N. 16 Due Nov 6: Dante Boccaccio Pasolini and the concept of sin

Here is the best essay I received for assignment Oct. 30.

 

You will notice that your classmate took the initiative to use the knowledge she (yes, she) had acquired during the course and bundle it together in a series of brilliant observations.

 

COMMENT:  Be honest: would you have been able to write something similar, had you come up with the idea of comparing the three authors?

 

In other words, this essays shows a two-step process: first, an idea sparked in her mind; second, she knew how to present this idea in an effective and crystal clear manner.

 

If you had gone as far as step one, would you have been able to pull off writing about it?

 

TO THE AUTHOR: if you want, please identify yourself. Please explain what made you think you could handle the task you gave yourself.

 

(...) I felt that there was some sort of drift in the concept/work done by Dante, Boccaccio, and Pasolini. Dante’s inferno had different circles in which he put people according to their sins. Lust of money, seducers, traitors like wife cheating husband, corrupted nuns, murdering sister’s lover, betraying the lady that she can become a horse and having sexual intercourse with her are all examples of sins in Boccaccio’s novel and then presented by Pasolini in the movie. Dante’s inferno was written in early 1300’s and the novel with these stories was written by Boccaccio in 1375. It is astonishing to see two different writers of the same time period indirectly opposing each other’s work. Boccaccio’s novel has many sins described in the inferno by Dante but the reaction to the sinners is completely different. 

In Decameron, sinners even after committing the sins are happy and there is no fear of the outcomes these sins will have in the afterlife. Dante’s inferno would have left the audience of that time to think about their deeds and afterlife. Whereas, Boccaccio’s novel seems to be making fun of the sins mentioned in inferno and portraying the sins as a ‘normal’ thing.

Personally, the reactions I had for Inferno and Decameron are completely different. Inferno left me with the fear/threat of what the afterlife could look like, but Decameron made me think nobody cares about what others are doing, everyone can do whatever they want to do. They have no fear of being caught or getting punished.