Plutus

A demon that guarded the fourth circle of hell.

Important Quote:

-“A general minister and leader who would transfer to time to time the empty goods from one people to another, from one family to another, beyond any human wisdom’s power to prevent “(Dante 117). ß Fortune

Multiple Choice Questions:

1.     Who was the demon that Virgil and Dante came across?

a.     Pluto

b.     Plootes

c.     Plutus

2.     What did the dead souls push around?

a.     Rocks

b.     Weights

c.     Bodies

3.     Who were the dead souls mentioned in question two?

a.     Hoarders

b.     Wasters

c.     Prodigal

d.     Both b and c

4.     What did Dante see when he first entered circle four?

a.     A hill

b.     A ditch

c.     Satan

5.     What did the Wasters do to be in hell?

a.     They stole

b.     They were careless and spendthrift

c.     They hoarded

6.     What shape did the two souls make when they pushed the weights around?

a.     A square

b.     A circle

c.     A semi-circle

7.     What was the river called that bordered the fifth circle?

a.     Styx

b.     Sullen

c.     Strex

8.      In the fifth circle, what was their punishment?

a.     Being submerged in the mud

b.     Forced to eat mud

c.     Mud was being thrown at them

9.     What does Sullen mean?

a.     Dishonest

b.     Bad tempered

c.     Disloyal

10.  What is the fourth circle called?

a.     The gluttonous

b.     The wrathful

c.     The hoarders and the spendthrifts

Higher Order Thinking Questions:

1.    What is the significance of the Hoarders and the Wasters clashing into each other? Why do you think they were forced to do so?

2.    What is the significance of Fortune in the fourth circle? Why is Fortune related to both groups?

3.    Why do you think the souls in the fifth circle were punished with mud?

Take your notes here!

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Dante, Alighieri, Robert M. Durling, and Roland L. Martinez. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

Inferno Canto Guide 18

La Divina Comedia: Inferno

Canto XVIII

By Allison Tucker

Summary:

 Dante and Virgil descend to the eighth circle of Hell known as Malebolge. The eighth circle was for fraudulent and malicious behavior. It is divided into ten areas. Canto 18 describes the first two. In the first area or ditch, Dante learns about people who were basically pimps. These people forced others into doing things for their benefit. In the second ditch, Dante and Virgil come across souls who are doomed because of their false flattery behaviors on Earth.  These souls are forced to be in human waste forever. 

Sins of this Canto:

The sins of this Canto are fraudulent and malicious behavior.  These sins are described as false flattery and prostitution.  In the first ditch of the eighth circle, Virgil and Dante come across souls who forced other people to do things for money. In the second ditch of the eighth circle, Virgil and Dante are struck by a terrible odor.  “The banks were encrusted with a mold from the breath from below that condenses there, which assailed both eyes and nose (Dante 279)."  In this second ditch, these souls were guilty of false flatteries. “I am submerged down here by the flatteries with which my tongue was never cloyed (Dante 281).”  Their sins were of being dishonest to others.

Punishment/Cantrapasso:

 Since the souls in the first ditch had forced other people into prostitution and worse, they were forced to go from one edge of the ditch and be hit with a whip by a demon.  They then ran to the other side and were hit by another demon’s whip.  In Hell, they were forced to do things they did not want to do, just as they had forced others to do for their personal gain on Earth. 

In the second ditch, the dead were forced to be in their own waste.  “There we came; and from there I saw, down in the ditch, people immersed in dung that seemed to have come from human privies (Dante 281).”  They were all full of shit, so they had to live in it.

Important Characters:

The Panders(fraudulent)	“Pimps” Made women become prostitutes.
The Seducers (malicious)	Tried to seduce people by false flattery.
Jason	First ditch. Wasn’t remorseful or showed any pain.
Hypsipyle	Young girl who Jason left after she became pregnant.
Alessio Interminei of Lucca	Dante recognizes him in the first ditch. Covered with poop. There because of false flattery.

Imagry Quotes:

“The banks were encrusted with a mold from the breath from below that condenses there, wich assailed both eyes and nose” (Dante 279).

“The bottom is so deep that no vantage point is sufficient without climbing on the back of the arch, where the ridge is the highest” (Dante 281).

Mommy Virgil:

“My poet moved toward the left, and I followed him” (Dante 275).

Multiple Choice Questions:

1.     Who dropped off Virgil and Dante to the eighth circle?

a.     Gerion

b.     Geryon

c.     Gerison

2.     What was the eighth circle called?

a.     Malebolge

b.     Bologna

c.     Neither A or B

3.     How many valleys is the eighth circle divided into?

a.     8

b.     13

c.     10

4.     Who were the souls in the first ditch?

a.     Malebolge

b.     Fraudulent

c.     Malicious

5.     Why were they in the first ditch?

a.     They stole

b.     They used other people

c.     They hoarded

6.     What was their punishment in the first ditch?

a.     whipped

b.     burned

c.     buried

7.     Who was Jason?

a.     Got his sister pregnant

b.     Got his girlfriend pregnant

c.     Got his cousin pregnant

8.     What were the souls covered in in the second ditch?

a.     poop

b.     blood

c.     poop and blood

9.     Why were the souls in the second ditch?

a.     Dishonest

b.     Bad tempered

c.     False flattery

10.  Who did dante see in the second ditch?

a.     Alessio

b.     Luca

c.     Jason

Higher Order Thinking Questions:

1.    Why do you think the malicious were forced to be in waste? What is symbolic about it?

2.    What is the symbolism of the demon whipping the sinners?

3.    What do you think the relationship between the 10 pits and the Ten Commandments is?

Dante, Alighieri, Robert M. Durling, and Roland L. Martinez. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

IRead Journal Prompt #1 for Life As We Knew It

                Miranda Evans, the protagonist in Life As We Knew It, was an average sixteen year-old girl. She was on the swim team and loved to figure skate occasionally. Her parents are divorced and she has a younger brother Jon, along with an older brother Matt. Miranda was just a normal teenager when a terrible disaster struck.

     Everyone was outside watching when the meteor hit the moon that night. It was a worldwide event. All of Miranda’s neighbors were outside on the street, looking up at the moon not knowing what to expect. Everyone’s excitement grew when they saw the meteor crash. All of a sudden, the moon became bigger. The moon moved closer to Earth and tornadoes, tsunamis, and volcanoes started erupting around the world. The next day when she was at school, her mom came to get her and they went to the grocery store. They bought shopping carts loaded with food and started to prepare for the worst. Little did Miranda know, her mom was right about getting ready for a disaster.

     Miranda realized how horrible this tragedy is when she saw her close loved ones die. After experiencing personal loss, Miranda’s character grew stronger. “I sat silently by her side for a while, mostly to see if I was going to cry, but I didn’t and I knew I couldn’t sit there forever, no matter how peaceful it was (Pfeffer 240).”

     Miranda becomes more mature as she gets used to this new world she now lives in. She starts to see no hope about continuing her life. She became confident about dying if she knew that her stepmother, Lisa, had the baby and her dad was okay. She struggled to get to the post office to see if the letter had arrived from her father. She thought that if there was new life out there, she would not need to keep fighting for her own. “I need to know that life is continuing (Pfeffer 327).” She knew she was dying and had no strength to get back home once she was at the post office.

     She saw something bright that caught her eye. It was a yellow piece of paper. “Someone sometime had said something and now I would know what it was (Pfeffer 332).” As it turned out, that yellow piece of paper symbolized hope. It was a letter from the Mayor offering free food. The free food saved not only Miranda’s life, but the life of her family.  After Miranda arrived home with the food, she found that the electricity was staying on more regularly.  Symbolically, the food and the electricity represent normalcy may be returning to their world once again. 

 

     Miranda’s character becomes accepting of herself through all of the occurrences in the story.  In the end, when Miranda turns seven teen, she reflects on why she still keeps the journal.  She decides that it is for many reasons, but, the main reason is for remembering her life as it was. 

 

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print.

IRead Journal Prompt #8 for Life As We Knew It

Life as We Knew It

When I was first introduced to the characters, I thought it was a normal family. A family a four, with three kids, and a mom is typical. The parents are divorced, but everyone is still happy and fine. As I read through the book, it seemed to me that the main theme of Life As We Knew It is “helping your family survive.” This theme came into play when the asteroid hit the moon and the world became chaotic. Survival and family brought everyone together to try to push through this tragedy of the world.

The theme of “helping your family survive” is explained when Miranda, Jonny, Mrs. Nesbitt and their mom went to the supermarket to get as much food as they could.  “Here, Miranda, take this,’ mom said, and she handed me an envelope.  I looked inside it and saw ten $50 bills” (Pfeffer 32).  Miranda now knows how serious it became when she saw that large amount of money given to her for food. Miranda’s mom told her to grab as much food as she could and put in the cart. When they put all of the food in the car, Jonny and Miranda were told to go back for seconds.  Miranda realized how important this food was to the family’s survival.

The theme of survival is also shown when Matt starts almost obsessively chopping down trees for firewood. The realized they cannot rely on the power company, so they have to make due on their own. “Matt decided to chop down a tree” (Pfeffer 110).  Instead, he started chopping down tons of trees. He told Miranda to gather kindling. Everyone was relying on their family to maintain a certain job for the remainder of the tragedy. Everyone had to help each other out in order to survive.

When winter approached, they were hoping for snow to use as a water source.  A blizzard came one day and the mom told the children to find containers to put the snow in. “One good thing, ‘ I said.  ‘If there’s any kind of accumulation we’ll have a water supply” (Pfeffer 257). The family had enough water to feel comfortable about survival.

When Miranda’s family became seriously ill with the flu, Miranda went in search of medicine.  She discovers that there is no medicine to cure her family. “We ran over to him and saw he was delirious, crazed with fever” (Pfeffer 294).  She realizes that she needs to keep her family well fed in order to help them fight off this illness.  Miranda now knows that the food supply rationing has weakened her family.

At the end of this novel, I now understand that the theme “helping your family survive” is intertwined throughout.  Miranda rises to the challenge of having an important role in this.  She understands how crucial cooperation, motivation and determination are in order to stay alive.

 

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print.

Canterbury Tales Prologue Addition

Creative Writing-Canterbury Tales Prologue Addition

Tater my dog

by Allison Tucker

1. Tater my dog, my love, my puppy dog.

2. Thought you were sweet but you're a wild hog.

3. He crawled around just like a baby does.

4. He was a quiet dog, oh yes he was.

5. The puppy turned into a kangaroo.

6. Old days he use to stick to me like glue,

7. As days went by, he became more settled.

8. His barks were so loud as a steaming kettle.

9. He was so innocent before he turned,

10. Tater my dog, my my love, you need to learn!



The Green Goblin vs. Spiderman

“Spiderman where are you? We need you Spiderman! Oh wait, I see him!”

A crowd huddled around the center of the Radio City Music Hall. Police officers had the Music Hall blocked off and the SWAT team had just arrived.

“There he goes! He went into the Hall! Save my baby,” cried a frantic mother who was huddled in the crowd. As the crowd watched, Spiderman snuck into the Hall through a cracked window on the second floor. The masked-knight silently crept into the theatre where groups of visiting kindergarten students were. Spiderman saw the entire group of children who were held hostage by the Green Goblin. From Spiderman’s hidden perch he observed the masked-marauder’s way of movement. He watched the Goblin’s fighting techniques that he was practicing. It appeared that the Goblin was anticipating an encounter with Spiderman in the near future.

“Please don’t kill us Mr. Monster! We didn’t do anything wrong! We only came to see the Dr. Seuss musical!” cried a little girl.

“I know stupid child. Shut up. I am holding you here because you are my bait to finally be able to kill Spiderman,” shouted Green Goblin. “Spiderman has always been such a do-gooder and I am sick of how he is all that. He is just a dude in a mask that shoots tiny webs out of his wrist. How weird is that? I am sick of him having all of the attention and now it’s my turn to take over the headlines!”

Spiderman sent out a web to the center of the ceiling, attaching it to a light pole above where the hostages were. He swooped to the center where his web was, then quietly turned upside down and began to descend. The joy-taker stood by the front door, waiting for Spiderman to arrive as promised.

“Surrender, Goblin! We have the building surrounded!” said the police through a megaphone.

“What losers! Do they really think that I am stupid enough to give up? I know Spiderman is going to show up,” said the Goblin to himself.

“You are right, Goblin. I am right here, look up,” said Spiderman hitting the Green Goblin’s head as he landed on the floor.

“Spiderman! You are here! Please save us!” cried the frightened students.

“Kids, follow your teachers to the lobby, this is between us,” said Spiderman with instruction. The kids got up and ran as fast as they could to the entrance where the police officers were waiting for them.

“Well, well, well Spiderman, you think you’re going to save the day this time? Well think again,” said Goblin lunging at Spiderman. Spiderman jumped up and grabbed the Goblin’s arm and twisted it around. “Ouch! Okay, okay, I give up! You win this time,” said the Green Goblin. “You are such a drama queen Goblin,” said Spiderman while he put the handcuffs on the evil-spirit. Spiderman twirled him around in his web and took him to the cops outside.

The city was saved, thanks to Spiderman!!

Reaction Paper to “Earth Without People” by Alan Weisman

            This author uses visualization to get us to use our five senses while reading his story. Using imagery in a novel, book, or any form of writing is a great tool to encourage reader’s interest.  Imagery gives me a better understanding of what is happening by description. In the story “Earth Without People”, Alan Weisman gives me great examples of imagery.

Alan Weisman uses imagery in almost every sentence. In my opinion, his imagery gives me a clearer picture about how Earth began to be one big habitat again. Weisman explains how this new world would even have a completely different sound.  There would be no airplanes, trucks or sirens making obnoxious noises.  The pure sounds of nature would be all that you could hear.  Another example from the story is, “As lightning rods rusted away, roof fires would leap among buildings into paneled offices filled with paper.” The reader can visualize the flames from a fire, spreading from building to building and can almost hear the sounds.

Weisman’s excellent use of imagery also gives me an idea what it would smell like if Earth was corroding away. To me, I think that the imagery in the story branches off into different senses showing that imagery is at the root of the story. An example is, “In a world with no one left to bury the bad stuff, decaying chemical containers would slowly expose their lethal contents.” I can picture the containers decaying and can almost smell them.

This story interested me in wanting to know more about how the world would be if humans disappeared. The author related to everyone in this story because he reached to all walks of life through his use of imagery. In conclusion, the story had great a use of imagery. Weiseman had me hooked on the first couple of sentences.