The Differences in Perception of Sin

The Sins in The Divine Comedy

In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, he recalls his path through hell in order to escape the grasp of sin. In the Dark Wood of Error, Dante meets Virgil, his guide, after realizing he cannot reach heaven due to the many obstacles of sin. Virgil tells him he must venture all the way through hell in order to finally reach heaven, and Dante decides the dangerous trek will be worth it in the long run. The pair venture down through the Vestibule, where the uncommitted reside, then the second circle, where the lustful are blown about, and finally the seventh ring, where Satan himself lives. Throughout this journey Dante is startled, and he even faints due to shock. Alighieri organized this hell in rings, often symbolized with circles or coils throughout the epic, each with increasingly horrifying sins.

The Possible Shifts

These sins in this poem relate to the times when it was written. Many of the sins still exist, although they may have shifted in level of horror throughout the many years. For example, in the story, simoniacs are a part of the eighth circle of hell. Simony, or the practice of exchanging money for something spiritual, was clearly an important issue in the early fourteenth century, but after all this time, most of this act has ceased. This action is still completely immoral, but since this is not such a big issue anymore, other actions may take its place in the eighth ring of hell. This is just one of the many examples that could occur as time shifts. Since people change and technology changes, many new problems could arise that were not an issue in the early fourteenth century.

Social Media and Sins

The sins on my poster include many that are more prominent in today’s culture and that were not as much of an issue in the fourteenth century. For example, in those times, there was no social media. Social media seems to have spiraled from a great way to communicate with friends that you do not see every day to a tactic that can create many new sins. For example, sins like cockiness and self-centeredness have really grown since social media took off. On a web page, many people’s number of followers and the amount of likes they get can lead to an increased ‘I’m better than you” attitude. When in fact, these numbers are just numbers. Also, it seems social media can also lead to higher levels of dissatisfaction as well. When everyone posts pictures where they are looking their best with their new outfit, it often makes others feel as though they should look that good all the time and this leads to jealousy. All the sins on my poster are current sins, many of which have spiraled from social media. These sins were not prominent in the fourteenth century, and this has led to them growing into what they are today, in the twenty-first century.

The Similarities and Differences

There are many differences between the fourteenth and twenty-first centuries that have drastically changed our outlook on many sins over the last seven thousand years. These distinctions in sins make us realize how much of a different world it was back then. Also, it is interesting to see how some of the sins overlap and this shows a similarity between the world then and the world now. For example, disloyalty and treachery are on both versions of hell. This is because this sin has remained important over this very long-time period. Loyalty and morals have continued to be critical throughout the growth of technology and society. However, there is always one thing that is certain. As society develops, so does its standards for behavior.