Inferno

When looking back on Dante so far in the story I think he is much more than just an author. I think that he is using the Inferno to show others his view on what the after life is and where people go. Although I know Virgil is his guide through hell I think Dante himself is a guide to those who are reading his work. He is using himself to show others his view on what life is like when you die and to show what makes a sin a sin.
He uses his religion to make up the different levels of hell by basing them off of the ten commandments. I also think that he bases what a sin actually is off of many different things. Mainly though I think that he defines a sin as an absence of love. I know that we discussed this in class and it was pointed out that lust is a way of love so describing sin as an absence would not make sense. However I do not think that lust is necessarily a sign of love in all cases. I think that someone can be full of lust for someone but not be in love with them. Them may feel a sexual desire to be with them yet not have an emotional connection and I think to be in love there has to be more of an emotional connection than anything else. I do think that if a person is in love with someone then they will be filled with lust for that person but that it is possible for a person to be full of lust for someone without actually loving them. Based on these beliefs I feel that Dante mainly bases what a sin is off of the absence or lack of love towards something or someone.