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

Dante picked the seven deadly sins as to his life. He must overcome seeing old friends and family on each of the ledges as he climbs. His reasoning for picking these particular seven sins is interesting. Did he pick them because of his vast traveling and meditation? He had been studying philosophy during his exile, which probably helped him picking some of the sins. Pride has always been a problem in society. Dante also names gluttony. Why is eating too much a sin in Dante's eyes? The envy ledge should not be a sin but a stepping stone for sin. If a person envies someone or something so much, it could cause him to commit a sin. Sloth is not a sin, but an unsophisticated state of being. People that are lazy are not considered sinners. Anger could be considered a sin in that is promotes sin after the fact. Greed should have been written in the Ten Commandments. Dante does describe this sin correctly being that greed has promoted many sins in all cultures. Lust is another sin most people will agree on. Lust constitutes many crimes of passion and should remain at the top of the list.

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.

Purgatory was only one of the three sections in Dante's The Divine Comedy. It was a weigh station to heaven. Once leaving hell, a soul was almost certain to make it to heaven on in purgatory. Dante's depiction of purgatory in a sense was a depiction of his quest for holiness. The story is of one man's journey to heaven through the perils of Hell. Dante's notions of the seven deadly sins are wise but do not seem to grasp some of th

Some common words found in the essay are:
Divine Comedy, Black Party, Gluttony Lust, Commandments Dante, Hell Dante's, Beatrice Foster, Little Dante's, Florence Kirkpatrick, Accompanied Virgil, Manetto Donati, divine comedy, seven deadly, seven deadly sins, deadly sins, purgatory section, dante's life, people met, section divine comedy, virgil reason, journey heaven, dante's journey, death dante, leaving hell soul, purgatory section divine, dante's divine comedy,
Approximate Word count = 1534
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)