English final
Tristan McCutchan
May 21, 14
Period 3
Sharfen
From Shadows and Symbols into the Truth
The literature Augustine’s Confessions, Gertrude Himmelfarb’s One Nation, Two Cultures, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” can all be related to each other to expose the contradictions that afflict the human person by relating these works to Dante’s Inferno.
Augustine’s sins were very common sins in the fact that in today’s modern society, it would be considered normal to act in such a manor. The second circle of hell is for those who have fallen victim to their carnal desires. Augustine became consumed by lust in his pre-conversion days. His family wanted him to learn the art of persuasion and making of fine speech when he was sixteen years old. He used these skills and his charming looks to seduce as many women as he could. Augustine once said “in that sixteenth year of my life in this world, when the madness of lust . . . took complete control of me, and I surrendered to it” (Confessions, 987). Augustine had a hard time differentiating love and lust. His desires had overpowered his mind and soul for a good part of his life. During Augustine’s lifetime, he had a variety of mistresses. One of these mistresses he married because he didn’t want to wait for a year to have sex before getting married to his promised wife. The reason they weren’t married yet was because she had to reach the legal marrying age of twelve. Augustine spoke on behalf of this; “I was unable to bear the delay of two years which must pass before I was to get the girl I had asked for in marriage. In fact it was not really marriage that I wanted. I was simply a slave to lust. So I took another woman” (Confessions, 993). Placing Augustine’s soul in the fourth circle of hell is a tough decision. He was an opportunist, most of his life was spent attempting to gain as much as possible. Most people would say he only did this as a search
May 21, 14
Period 3
Sharfen
From Shadows and Symbols into the Truth
The literature Augustine’s Confessions, Gertrude Himmelfarb’s One Nation, Two Cultures, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” can all be related to each other to expose the contradictions that afflict the human person by relating these works to Dante’s Inferno.
Augustine’s sins were very common sins in the fact that in today’s modern society, it would be considered normal to act in such a manor. The second circle of hell is for those who have fallen victim to their carnal desires. Augustine became consumed by lust in his pre-conversion days. His family wanted him to learn the art of persuasion and making of fine speech when he was sixteen years old. He used these skills and his charming looks to seduce as many women as he could. Augustine once said “in that sixteenth year of my life in this world, when the madness of lust . . . took complete control of me, and I surrendered to it” (Confessions, 987). Augustine had a hard time differentiating love and lust. His desires had overpowered his mind and soul for a good part of his life. During Augustine’s lifetime, he had a variety of mistresses. One of these mistresses he married because he didn’t want to wait for a year to have sex before getting married to his promised wife. The reason they weren’t married yet was because she had to reach the legal marrying age of twelve. Augustine spoke on behalf of this; “I was unable to bear the delay of two years which must pass before I was to get the girl I had asked for in marriage. In fact it was not really marriage that I wanted. I was simply a slave to lust. So I took another woman” (Confessions, 993). Placing Augustine’s soul in the fourth circle of hell is a tough decision. He was an opportunist, most of his life was spent attempting to gain as much as possible. Most people would say he only did this as a search
Cited: "In Dante 's Inferno, in Which Circle Can the Sin Abortion Fall Under?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 21 May 2014. "Apocalypse Now Movie Review & Film Summary (1979) | Roger Ebert." All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Hollow Men Summary." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 21 May 2014. "Dante 's Inferno - Circle 4 - Canto 7." Dante 's Inferno - Circle 4 - Canto 7. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. "The World of Dante." The World of Dante. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.