Tess Hoffmann

Ms. Skirtich
English 10
March 13, 2018

Dante’s Inferno Project: My Vision of Hell

To describe my vision of Hell, I chose the following sinners to inhabit the nine circles of Hell:

Circle 1 Blasphemers
Circle 2 Liars
Circle 3 Sexual Harassers
Circle 4 Thieves
Circle 5 Drug Dealers
Circle 6 Racists/Bigots
Circle 7 Terrorists
Circle 8 Child Molesters
Circle 9 Murderers

I chose to put these groups of sinners in this order based on of the level of pain and suffering they

caused to other people. While these are all serious sins, the victims of these sins experience different

events that change their lives in different ways, some of which are worse than others. The Blasphemers

hurt those who are Christians and believe in God, but they do not cause any physical pain or torture to

their victims. Those who lie cause grief to their victims, but with help they can recover and move on

from whatever effects they experience from the lie. Those who are the victims of sexual harassment

may have their careers affected, but there are steps they can take to report what is happening and

receive help, especially today given the many women’s movements we hear about every day on the

news. Those who are thieves and steal may ruin others financially. However, the bottom 5 groups of

sinners cause much more serious harm. Drug dealers can ruin someone’s life by making drugs available,

but people also have the choice of buying drugs so there is some responsibility that should be shared.

Those who are racist do not value human dignity and do not see others in the image and likeness of

God, which is a more serious sin. They can prevent others from having the opportunity to succeed and

often those who are discriminated against do not have the means to overcome the effects of racism.
Likewise, terrorists do not value human dignity and work to destroy a society that might not agree with

their beliefs. People can live in fear based on the threat of terrorism and often, many people may die as

we have seen recently in places like Paris, Brussels and New York City. Child molesters are some of the

evilest of all sinners as they can take away a child’s innocence and possibly their life as some children

are kidnapped and eventually killed. Finally, those who are cold blooded killers would be found at the

very bottom of Hell. These are people who kill others because of greed, jealousy, or in some cases, lives

are taken for no reason at all. In this group, those who support abortion are included, as this is the

murder of innocent, unborn children. These are the most serious of sins.

Moving toward the nine circles of Hell, we first meet the sinners of the First Circle, the

Blasphemers. These are sinners who took the name of God in vain while they were alive. These

individuals did not honor or respect God’s name when they were alive and also were not considerate of

Christians who may have been offended by their actions. In addition to individuals such as actors or

comediennes who take God’s name in vain, there are many movies and television shows that commonly

use God’s name disrespectfully. The punishment for those who are blasphemers is that that hot coals

are placed inside their mouth and their lips are sealed shut so that they cannot remove the hot coals or

speak. Also, others shout at them disrespectfully but they cannot speak to defend themselves. Their

punishment is just because in life, they used their mouth to curse and be disrespectful to God, so now

their mouths will burn and they cannot use their voice to defend themselves when they are attacked by

others. The sinners who would be included in this circle are comediennes such as Chris Rock and Eddie

Murphy, along with radio and television personalities such as Howard Stern. A 2013 movie, The Wolf of

Wall Street, received a lot of attention due to its vulgar language and the disrespectful use of God’s

name.

As we travel through Hell to the Second Circle, we encounter the Liars. These are sinners who

have told lies while they were alive that resulted in harm to others. Many of the lies were told for
personal gain without any concern for how others would be affected. The punishment for these sinners

is that their tongues are pierced and they are hung by threading their tongues on a rope that runs over a

fire pit. All day long, the rope moves along the fire pit and their bodies sway over the burning flames,

which bounce up and from the pit and burn their flesh. This punishment is fitting for liars since in life,

they used their tongues to tell untruths. Now in death, they are tormented by the pain caused by

hanging by their tongue and cannot use their tongue speak. The sinners found in Circle Two include

Richard Nixon, Lance Armstrong, and Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States,

was involved in a scandal called Watergate. He lied to the American people about his involvement but

when the truth was uncovered, Nixon resigned as President. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United

States, lied about relationships he had with two women, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky. He also lied

to the American people and hurt his family by his actions. Lance Armstrong lied about using drugs that

would help his performance as a cyclist. Armstrong later admitted that he lied and used drugs illegally.

Moving toward the Third Circle, we meet those guilty of sexual harassment. These sinners have

used their power or their position to act in a sexual way towards others or demand favors from those

who work for them or are in a less powerful position. Often times, the victims of sexual harassment are

too afraid to speak up for fear that they will be looked upon negatively or that they will lose their job. A

fitting punishment for these sinners is that they are constantly chased by wolves which causes them to

run for eternity and there is not opportunity for them to rest. If they are caught by the wolves, they are

mauled until their flesh is ripped open. This is a fitting punishment since in life, these sinners chased

others constantly to impose their unwanted sexual advances, and for those victims who could not

escape, their bodies were violated. Those sinners who belong in this circle include movie maker Harvey

Weinstein, news anchor Matt Lauer, and comedienne Bill Cosby. All three of these men were recently

accused by many women of sexual harassment.

 As we travel to the Fourth Circle, we meet the Thieves. These sinners stole money or property

from others. Some of the victims of these sinners lost their entire life savings and will spend the rest of

their lives gaining back what they lost. The punishment for these sinners is that they will be tempted by

the items or money that they stole. When they reach to grab these items, their hands will be cut off to

prevent them from taking things that don’t belong to them. Their hands will grow back, but due to their

greed they will be cut off again and again, each time they reach for the items or money that they took

from others. Their punishment is fitting because when these sinners were alive, they used their hands

to take property that was not theirs, so now they will lose the use of their hands which caused their sins.

Sinners found in Circle Four include Bernie Madoff and the characters represented by the actors in the

movie Ocean’s Eleven. Bernie Madoff was found guilty of securities fraud and stole money from

employee benefit funds. The movie, Ocean’s Eleven, is about a group of 11 people, all of whom are

thieves, who meet to help their friend rob a hotel in Las Vegas. The group is successful in stealing all of

the money in the safe at the hotel. This movie presents stealing in an exciting, favorable way, as all of

the thieves walk away from the robbery, proud of what they have accomplished. These types of people

are those you would find in Circle Four.

As we continue to move through the circles of Hell, we arrive at the Fifth Circle where we find

the Drug Dealers. These sinners are some of the worst people as they provide illegal drugs at high prices

to those who are vulnerable. Drug dealers may also be those who operate large drug rings or support

the transfer of illegal drugs across the border from Mexico or South America to the United States. The

punishment for this group of sinners us that they are repeatedly injected by the stingers of bees with

the same drugs that they sold to their victims. The repeated injections cause hallucinations, severe

stomach pain, vomiting and excessive sweating. Every part of their body is injected over and over, so

the pain is unbearable. Their punishment is fitting because in life their actions caused harm to many so

now they suffer in the same way that their victims suffered. The sinners who would be found in this
circle include drug dealer Pablo Escobar and the characters represented by the actors in the television

series Breaking Bad. Pablo Escobar was the leader of a violent drug cartel in Columbia, South America,

that provided cocaine to the United States. The television series Breaking Bad is about a high school

chemistry teacher, Walter White, who is diagnosed with lung cancer. He decides to work with one of his

students to cook crystal meth and sell it to drug dealers to ensure that his family is taken care of after

his death. The television series shows how the lives of so many people are affected by Walter’s meth

cooking business. Some of those who are drug addicts die and the innocent victims, such as Walter’s

family, are hurt more than they are helped by his actions. The characters represented by this television

series would be some of individuals found in Circle Five.

Descending through Hell to the Sixth Circle, we find the Racists and Bigots. These sinners do not

value human life and discriminate among the races because they feel that some are superior to others.

Racism causes fear, hatred, violence and many other social issues. The effects of racism can result in

preventing opportunities for people such as education, health care and employment. Racism takes away

the civil rights of those who are its victims. The punishment for these sinners is that their skin is stripped

off and replaced with skin that is the color of those they discriminated against. If the discrimination is

against a race that does not have a different skin color, then the racists take on the physical features of

that race. A hot iron is used to brand the chest and back of the racist with the name(s) of the races they

persecuted when they alive. Those who live in Circle Six shout negative comments to each other and

treat each person they way they treated others during their life. This punishment is appropriate because

during life, the racist labeled and treated other races as though they were inferior. Now, in death, they

will experience the same treatment they gave to others as well as carrying a label on their chest and back.

The sinners we find in this circle include Adolph Hitler and James Earl Ray. Adolph Hitler is well known for

many sins. However, his most tragic sin is his treatment of those of the Jewish race. Hitler attempted to

create an ethnic race that was pure, or the Aryan race. As a part of his dream to create this race, he was
responsible for killing millions of Jewish people. James Earl Ray was the man who killed Martin Luther

King, Jr. He was well known for his hatred of the African American race many years before he killed Dr.

King.

As we enter the Seventh Circle of Hell, we find the Terrorists. These individuals create violence

and introduce fear in society. Injury, death and trauma can result from terrorism and there are also

economic issues that can result as has been seen in many countries such as Afghanistan. The punishment

for this group of sinners is that they are thrown into a pit, one which is so deep that there is no way to

crawl out of it. They struggle to climb up the walls, but they are made of hot coals and covered with

barbed wire, so they cannot escape. Armed guards are stationed around the edge of the pit and they

have large machine guns. The guards shoot at the terrorists until the blood is drained from their body

and fills the pit. This causes the sinners to drown in their own blood. Blood curdling screams from these

sinners can be heard throughout Hell. Each day, this is repeated so that these sinners experience constant

torment. This punishment is fitting because in life, terrorists hunted others and trapped them so they

could not escape. This was seen in the recent high school shooting in Florida. In death, they are the ones

trapped with no way to escape and because they cannot escape, they experience the torment of bullets

and drowning. Those sinners who reside in this circle would be Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and

Nikolas Cruz. Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attack in the United States where thousands

of people died in New York City, Washington DC, and Shanksville, PA. Saddam Hussein is known for his

terrorism against his own people in Iraq where hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Nikolas Cruz

is the shooter who created terror in a high school in Florida on February 14, 2018 where he killed 17

students and teachers with an assault rifle.

The Eighth Circle of Hell holds the most disgusting of sinners, the Child Molesters. These sinners

prey on young children, hold them hostage and take away their innocence. Some children are kidnapped,

held hostage and eventually killed. The punishment for these sinners is that they are bound and gagged,
so tightly that they cannot move. Their bodies are bathed in hot tar so that any part of their body used

to hurt a child is forever destroyed. This is a fitting punishment for these sinners because in life they held

children hostage physically and emotionally while harming their bodies. Therefore, in death, the child

molester will be held hostage and their bodies destroyed by the hot tar. Sinners that would be found in

this circle include Jerry Sandusky, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, and Larry Nassar. Jerry Sandusky was a

football coach at Penn State University who was convicted of molesting many young men that he met as

a result of his position at Penn State. Phillip and Nancy Garrido kidnapped Jaycee Dugard and held her

hostage for 18 years. She was repeatedly molested during this time. Finally, Larry Nassar is the doctor

recently convicted of molesting countless young women at Michigan State University.

Finally, we reach the final circle of Hell, the Ninth Circle, where Murderers are sent after their

death. These sinners have committed dreadful crimes against others and many are considered to be

monsters. Those who support abortion, the murder of innocent children, are also included in this circle.

The punishment for those who commit murder is that they will experience every type of act that can

end a life. This involves tying them to large metal stakes very tightly so that they cannot move. The

stakes are firmly planted in a burning field so that fire and ashes heat the metal stakes which burn their

body. They then experience repeated acts of stabbing, shooting, strangulation, poisoning, and

decapitation. This continues without any mercy and is a fitting punishment for these sinners as they did

not show mercy to their victims. For those guilty of the crime of abortion, their punishment is to have

their bodies cut apart and thrown into a pit loaded with trash that is contaminated with rats, snakes,

worms, and other crawling creatures. This punishment is fitting because babies that are aborted are not

fully developed and are discarded like trash with no respect for the dignity of human life. Sinners found

in the Ninth Circle include mass murderers such as Charles Manson. Charles Manson formed a cult that

was responsible for serial killings during the 1960s. This circle also includes those who support abortion.

Abortion supporters include the management of organizations such as Planned Parenthood, as well as
physicians, politicians, judges, activists, actors and others who perform abortions or campaign to legalize

abortion.

This represents my personal vision of Hell. Just as in Dante’s Inferno, the punishments are

extreme. However, these sinners caused much harm and terror to their victims though actions taken

during their lives. It is fitting that they experience the same level of pain and suffering they have caused

to others in their afterlife.