Conduct a literature review review and summarize relevant theory and research in order to defend a particular position (your thesis). The topic of your literature review might come from the following list, or you may identify a different area of interest. However, if you choose something other than the options below, you must obtain permission from your instructor prior to writing/submitting the paper. It is up to the instructor’s discretion to allow/disallow alternative topics. Here are some ideas you might choose to explore:

Accuracy of Proverbs
Example: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” or “Beauty is a good letter of introduction”? In other words, what can one conclude based on appearance alone?
Example: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “Out of sight, out of mind”? In other words, do long distances or extended amounts of time strengthen relationship ties, or weaken them?
Example: “Birds of a feather flock together” or “Opposites attract”? In other words, are people attracted to similar or dissimilar others?
Impact of Titles/Labels
Example: How do team mascots (such as the Redskins or Braves) impact Native Americans (self-esteem, stereotype threat, etc.)?
Example: How do labels (such as smart/stupid, crazy or criminal, etc.) impact people’s mental processes and behaviors?
Altruism
Example: Does true altruism exist? What motivates people to help?
Explanatory Style
Example: Do optimists experience better life outcomes than pessimists?
Persuasive Appeals
Example: How do political campaigns utilize various techniques?
Self-esteem
Example: Is there a dark side? Can one be too confident?
School Size
Example: Do students fare better in big schools or small schools? Why?
Reactance
Example: What is the theory behind “reverse psychology”?
Gender Differences
Example: in aggression, sex, etc.
A Form of Prejudice
Example: fat prejudice, racial prejudice, etc.
Psychology and the Law
Example: jury behavior, etc.

 

 

 

Sample Solution

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 Studies4(8), 487.

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

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