Dante's The Divine Comedy section of Purgatory is a depiction of Dante and his struggle to reach paradise. He is a character as well as a narrator. The purgatory section deals with the seven deadly sins and Dante's task of cleansing himself on his journey to heaven. He confronts many different people on his journey to self-righteousness, which help and guide him to his destiny. Accompanied by Virgil or reason as he is depicted, his quest is a hard journey with many answers to be found.

Dante was born in May 1265 and lived his early life at a time of change and of great economic and cultural expansion in Florence (Kirkpatrick 2). The poet was critically aware of developments in Florentine poetry and painting (2). He also had an eye for the political scene as well. He was elected several times to one of the six priors that governed his republic. Dante had left the city for a short time when a revolt took place between the Black's and the Whites. Dante was exiled and sentenced to death for corruption. Little is known about Dante's personal life or family life. His mother died early in his childhood and his father died shortly after remarrying again in 1285 (Grandgent 2

Why was freedom so important to Dante in The Divine Comedy? Early on in his life he had been persecuted by the Black Party and forced into exile for his beliefs. This could have influenced his writings in the Purgatory section of his work (Haller 6). We do not have much information on the early part of his life, but he should have been seemingly happy for the most part. He had married a women which he did not choose and seemingly fell in love. After her death, he seemed to search for something. He had lost his home, his family, his wife and now searched for a way out. His search was for freedom. The Purgatory section portrays him conquering each of the seven deadly sins on his way to Paradise or freedom.

At the entrance to each of the levels, Dante would meet someone he knew. Dante's life seemed to be a happy one for the most part and it can be seen through the people he met. Most of the people along the way were closely associated with Dante but some were not. He goes into long descriptions of each of the souls and how they seemed to affect his life. Each of the souls was on the ledge of their demise. Dante becomes involved in discussions with some of them or narrates why they are there. Each of the souls has their own story, which in someway affected Dante's life. Dante of the characters shows probability of suffering and pain he felt going through life. Each of the people he met at one time in his life influenced him.

). He gained a half brother and half sister out of this marriage, but little is known of them either (2). There was possibly another sister but if she was from the first or second marriage, we do not know. Around 1277 Dante's father arranged Dante's marriage to Gemma, daughter of Manetto Donati. The approximate date of marriage is around 1283, but again not for certain. Dante had three children, two sons and a daughter who became a nun and changed her name to Beatrice (Foster 12 ). After Gemma's death, Dante began studying philosophy, which he soon seemed to fall in love with. Dante was never able to return to the city for fear of his life. He wandered for the next twenty years depending on patrons to help him survive. It is hard to find any documentation on Dante's journey outside of Florence. It is know that hi

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