Dante’s Inferno
The first circle of Hell is called Limbo. In this circle, the people “are innocent of sin; however, lacking Baptism, they could not claim its saving grace, and thus are doomed forever” (IV, 34-36). One famous person who fits into this circle of Hell is Mahatma Gandhi. He was a follower of the Hindu religion, and therefore he was never baptized in the Christian faith. As a result, “for these faults, not for any other defect, we are lost; our only pain is hopeless unfulfilled desire” (IV, 40-42). For his punishment he will be filled with hopeless unfulfilled desire because they never paid the Lord his due respect. He is in this level because he was a good person, just not baptized.
The second level of Hell is reserved for the lustful. In this circle are “those who like to practice carnal sin, when reason is by furtive lust ensnared” (V, 38-39). William Clinton belongs in this circle because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky. He is a married man who cheated on his wife for a secretary because he could not control his lustful urges. In this level his punishment is to be “hurled to and fro in random flecks, devoid of hope of rest, and rest of pain, to which they are eternally transfixed” (V, 43-45). The souls are trapped in a giant wind storm full of pain, which they cannot escape from. This punishment fits the sin because just as they could not control themselves in life, they cannot control what they do in Hell.
The third circle of Hell is for the gluttonous. Takeru Kobayashi belongs in this circle of Hell “for the crime of gluttony” (VI, 53). He was the 2006 Nathans International Hot Dog Eating Contest champion. He finished fifty three and three quarters hot ...