Blog Post 5: Keep it One- "hunnit" - Don't be no FRAUD!

I honestly think it is pretty funny and ironic that Dante encounters so many people in hell in which he is familiar with. It is also pretty funny and ironic that we only come across different famous historical or mythological characters within hell. I believe that many of the people Dante comes across asked to be remembered to others when he returns from the pit possibly for personal benefactors or because of a deeper plot to the story. As we discussed in class, I believe that it is highly unlikely that Dante will return from the pit as some sort of plot twist. It could symbolize some sort of false promising or deeper meaning if Dante does not return and does not complete these requests. I thought the random encounter on page 155 was very weird, but it was some sort of request as well. Paduan says "I often hear them thunder in my ears, shouting, 'Now let the sovereign cavalier, the one who'll bring the purse with the goats, come!'" (Alighieri. Canto XVII. 155). Geryon is a peculiar creature to me because it is described as a serpent, but it also describes it as having shoulders and paws with a human face. In some ways it makes no sense, but in different ways you can see how it perpetuates fraud. The creatures is formed from so many aspects that it doesn't seem so realistic which is fraudulent in a way. Dante opens Canto VXIII with a description of Malebolge. This the circle of basic fraud and in during this Canto I sense a bunch of shade from Dante towards the pope and other corrupt clergyman. In Canto XX we are introduced to all of our diviners, magicians, and astrologers who all pretty go against the basic forms of religion for entertainment, beliefs, or personal gain. This is punishment for that form of fraud. The souls in that circle are forced to endure walking backwards and being unable to see forward.