Evaluating a source

by | May 2, 2021 | Research

: For this essay, you will select one of the sources you have found through your preliminary
research about your research topic. Which source you choose is up to you; however, it should be substantial
enough that you will be able to talk about it at length, and intricate enough that it will keep you (and your
reader) interested.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course.
Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
The introduction of this paper will involve introducing the source: Provide the author, the title, and the context
(where you found the source, where it was originally published, who sponsored it, etc.)
You will then go on to evaluate the source on two levels:
Credibility: Using the information in this unit as a guide, evaluate the source’s authenticity and reliability. Look
at all the information that you can find about the source to establish the author’s (or sponsor’s) trustworthiness.
Usefulness: Using a combination of summary and analysis, examine the source on a critical level. Determine
what the source’s purpose (thesis) is, and how it arrives at that goal. Examine its value to you and the project
you are working on. How will it help you prove your own points? How might it come in handy to back up a claim
(or address a counter-claim)?
Finally, you will include a conclusion which shows your final assessments on both counts.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it
meets these guidelines.

  1. Source Identification
    The introduction of this paper will be introducing the source:
    Have you provided the author’s name?
    Have you provided the source title?
    Have you provided the context (where you found the source, where it was originally published, who
    sponsored it, etc.)?
  2. Source Evaluation
    Have you provided a judgment on the source’s credibility?
    Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate your judgment on credibility?
    Have you provided a judgment on the source’s usefulness?
    Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate your judgment on usefulness?
  3. Reflection
    Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and included insights, observations, and/or
    examples in all responses?

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.


This question has been answered

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.

This question has been answered.

Get Answer