Part one of term paper
Michel De Montaigne, a fifteenth century French essayist once said that, "The perpetual work of your life is but to lay the foundation of death. (21st Century Dictionary of Quotation, 1993) In The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri conveys the concept that actions throughout life determine the quality of the afterlife. In various instances throug ...

Part two of term paper
... is conveyed through anguish. The struggle of spirit that Dante undergoes when entering Hell mirrors the trials that humanity faces. The author conveys that in order to persevere through hardship, the nature of evil must be learned and refused. By using Virgil as a representation of reason, Alighieri shows that in order to face evil, morality and intellect are required. As Virgil leads Dante into Hell, he says, "Here you must put by all division of spirit and gather your soul against all cowardice. ...