Analysis of Dante´s Divine Comedy - 845 Words

When Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy, a trilogy detailing Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven in three separate poems, he was separated from his home town of Florence due to his exile. Dante wrote The Divine Comedy during his exile as an epic where all of the elements in the story could be taken as their literal meaning, but he also wrote all of the elements as religious, psychological, political, and literary allegories. The religious allegories illustrate Dante’s view about sin and God. The psychological allegories illustrate the internal conflicts within Dante. The political allegories illustrate Dante’s frustration with the government, and how the church is involved in the government. The literary allegories illustrate the structure of Dante’s poem, or they describe Dante as a poet. In the Inferno, Dante separates hell and Mount Joy into three different levels. In the highest point on Mount Joy, and in hell Dante presents a she wolf who represents avarice. In the middle section of Mount Joy and Hell, Dante presents the sin of fraud which he represents with a leopard. In the lowest part of Hell and Mount Joy, Dante presents the sin of pride which he represents with a lion. Dante writes about a she wolf on the top of Mount Joy. The she wolf, which represents sinners that commit the sin of avarice, is as close as any sinner can get to God because she is the beast that is closest to the top of Mount Joy. The first seven circles in Hell deal with the sin of avarice. TheShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Dante s Divine Comedy 1201 Words   |  5 PagesChampion Dante’s Divine Comedy PSYC 455 12 April 2017 Hell and God’s Love Dante Alighieri lived during the late 13th and early 14th century in Florence Italy. It was during a time when the Guelphs and Ghibellines were rivals and the Guelphs split into two different groups known as the Whites and Blacks. Dante was part of the Whites and was later exiled from Florence. During Dante’s life he had many friends and foes, which he places in his Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy is based on his loveRead MoreAnalysis Of Dante s Divine Comedy 1362 Words   |  6 PagesMrs. Bauerle English 12 22 December 2016 Purgatory Purgatory is part number two in Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. This was written in 1300. Although the story is rather ancient and rare, when looking at the spiritual story with a logical mindset it has the ability to connect with today. The connection I was able to find behind Dante’s work of art was the psychological and geographical impact. ‘The Divine Comedy’ contains real life morals; Dante’s work is far more than just a spiritual afterlife poem seriesRead MoreThe Great Divorce and The Divine Comedy3095 Words   |  13 PagesThe cultural impact of Dante’s Divine Comedy is widely seen through a sundry of literary works, television programs, films and even video games. Yet, one of the most prominent works the Divine Comedy has impacted is C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Lewis’s book is greatly indebted to Dante’s work, as both try to teach the reader how to achieve salvation. Furthermore, Lewis and Dante’ s protagonists discover the path to salvation through choices, and learning what causes one’s refusal of God. Both authorsRead MoreHow Dante Achieves a Synthesis Between Narrative and Cultural Elements in His Writing1565 Words   |  6 Pageshow if at all Dante achieve a synthesis between narrative and cultural elements derived from paganism and his intentions as a Christian author writing for a Christian audience. Medieval literature in general attempted to do this and Dante was no different with regard to this in his copying of Virgil and the Aeneid in their depictions of hell in pagan mythology. Analysis There are a host of specific examples from pagan mythology in the Inferno. For instance, in Canto 15, we see Dante leaving theRead MoreDantes Inferno vs. Miltons Paradise Lost901 Words   |  4 PagesDante s Inferno Vs. Milton s Paradise Lost The two stories, Inferno by Dante and Paradise Lost by Milton, were written about the biblical hell and its keeper: Satan. Both of these authors had different views about the hell and Satan. In Paradis Lost, Milton wrote that Satan used to be an angel of God. The devil believed that he was equal to the Lord and he wanted to be greater than him. For this, God banished him to hell. Milton s physical description of Satan is interesting. Since heRead MoreMovement and Stasis in the Divine Comedy Essay2889 Words   |  12 PagesMovement and Stasis : The use of dynamics in the Divine Comedy Movement is a crucial theme of the Divine Comedy. From the outset, we are confronted with the physicality of the lost Dante, wandering in the perilous dark wood. His movement within the strange place is confused and faltering; `Io non so ben ridir comio ventrai. Moreover, it is clear that the physical distress he is experiencing is the visible manifestation of the mental anguish the poet is suffering. The allegory of the imageRead MoreVirgil Analysis of Dante Inferno Essay example2202 Words   |  9 Pagesconsidered a national epic of Rome and has been extremely popular from its publication to the present day. Virgil- Beatrice sends Virgil to Earth to retrieve Dante and act as his guide through Hell and Purgatory.   Since the poet Virgil lived before Christianity, he dwells in Limbo (Ante-Inferno) with other righteous non-Christians.   As author, Dante chooses the character Virgil to act as his guide because he admired Virgils work above all other poets and because Virgil had written of a similar journeyRead More Francescas Style in Canto V of Dantes Inferno Essay5060 Words   |  21 Pages Canto V of Dantes Inferno begins and ends with confession. The frightening image of Minos who  «confesses » the damned sinners and then hurls them down to their eternal punishment contrasts with the almost familial image of Francesca and Dante, who confess to one another. In a real sense confession seems to be defective or inadequate in Hell. The huddled masses who declare their sins to Minos do so because they are compelled to declare or make manifest in speech the character of their offensesRead MoreEssay about The Portraiture of Women During the Renaissance1801 Words   |  8 Pagesbody was pictured in portraiture as; marriage celebrant, husbands beloved, figures of fertility, mothers, display of wealth, paragons of virtues, husband’s passive representative, indication of fashion and more (Brown, 2003). Next, it will include analysis from the two female portraits of Leonardo de Vinci’s Ginerva de’ Benci and Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady. First, I will explain what portrait means and then represent my own interpretation of Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady by referringRead More Ageism in the Workplace Essay2447 Words   |  10 Pagesgovernment must fund to continue living. Another reason why age discrimination in the workplace must be stopped is because of the number of employees who kill themselves just because they have lost the job they have worked hard for. In Segrave (2001)s study, he noted that most men and women begging for jobs or submitting themselves to menial jobs just to be employed have suffered from depression, loneliness and belittlement because of the discrimination they have felt in their former jobs. Their old

You Decide 1 Free Essays

Memo To:John Jane Smith From: Re:Memo summarizing various tax issues 1. John Smith’s tax issues: Issue a) How is the $300,000 treated for purposes of federal tax income? Applicable Law ; Analysis: http://www. irs. We will write a custom essay sample on You Decide 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now gov/businesses/small/selfemployed/index. html Conclusion: The $300,000 will be treated as self- employed income. Generally you are self-employed if you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, independent contractor, or if you are a member of a partnership. Self-employed individuals are required to file an annual return, and pay estimated tax quarterly. Issue b) How is the $25,000 treated for purposes of federal tax income? Applicable Law ; Analysis: www. irs. gov Conclusion: The $25,000 will be treated as self- employed income as well. John was awarded the 25,000 that paid up front expenses, so the number will cancel each other out. Issue c) What is your determination regarding reducing the taxable amount of income for both (a) and (b) above? Applicable Law ; Analysis: http://www. efile. com/tax-credit/federal-tax-credits/. Publication 526- Charitable contributions. Section 170-charitable contributions and gifts ( c). Section 48- energy credit Conclusion: Establish a self- employed retirement plan, make IRA contributions, make charitable donations including asset donations according to organizations described in section 501 (c)(3), make energy efficient improvement to the home according to IRC code 48. Issue d) Do I get better tax benefits for paying the lease on office space or for buying the building? What are the differences? Applicable Law ; Analysis: IRC Code 167- there should be allowable reasonable depreciation for wear and tear on property used in the trade or business. http://www. law. cornell. edu). http://www. microsoft. com/business. IRC Code 179-allows tax payers to deduct the cost on certain types of property. Conclusion: There are better tax benefits for buying the building. Owners of rental property can write of repairs immediately. Deprecation on commercial buildings is taken over 39 years; you can also deduct interest on the purchase loan, property tax, and other qualifying expen ses. (www. microsoft. com/business). The total amount you can deduct under section 179 cannot be more than $500,000. (www. irs. gov). When leasing a building, the monthly lease payment is tax deductible, but the tax payer cannot deduct interest, property tax, or depreciate. 2. Jane Smith tax issues: Issue a) What are the different tax consequences between paying down the mortgage (debt) and assuming a new mortgage (debt) for federal income tax purposes? Applicable Law ; Analysis: www. law. cornell. edu Conclusion: Satisfying the mortgage will cancel tax deductions for that mortgage loan. Without the mortgage interest, a customer could be placed in a higher tax bracket. This will cause the tax payer to possible owe more money. Assuming a new mortgage have benefits rather than consequences. Issue b) Can John and Jane Smith utilize a 1031 tax exchange to buy a more expensive house using additional money from John’s case? Applicable Law Analysis: IRC code 1031. The IRC code 1031 allows deferral of taxes on the exchange of two assets. IRC code 1031 also allows one to sell an asset with the intension to use proceeds to invest in a like asset. (http://financial-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/Internal+Revenue+Code+section+1031) Conclusion: John and Jane cannot utilize a 1031 tax exchange. Owners of investments and business property may qualify for a section 1031 deferral. Both properties in the exchange must be held for use in a trade or business or for investment. Property used primarily for personal use does not qualify for like-kind exchange treatment. Issue c) Does Jane have a business or hobby? Why is this distinction important? Applicable Law Analysis: IRC code 183. The IRC code 183 is also called the â€Å"hobby loss rule†, it minimize losses that can be deducted from income from hobbies or other non-profit activities. Conclusion: Jane has a business. If time and effort put into the activity is intended to make a profit, this is considered a business. Business versus hobby is important because taxpayers who incorrectly report losses from hobby activities can be subject to additional taxes, interest and penalties in an audit (http://www. irsvideos. gov/Professional/HobbyBusiness) Issue d) Would Jane (and John) realize better tax benefits if she had a separate business for her jewelry-making activities? Applicable Law Analysis: www. irs. gov Conclusion: Jane and John would have better tax benefits if Jane had a separate business for her jewelry- making activities. Cost of goods sold is deducted from your gross receipts to figure your gross profit for the year; this could include the cost of material. Jane can also deduct expenses for the business use of her home. Jane can also deduct car expenses mileage rates from 1/1/11-6/30/11 is . 51 per mile and from 7/1/11-12/31/11 . 55 per mile (www. irs. gov) Issue e) What tax benefits would John realize if he invested $15,000 in Jane’s jewelry making? Applicable Law ; Analysis: http://perlmutter. house. ov/index. php? option=com_content;view=article;id=707;Itemid=88- Business tax benefits under the recovery act. Conclusion: Small Business Investment: Spurs investments in small businesses by cutting the capital gains tax on investors in small businesses who buy stock (in the next two years) and hold it for more than 5 years. (www. perlmutter. house. gov) Issue f) Can Jane depreciate her vehicle or jewelry-making equipment? How? Applicable Law ; Analysis: Section 179. Section 179 allows business to deduct the full purchase price of equipment purchased or financed during the tax year. (www. section179. org) Conclusion: Section 179 deduction enables small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 of the cost of machinery, equipment, vehicles and furniture. To qualify for the section 179 deduction, your property must have been acquired for use in your trade or business. (http://www. irs. gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=213666,00. html). The total depreciation deduction (including the section 179 expense deduction) you can take for a passenger automobile (that is not a truck or a van) that you use in your business and first placed in service in 2009 is $2,960 ($10,960 for automobiles for which the special depreciation allowance applies. www. irs. gov) 3. John and Jane Smith tax issue: Issue a) Should John and Jane file separate or joint tax returns? Applicable Law ; Analysis: IRC Code 1- The law that impose federal income tax on income, and sets the amount of tax to be paid. Conclusion: Married individuals filing joint returns will pay $75,528. 50 plus 39. 6% of income over $250,000. If Jane establishes her activities as a trade or business they would have to pay less in taxes. How to cite You Decide 1, Essay examples

August Wilson’s Fences free essay sample

August Wilson’s Fences The immigration of Africans to America as slaves has had a great effect to many things including literature. Despite their experiences in this foreign land, they brought with them a different culture that had not been experienced in the American society. The stories and experiences of African-Americans have seen authors write books and plays being staged with large audiences. This is due to the different but almost similar stories that these people have to tell regarding their journey to America and how difficult it was for them to fit in the society they found. Introduction In 1983, the American playwright August Wilson released a play titled Fences. The play has a setting of the 1950s and it explores the evolving African –American experience with race relations as one of the many themes depicted in this play. The play revolves around a 53-year-old man named Troy who is an African-America. He is struggling to provide for his family and although he is a baseball player his color is a barrier for him being able to join professional baseball thus receiving little money to support his family. This paper seeks to analyze the play and check on why it was given the title Fences (Wilson). Analysis of the play Fences by August Wilson As earlier stated, the play is about a man named Troy. The play shows how Troy is struggling to not only provide for his family but also to fit in a society in which people are judged by their skin color. The theme of race discrimination is portrayed well throughout the play. First, in the 1950s in which the play is set, people of color were seen as those who do not deserve any good thing in the society. They were associated to social crimes and ending up in jail for a crime not committed was a normal phenomenon (Wilson). However, emotional disconnect with the society they lived in and failure to secure a job so as to earn a living was greatly contributing to them ending up being involved in these social crimes. In the play, Troy is shown as a baseball player a game he had learnt and played while in prison. He had ended up in prison for an accidental murder he had committed during a robbery. From this act it is evident that due to his failure of securing a job, Troy had ended up involving himself in robbery so as to earn himself a living but this time it turned out ugly and he ended up in prison. Further, discrimination is seen at work place where some jobs could not be done by an African-American but instead they were reserved for the whites. This is seen when Troy manages to secure a job with a garbage collecting firm and he is heard asking Mr. Rand; who he refers to as the boss, why black men were not allowed to drive garbage trucks. This shows that indeed there was race discrimination at work place where African-Americans could not be bestowed with some responsibilities. The act of being denied an opportunity to drive a garbage truck can be seen as a sarcastic event. It can be viewed in the way that even if garbage collection was being seen as dirty work that could only be done by those who were seen as less fortunate in the society, the fact that driving a garbage truck was seen as â€Å"literary driving a vehicle†, an African-American would not be allowed to drive the truck since they were restricted to do so during that time (Tamura). In addition, the play shows Rose who is Troy’s wife with whom they have a son named Cory, however, Troy has a son Lyon from a previous marriage but he does not leave with him. Gabriel is Troy’s younger brother who has notable psychological damage after he suffered head injuries when he was serving as a soldier. This new development of Gabriela having served as a soldier brings contrast of sentiments of race discrimination and at the same time it can be viewed as one way in which discrimination of people of the color was being cemented. First as a contrast, this play shows how certain jobs were being reserved for whites. Soldiers were people who not only deserved respect from the society but also received a good pay. Therefore, Gabriel’s employment as a soldier, contrasts the theme of discrimination where some jobs such as a being a soldier were being reserved for those the society thought they owed respect to. However, it can be viewed differently in the sense that owing to the tasks, experiences and challenges that faced soldiers in the battle fields, African-American men were seen as the right people for the job. This follows, the understanding that most of those who served in the army died in war or if one was luck to survive they would come home having sustained severe injuries like in the case of Gabriel. This can be seen as a form of discrimination where those who were less regarded in the society were being recruited as soldiers since the society would be seen not to worry even if it lost them (Tamura). The play unfolds on a payday when Troy and his friend Bono are drinking and chatting. His son Lyon comes to him asking to be lent 10 dollars promising to refund the money soon since his girlfriend had secured a job. Troy gives him a hard time but after persuasion from his wife Rose, he finally lends his son the money. From this scenario, one can see that the family is really struggling to survive owing to Lyon’s inability to raise even 10 dollars thus leading him to borrowing from his father. This shows that African-Americans were struggling a lot so as to survive in a society where living standards were high and a society where job opportunities were rare given the much rooted racial discrimination (Wilson). Further, as the play continues, Cory tells his parents of an opportunity for a college football scholarship. Troy vehemently condemns his son’s thought of applying it and they argue. Troy does not want his son to play basket ball since he does not him to experience the racial discrimination he went through during the time he was playing baseball. The man does not back down his argument and following his experience with racial discrimination he is not ready to watch his son go through the same. As a result, Troy even approaches Cory’s coach and tells him that his son will no longer be playing football. Upon discovery of his father’s lies, Cory confronts him and they end up in a fight that causes Cory to be thrown out of the house by his father. This scenario shows the effect that racial discrimination had to Troy’s life. Following him denying his son the opportunity to play college football with an excuse of racial discrimination, one can see that indeed Troy had gone through tough time due to racial discrimination and he was protecting his son. Despite his time of playing baseball and that of his son playing football being different, Troy could hardly believe that racial discrimination could have melted away, thus, the unmoved stand exhibited by him(Wiggins Miller). Consequently, after Cory is kicked out of the house, they no longer get along with his dad. This can be seen during the final act when Troy dies and Cory refuses to attend the funeral due to the long-standing resentment. However, after his mother’s persuasion, Cory attends the funeral to pay respect to the man who had tirelessly struggled to provide for them even if he was hard headed. The rivalry between son and father can be traced back to have been caused by racial discrimination. This is due to the fact that if Troy had not suffered through discrimination, he could not have denied his son to take the college football scholarship and as a result they could not have argued to the extent of later not setting eyes on one another. One can see the indirect effect that racial discrimination had to people’s lives (Wiggins Miller). Further, during Troy’s burial, Cory had just come from the military training. This can be analyzed as a positive step towards fighting racial discrimination. This follows the fact that during his father’s youth days, certain jobs opportunities such as joining the military were mostly given to the whites. Therefore seeing Cory coming out of the military training it is evident that with time, racial discrimination had come to reduce thus allowing African-Americans be able to get job opportunities which earlier being people of color they could not easily get. In addition, throughout the play, Troy is shown as a man who had a different cultural influence or different socialization. First, this can be seen through his son Lyon who was from an earlier marriage. Further, in the play, Rose discovers that his husband has been having an affair with a lady called Alberta and he had made her pregnant. However, Alberta dies during childbirth and Rose accepts to adopt her daughter Raynell whose father Troy dies when she is seven years old. Being an African-American, the act of having more than one wife is not out of the norms owing to African culture with him. However, finding himself in a society where polygamy is viewed as a thing past by time, Troy could not marry Rose while still having the first wife and he could not bring Alberta as another wife thus he ended up having an affair with her other than coming to the light (Sofola).. In the African culture, to which Troy can still find some association, most communities allow polygamous marriages as this is seen as wealth as the man will have many children from these wives. Traditionally, in the African culture having more than one wife was seen as a public sign that a man had more resources that would allow him to marry as many women as he pleased. However, the culture was against adultery and a man would not be allowed to bear children outside marriage unless he would later end up marrying the lady (Sofola).. Therefore, although the African culture among the African-Americans was fading away, its influence continued to affect them for years. Consequently, Troy was a man who had been influenced by this culture but the society which he currently lived in was not in support of the culture. Therefore, this explains his act in life of having a first marriage, then marrying Rose and finally having an affair with Alberta. Troy’s case shows the effect that migration to the West had to African-Americans; it did not only give them a hard time trying to fit in a society where they were less regarded but it also eroded their cultures and presented them with a different and difficult socialization (Sofola). Having analyzed the play, one would seek to answer the question on why it was given the title â€Å"Fences†. First, the theme of racial discrimination can be seen to have portrayed the title Fences. This is seen throughout the play where lines of racial discrimination were used to deny Troy and other African-Americans job opportunities. This judgment on bases of color is a fence in itself since it prevented them from getting good money to support their families. In addition, Troy could not join professional baseball playing due to the ‘fence’ of racial discrimination. However, to Cory, his father is the fence that does not allow him to get the college football scholarship after he refused him on the grounds of racial discrimination. In addition and to the literal meaning, Rose wanted to build a fence and forced Troy to start so that she could protect what is hers in the inside and leave what belongs to the society outside the fence. Conclusion Throughout the play, racial discrimination is shown as the cause of anything that Troy’s family is going through. One can appreciate the writer’s overemphasize on this issue owing to the fact that this play is set in the 1950’s when racial discrimination was still evidently being experienced. The play assists one to understand the effect that racial discrimination had on the lives of African-Americans as well as the influence of Western culture to their socialization and culture. This play will assist in keeping the history of the experience of African-Americans in the American society and it will remain to be a crucial part of literature.