Discussion Question:
Choose two rhetorical concepts from any of the following: Foucault, Derrida, Cixous, or Anzaldua (in this week’s readings). What early rhetorical theories
seem most aligned with and divergent from these concepts? What does that say about our changing assumptions about rhetoric?
1. response:
Early rhetorical theories generally assign the speaker the role of presenting previously unknown truths to the audience, transferring knowledge in a way that
moves them towards a particular line of thought or action. This often creates a hierarchy in rhetoric which is power heavy on the orator’s side. According to
Bizzell et. al. (2020), Foucault dismantles this concept and, “To do so, he reverses the order of the relationship between discourse and what is traditionally
taken to be its source: That is, he treats author, meaning, and knowledge as a function of discourse, not as its source” (p. 2896). In Foucault assessment of
discourse, there is no predetermined truth to be transferred, but instead, discourse is a place where knowledge develops.
Interestingly Cixous’ experiences with the experimental dissolution of academic hierarchy at the University of Paris at Vincennes, brought her to conclusion
that the, “that the professor-student hierarchy cannot really be dismantled” (Bizzel et. al., 2020, p. 3085). This however is as far as Cixous’ views align with
early rhetoricians, as her work focuses on dismantling the male dominated, or phallocentric traditions, of historical rhetoric. In Cixous (1975) The Laugh of
the Medusa, she argues, “Nearly the entire history of writing is confounded with the history of reason, of which it is at once the effect, the support, and one of
the privileged alibis. It has been one with the phallocentric tradition. It is indeed that same self-admiring, self-stimulating, self-congratulatory phallocentrism”
(Bizzel et. al., 2020, p. 3097). Cixous argues that genuine observations about the world cannot be made within the strict confines and limitations that have
been historically applied to rhetoric and philosophy.
Reference:
Bizzell, P., Herzberg, B., & Reames, R. (Eds.). (2020). The rhetorical tradition: Readings from classical times to the present (3rd ed.). Bedford/St.Martin’s.
https://bibliu.com/
app/#/view/books/9781319279271/epub/OEBPS/xhtml/biz_9781319032746_FM_
cover.html#page_1
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Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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