Blog Post 6: FREE YOUR MIND- The Rest Will Follow

We start off in Canto XXII where Dante and Virgil are in the circle of the barrators, those who have abandoned ship. In this Canto we are introduced to Malacoda and the Malebranch, in which Dante is absolutely terrified of. The sinners in this level are forced to remain submerged under the boiling concoction known as the pitch. After discovering Dante and Virgil, Malacoda sends ten of the Malebranch to make sure that new sinner has come up for air from the pitch and to accompany Dante and Virgil. While doing so two of the barrators lead the demons on small chase that results in two of the demons being trapped in the pitch. Dante and Virgil flee before the Malebranch notice. At this point Dante and Virgil are in hiding and Virgil is nonchalant towards Dante's cowardliness, until Dante notices the Malbranch charging toward them. The two quickly flee to the lower level that is home to the hypocrites. This part of the book was personally my favorite because it has very deep biblical roots and required a tad bit of research to understand. In this level Dante and Virgil recognize a man who has been crucified and is forced to being walked on for the rest of eternity. This man is Jewish High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas. In the bible Caiaphas was seen as Jesus' biggest enemy and was ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus. This is so ironic because not only did Jesus rise from the dead, but now Caiaphas has to live the rest of eternity being crucified and trampled on. I think that this punishment is not only ironic, but also perfect for a hypocrite like Caiaphas.