You learned the definition of the American Dream in this weeks lecture. You also learned about the American identity. Traits often associated with the American identity include boldness, confidence, perseverance, and integrity. These traits are often demonstrated through a characters words or actions. This week, well focus on boldness. How is boldness reflected in the characters of Rebecca Harding Daviss story? Choose two characters from “Life in the Iron Mills” and explain how boldness applies to them in the story.
Criteria: 300 words minimum (excluding quotations and citations)
Include two properly integrated and cited direct quotations (one related to each character) to support your claims. See the Literary Analysis Tools Module from this week’s activities for information about integrating and citing direct quotations.
Sample solution
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 Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
In Rebecca Harding Davis’s “Life in the Iron Mills,” boldness is a defining trait that shapes the lives and actions of its characters, particularly through the lives of Hugh Wolfe and Deborah Wolfe. Their experiences in the oppressive environment of the iron mills reflect their courageous attempts to assert their humanity and challenge societal constraints.
Hugh Wolfe embodies boldness through his artistic aspirations and his yearning for a life beyond the grim realities of the mill. Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him, Hugh dares to dream of a better future. His decision to create sculptures from the iron waste signifies not only his artistic talent but also his defiance against the dehumanizing conditions of his labor. As Davis writes, “He had made a figure, a woman, out of the iron, with a face full of thought” (Davis 62). This act of creation reflects Hugh’s desire to transcend his circumstances and assert his individuality in a world that seeks to suppress it. His boldness is not just in his art but also in his refusal to accept a life defined solely by toil and despair.
Similarly, Deborah Wolfe exhibits boldness through her unwavering support for Hugh and her desire for a better life for him and herself. Despite the constraints placed upon her as a woman in a lower socioeconomic class, she demonstrates resilience and courage. Deborah’s determination to uplift Hugh’s spirits shows her strength: “She was not afraid of the iron or the men; she could work with them” (Davis 47). Her willingness to confront the harsh realities of their life head-on illustrates her inner strength and refusal to succumb to passivity. Deborah’s boldness lies in her belief that both she and Hugh deserve more than their current existence, pushing against societal expectations.
Through Hugh and Deborah, Davis illustrates how boldness is an essential trait that drives individuals to seek change against formidable obstacles. Their actions reflect a deep-seated desire for dignity and fulfillment, making them poignant representations of resilience within the bleak backdrop of industrial life.
