British Literature Paper

Michael Sharp British Literature I 09/26/07 Angelina Jolie has a place in Hell According to Dante, Hell is broken down into nine circles. Each circle would represent a punishment according to their sin and would be more evil as you draw near towards the last circle. If Dante were to travel in Hell again, he would most likely encounter Angelina Jolie. Although she is looked upon as a celebrity with a humanitarian heart, the sins that she have committed would not be acceptable in God’s eyes. Despite her humanitarian heart, she is likely to go to hell. Despite Angelina Jolie’s humanitarian heart, she is a non-Christian.

Non-Christians are automatically condemned to hell. It is stated in the bible, “”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The bible strictly states that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you will not go to heaven. It is through God’s grace that we are entitled to enter heaven. When Dante traveled through the first circle of hell, he noted that it housed all the pagans. Great writers and poets were condemned in the first circle because they had died not knowing Christ. You don’t ask,” my good Teacher said to me, “who are these souls you look upon? Before you go on in your journey, you must know they did not sin. If they had bad merits, these were not enough- baptism they did not have, the one gate to the faith which you believe” (35). Although those people did not commit a serious sin, they did not believe in Christ. Therefore they were condemned to the first circle of hell. This is one of the few circles in Hell, where should would be condemned. Lust is one of the many sins people struggle with and it often leads to committing adultery.

Angelina Jolie is one of the many who had committed adultery. She seduced Brad Pitt away from his wife Jennifer Aniston and later marries him. In the bible it quotes, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery. And whosoever marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32). The bible also states clearly that this sin is not looked upon lightly. In fact in Ephesians 5:5 reads, “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person such a man is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Marriage is highly regarded in the Christian faith; it is a sacred covenant that is established between the man and his wife. Committing adultery would be a violation of that sacred covenant that was established between husband and wife. In Dante Inferno, Dante describes how he and Virgil pass into the second circle. It was illustrated as a dark area where the rain would continuously fall and the wind would blow constantly. The condemned would helplessly swirl in the wind and be swept through the storm. One of the characters that Dante pointed out was Semiramis. She was allegedly an Assyrian queen who created incest a legal practice.

Angelina Jolie did not only commit adultery but she also had an incestuous relationship with her brother. According to the bible it states, “Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere” (Leviticus 18:9). The bible strictly forbids any family members to have a sexual relationship with one another. According to the laws from the Old Testament they would execute those who were guilty from committing this sin. In the New Testament, the local church would be given the authority to outcast the guilty for the offence.

In the Second Zone of the Seventh Circle’s Third Ring, Dante encounters Bruetto Latini. This is where the Sodomites must walk continuously under the rain of fire. Bruetto Latini was noted for providing Dante with kindness and counsel, yet he accuses him for being a homosexual. During this time period, homosexuality was evident but not acceptable to the society. However in today’s society homosexuality is acceptable. Angelina Jolie publicly admitted that she had feelings for woman and would consider dating some of either gender. Her guilty pleasure in the same sex would earn her a spot in the third ring.

Although Angelina Jolie has committed more than one serious sin, she would be condemned into the second circle of Hell. Lust has overwhelmingly affected her life and to God’s eyes it looked down upon with disgrace. She has violated the sacred commitment between husband and wife by sleeping with another wife’s husband. She has been divorced and became pregnant before marriage. All of these factors are more than enough reasons as to why she should be condemned to Hell.

Bibliography Alighieri, Dante. Dante Inferno. New York: Esolen, 2003. Angelina Jolie. Ed. Mai Dinh, Janet Murphy. 25 September 2007. http://www. people. om/people/angelina_jolie/biography/0,,20004347_0,00. html Adultery. www. biblegateway. com. Ed. Nick Hengeveld. 25 September 2007. http://www. biblegateway. com/quicksearch/? quicksearch=adultery&x=0&y=0 John 3:16. www. biblegateway. com. Ed. Nick Hengeveld. 25 September 2007. http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=john%203:16&version=31 Incest. www. biblegateway. com. Ed. Nick Hengeveld. 25 September 2007. http://www. biblegateway. com/quicksearch/? quicksearch=incest&x=0&y=0 homosexual. www. biblegateway. com. Ed. Nick Hengeveld. 25 September 2007. http://www. biblegateway. com/quicksearch/? quicksearch=homosexual&x=0&y=0