Question

Explain the concept of contrapasso in Dante’s vision of Hell and explain how both the location and the punishment of the Neutrals reflects this concept. Your answer should be at least 250 words.

Answer 1

1. Levels of hell. Dante describes nine concentric circles, representing an increase of wickedness, where sinners are punished in a fashion befitting their crimes. The Bible says nothing of varying levels of punishment in hell, nor of different levels of severity of sin. The universal punishment for all who reject Jesus Christ as Savior is to be “cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). As far as sin is concerned, the Bible declares that failing to keep God’s law in even the smallest aspect makes us guilty of all of it and therefore worthy of eternal punishment (James 2:10). The murderer, the liar and the proud man are all equally guilty in God’s eyes, and all earn the same basic punishment—the lake of fire. 

Answer 2

Answer:

The Neutrals, he says, circle endlessly through the Vestibule behind a banner—one with no inscription, no symbol. For eternity, as in life, they follow nothing. In eternity, though, they suffer for it, because that is their contrapasso or the punishment they deserve for it.