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Circle Two: The Carnal---- post is made by Josephine Spangler

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Circle Two: The Carnal---- post is made by Josephine Spangler

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Since we just read about the Tale of Genji, I thought that I would focus on Genji and what place he would be in when he dies. Due to how he was driven to a young girl and acted on it, he was driven by his carnal desires, becoming a pedophile. This puts him into Circle Two: The Carnal and the consequences that they face. As his consequence for allowing himself to be driven by that desire, I would like to refer back to Tale of Genji. When reading that, we were aware of how innocent and young the young girl still was. There was a scene of which she was still playing with dolls. I believe that his consequence should be him eternally stuck in a whirlwind, but unlike the others, the whirlwind would be full of dolls, remaining a reminder of his greatest sin, making him think of it over and over again.

"Here, there, up down, they whirl and, whirling, strain with never a hope of hope to comfort them, not of release, but even of less pain" (Dante 949). Instead of him whirling around in just a whirlwind, I suggest that his punishment is him stuck in a whirlwind of a reminder full of his greatest mistake and his biggest victim. Although the whirlwinds impact the sinners physically, this will impact Genji mentally as well. By having a whirlwind full of dolls haunting him, his mind will never be at rest. Eternally, he will be in pain and think of the mistakes he made, always haunted of the terrible mistakes and the terrible person he was. His lust for the young girl and his want for control doesn't make up for how badly he treated her. She was too young and he knew exactly what he was doing. For this, he shall be punished by a whirlwind full of dolls. A reminder for eternity.

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A Japanese man stuck in a whirlwind full of dolls

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The second level of Hell in the Inferno always stood out to me so I wanted to do a more modern take on it.

In this second circle, the storm is not just a whirlwind and lust is portrayed through phones and technology. The people are always straining and chasing the illusion of love through apps and different images. Those who scrolled endlessly for their own desire are now stuck in a storm of flashing screens. Whether it be influencers or cheaters, their fingertips blister as they scroll forever, the punishment fitting the crime of wasting their life away on desires. They are always alone and yearning for more but never being able to reach it.

It is a reminder to not waste time on the things that don't matter, chasing after vanity.

This image was generated by ChatGPT, 11/4/2025.

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In the depths of the eight circle of hell is the modern evil oligarchs and tech eco's. Those who became billionaires at the cost of millions suffering. Here the ground is made of molten burning gold. Each oligarch is waist deep in this golden river. Now tormented by the thing they wanted most. Melted coins fuse to their skin snd peel their flesh. they watch as their lowest paid employee takes the fame for their ginormous companies. The oligarchs are then forced into hard labor. They are shackled and must do useless mindless tasks while they stress about how they'll be able to afford their families this month. They have to do taxing labor for no pay at all.

-Adi

I can't draw so ai made this.

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Circle Three: The Gluttons - Havana Loren Medina

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Circle Three: The Gluttons - Havana Loren Medina

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The Third Circle of Hell consists of a "great storm of putrefaction," a "gigantic garbage dump" that punishes gluttons for their excess (Ciardi 952).

Such mindless indulgence reminds me of modern-day overconsumption. From technological addictions to fast fashion, contemporary society is obsessed with convenience and efficiency. Many now live wasteful lives, chasing trend after trend as they spend hours consuming superficial content. People are glued to their phones (hence the "bedrotting" phenomenon), while fast fashion becomes increasingly difficult to escape. The allure of cheap prices draw consumers in, only to wind up discarding the environmentally harmful materials once the fad passes. In this version of Circle Three, both electronic and synthetic waste litter the landscape and drown the damned, a mirror of today's piling trash heaps.

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Corruption within politics has always existed, and is even featured in Dante's Inferno. With modern day politics, however, corruption is openly put on display and even those charged are left without consequences for their actions. And with power being placed in the way it is, there is little to be done. Recently, there's been examples of politicians convicted of fraud has been released after being commuted. Even more so, "casual" fraud takes place with insider trading. With the system favoring either side of the spectrum committing such fraud, there is little incentive for either side to change a system that financially benefits them. To take advantage of a system designed to serve the people, and to knowingly benefit from this system, falls under this eighth level of hell. A punishment befitting of such a crime could one of suffocation under what they wanted most at the expense of others, being money.

Aleksandr Smagly

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Trapped in the reflections of their own deceit, they scroll through eternity searching for validation that never comes.

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Inside the Eighth Circle, where those who deceive suffer eternally within their own lies, I discovered an entirely new group at the bottom of the pit. In a great mirrored hall they are forced to walk around and watch all of their reflections show them perfectly happy, living the perfect life they never actually lived. Influencers will be bragging about their phony relationships with people who only like them because of how many followers they have , or how much money they're making from advertisers and sponsors by way of their brand deals. Each time they think to really look inside of themselves, the glass shatters, and they receive cuts from the pieces of the filters they once hid behind. Their voices continue to reverberate throughout the darkness in endless loops of "link in bio", "like, comment, subscribe", however, nobody is listening to them anymore. The punishment for their crimes fits their crime, they spent years creating illusions, and now they can see nothing true ever again.

These social media influencers are also like Dante's Flatterers, who "were so smeared with filth" for their false flattery (Dante 1008). These influencers are now trapped in a world of their own digital deception, and in that world every reflection lies back to them in the mire of their own digital deceit.

Eamon Turna

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A surreal depiction of Dante’s Eighth Circle of Hell for fraud — a dark cavern filled with shattered mirrors reflecting distorted faces of social media influencers. Each person wears torn, glittering designer clothes and holds a cracked phone glowing faintly. The ground is littered with shards of glass that bleed light. The air is smoky and red, and ghostly words like “#blessed” and “link in bio” float around them. The scene should look eerie and symbolic, with dim red-orange lighting, echoing the mood of medieval Hell paintings mixed with modern digital decay.

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The fifth level of Hell describes those who are passively wrathful, the sullen, who stew in their anger and watch from afar without doing anything.

It reminded me of our past reading from this week, something that was discussed in both The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji. In both, the authors describe how women from the court view others with disdain and how gossip runs rampant. It holds similarities to real life as well, reminding me of those who will speak freely about others but will hold their tongues when asked directly. I think those who might find themselves in the fifth level of Hell are individuals who spread lies and half-truths, unable to do anything else in their anger but spread disinformation about an unknowing person or one who cannot do anything about it, like Genji's mother. A fitting punishment seems like one that forces them to confront the people they've been discussing, forced to watch as they are rewarded while the sullen sees their words have had no effect on the recipient's quality of life. In the end, despite their backhanded efforts, their words have not reached other ears and the individual whose character is being tainted remains untouched.

Leila Nelson

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In the Inferno, I chose to do the 8th circle, mainly focusing on the deception part. In today's time, people like scammers, corrupt politicians, hackers, and corrupt business leaders take advantage of others through lies and manipulation. Dane divided this circle into 10 parts, and each different part represents how they are being punished. An example would be like how hypocrites wear heavy lead robes that look shiny on the outside, showing how their false appearances weighed them down.

If I were choosing how they were to be punished, I feel that they should reap what they sow. What I mean by that is that as soon as they achieve their lifelong dream or aspiration, it is taken away in the same way that scammers, crooked people, etc., took the livelihoods from other people.

~ Shaan Segran

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Eighth Circle: Representative Preston Brooks 

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Eighth Circle: Representative Preston Brooks 

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US Representative Preston Brooks (8/5/1819 - 1/27/1857) was a representative of South Carolina's 4th district. He is infamous for his caning (beating someone with a cane) of Charles Sumner on the Senate floor after Sumner made an especially bad indictment of slavery in an impassioned speech. The eighth circle is perfect for this, as it has a section for those who incite civil discord. Brooks' violent outburst was one of the first turning points towards the beginning of the US Civil War, and I believe he fits perfectly here. His punishment should be forced to listen to abolitionist speeches and writings for all of eternity, and be beaten himself by the very canes his supporters sent him after he broke his own cane over Sumner's head.

(Written by Arrick Alvarado)

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A mid 1800s style black and white depiction of a man being screamed at by a crowd, while demons beat him

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I believe Mark Zuckerberg would sit in the eighth level of Hell. From the very start of his career, he has constantly screwed over those around him for his personal gain. For example, Facebook's co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, provided Mark with the funds to get the project going. However, once the website gained success, he diluted Eduardo's company shares and forced him out. Mark's shady business tactics continued past the early beginnings. As of recently, he has closed his tuition-free private school in Palo Alto. The school provided education for low-income children, but closed due to "lack of funding". How does a billionaire have a lack of funds?

In addition to his personal matters, Facebook as a whole has disrupted the lives of the masses. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram thrive on addiction. They create an illusion of community, which often further isolates the user from their actual community. Their algorithms feed the user content that creates strong emotions and continues their addiction. To make matters worse, while the user is addicted to the platform, Meta collects and sells the user's data without their knowledge.

Based on all the harm Mark Zuckerberg has caused, his punishment would fit a combination of the categories in the eighth level of Hell. He would suffer the consequences similar to barrators, thieves, hypocrites, sowers of discord, and falsifiers combined. In an effort to maintain contrpasso, I think his punishment should have some kind of social media aspect. That might include constantly hearing notifications, endless digital entrapment, and blue lights burning his eyes. In general, he will face constant physical and mental torment for all the harm he has caused to humanity. :D

-Jen Denning

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Depict Mark Zuckerberg trapped in the Eighth Circle of Hell, the Bolgia of False Counselors. He is surrounded by a dark, shadowy chasm with flickering, hellish digital screens floating in the air

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My circle of greed is filled with many different types of people, all with different offenses- some more detrimental than others. It would range from those who participate in every microtrend, purchasing solely for material and social satisfaction, to influencers pushing the “new big thing”- filling their unsuspecting audience with delusions of grandeur. With that said, the top 1% has a special place in my circle of greed. They hoard all the wealth, keeping marginalized groups poor and without resources. These billionaires profit off of systemic discrimination. The punishment would be as follows: all would be stripped of their following, money and social relevance, leaving them in crisis without identity. They’d be dressed in rags, and watch all their profit go to those deserving of it, on infinite repeat. The rich would be made to physically endure stocks plummeting, the little red arrow that dips up and down piercing their flesh.

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Fraud is not just scams; in modern times it can also be false rumors and attacks on others online.

On the Tower of Babel of information, the rumor-monger built his gilded plaza. He wove lies like a spiderweb, igniting the flames of prejudice, and inch by inch, hollowing out and tearing down the dam of reason. He knew that divided groups were most easily exploited and enslaved, exchanging fabricated truths for clicks and money. Now, retribution has come; his cave is complete, and he hangs upside down, his head stuffed into an endless echo screen—all the evil words and poisonous phrases he spread in his lifetime, now amplified a million times, pouring back into his own ears. Every word becomes a red-hot nail, every rumor a boiling asphalt. The flames beneath his feet are the anger of the public he fooled, and the waves above his head are his own endless repetition. In the abyss of data, he sinks deeper and deeper, unable to escape; the crown of traffic he forged for himself has ultimately become a shackle.

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Foreground: A pair of feet wearing modern, stylish leather shoes emerge from a hole in the rock wall, resembling a pipe or screen. The soles are engulfed and scorched by eerie blue digital flames, within which flickering "0"s and "1"s and a shattered "like" icon are faintly visible.  Background: A massive rock wall, riddled with holes like the interior of a server rack, from which countless feet extend in various poses, scorched by flames of different colors, symbolizing countless fellow sinners.  Core Element: A chaotic and tumultuous "information stream," composed of distorted text, broken emojis, and blinding flashes, surges upward from the bottom of the abyss, forcefully pouring into the hole containing the sinner's head, visually representing him being devoured and punished by the "echo" he himself created.

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I thought I might take a more historical approach and discuss the oligarchs/Robber Barrons of the Gilded Age. There are a lot of reasons as to why I think you could argue that these men occupy any circle of Dante's Hell: dramatically increasing class disparities, worker/human rights violations, hoarding wealth, etc; though I think where their legacy is felt most lies in the natural world they've left behind.

Because of the strict focus on profit motive and productivity, a good amount of the environmental crises we face today can be traced back to the practices that were pioneered in the Gilded Age. For example, constant oil drilling not only proved a sustainability issue, but also resulted in severely contaminated waters that primarily impacted more urban areas. We don't see much of a difference in the specifics today of course, but these practices- and by extension, these men- laid the groundwork for the climate crisis, and ought to have a particularly heavy weight on their souls for it.

As for the punishment, I figured an eternity spent enduring the conditions they were able to escape in life would be fitting: drowning in contaminated waters, forced to breathe in polluted air, with the only land in sight being completely barren and deforested. (Please forgive my very, very amateur drawing; I thought it might be a little too ironic to discuss environmental crises while using generative AI).

Kylee Hilvers

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I have chosen this painting by Lady Pink as it signifies child abuse which will be my focus tonight. Lady Pink utilizes lots of greener to symbolize life as well as sprouts. Children are new to the world just as sprouts. Their innocence is perfectly highlighted by Pink as they are carefully placed around the plants some naked and with curious faces. They do not fully understand the difference of right or wrong. Most victims won’t fully understand they were abused until they get older and start to question actions they vividly or faintly remember. All children deserve justice.

The sinner I will be focusing on is Ian Watkins, a former lead singer of the band known as Lostprophets, a world known convicted child abuse offender that atrociously included infants. He would fall into Dante’s ninth circle as he committed treachery against thee most innocent of people in our country being children and betrayed their trust. Savagely taking advantage of their precious innocence and utilizing his presence for trickery. Just as Alberigo betrayed Manfred and his son scheming inviting them over for dinner then viciously having them killed for his personal delight. Just as Watkins feasted on children for his own amusement.

A man influenced by impulsive desire

That robbing innocence of the most innocent brought him great desire

What oh what could have set off his lighter

Possessing support of even the victim children’s mothers

Nothing could stop him not even a mutter

Endlessly praying his victims have peace

Vividly picturing the torments that man evil man now experiences with no cease

~Sylvia N. :)