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Literary depictions of hell
Rainier Ababao
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Hell
In many religious traditions, hell is a place of suffering
and punishment in the afterlife.
It is a concept that we cannot know about except
through direct experience, which, once obtained,
probably cannot be shared. This doesnt prevent us
from envisioning its form, though.
To what extent have older literary depictions of Hell
affected Juan Rulfos interpretation of Hell?
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The Divine Comedy
An epic poem by Dante Aligheri, written in three parts:
Inferno
Purgatorio
Paradiso
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Dantes Inferno
This is the first part of the Divine
Comedy. It is an allegory aboutDantes journey through what is
largely the medieval concept of
Hell, guided by the Roman poet
Virgil, who wroteAeneid, which
offers a similar interpretation of
hell.
Dantes Hell contains Circles,
which are ordinally categorized (the
First Circle, Second Circle, etc.) to
hold souls based upon their sins:they are specifically named Limbo
(for the unbaptized and nice but
non-Christian pagans), Lust,
Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy,
Violence, Fraud, and Treachery.
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Dantes Inferno
Each of the circles represent a
gradual increase in wickednessfrom the last, and they
culminate in Satans hold at the
center of the earth.
People who sinned but prayedfor forgiveness before their
deaths are not found in Hell but
in Purgatory, where they labor
in order to become free of their
sins.
Contrapasso
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Virgils Aeneid
A Latin epic poem written by
Virgil between 29 and 19 BC;the legendary story of Aeneas,
who became the ancestor of the
Romans.
10,000 lines in dactylichexameter.
Aeneas goes to the underworld
in Book 6.
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Virgils Aeneid Both VirgilsAeneidandDantes Inferno
propose that Hell has a certain logical
structure.
However, Virgils has a less
particularized structure, and their
notions of Limbo are different. Dante
placed virtuous non-Christian souls in
Limbo, whereas Virgil had no religious
prejudice at all.
Dantes Hell is definitely more
unforgiving; if they sin and never repent,
they are automatically doomed to Hell
for eternity. This demonstrates a large
amount of influence by the Christian
beliefs it represents.
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Virgils Aeneid Virgils society believed that no one
behaved perfectly throughout theirlives, i.e. nobody was without sin.
They simply had to pay dues. The
nature of these dues was not
important nor well described, but
the mere existence of suffering
made their hell an undesirableplace.
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Changes Dante borrowed ideas from Virgil,
even taking up the name as Dantesguide through Hell in his journey,
but these major, more Christianity-
specific differences reflect huge
cultural changes in Italy between
Augustus reign to Italys Middle
Ages.
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John Miltons Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem
written in rhyme-less iambicpentameter by John Milton,
published in 1667.
John Milton describes Hell as a
place of absolute darkness, fierce
heat, and hostile elements.
The nature of Hell as a place of
punishment as it was explored in
Dantes and Virgils works is not
explored, but is portrayed as anabode for the demons and the
prison from which they plot their
revenge upon Heaven by corrupting
the human race.
Pedro Paramo!
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Hell in Pedro Paramo Pedro Paramo examines the
physical and moral disintegrationof a laconic cacique (boss) and is
set on a mythical hell on earth
inhabited by the dead, who are
haunted by their past
transgressions.
Juan Rulfo certainly borrows
concepts from Dantes Inferno. He
writes, In the shimmering sunlight
the plain was a transparent lake
dissolving mists that yielded a grayhorizon. Farther in the distance, a
range of mountains. And farther
still, faint remoteness.
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But is Comala Hell? Comala probably represents some
kind of purgatory with souls thatare just wandering and asking for
forgiveness.
In this town, the citizens are
obsessed with prayer and want to be
in peace one day; this is why theyare devoted to the church.
Father Renteria?
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Mexican Catholicism
Bibiana Bogues
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MEXICAN CATHOLICISM
Was the most dominant religion in Mexicomost dominant religion in Mexicomost dominant religion in Mexicomost dominant religion in Mexico, and still
is today. 91919191% of the people followed the Catholic faith% of the people followed the Catholic faith% of the people followed the Catholic faith% of the people followed the Catholic faith
Mexico is the second largest country in regards tosecond largest country in regards tosecond largest country in regards tosecond largest country in regards to
number of Catholicsnumber of Catholicsnumber of Catholicsnumber of Catholics (Brazil is first) The church is seen as a second family,second family,second family,second family, the priest
is seen as your father, and the other people of the
church as your brothers and sisters. Idolizes saints, spirits, and ghostsIdolizes saints, spirits, and ghostsIdolizes saints, spirits, and ghostsIdolizes saints, spirits, and ghosts.
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QUICK HISTORY
The Mexican ConstitutionMexican ConstitutionMexican ConstitutionMexican Constitution of 1824 had required
the Republic to prohibit the exercise of anyprohibit the exercise of anyprohibit the exercise of anyprohibit the exercise of anyreligion other than the Roman Catholic.religion other than the Roman Catholic.religion other than the Roman Catholic.religion other than the Roman Catholic.
Benito Jurez:::: Following the revolution of 1860,
President Benito Jurez issued a decreeissued a decreeissued a decreeissued a decree
separating Church and stateseparating Church and stateseparating Church and stateseparating Church and state (which had never
been done in Mexican history).
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GHOSTS ~ MEXICAN CATHOLICISM
Mexican Catholicism stresses the human
characteristics within the dead, spirits, and ghosts.They are not seen with a negative connotation butrather with another mind with feelings andanother mind with feelings andanother mind with feelings andanother mind with feelings andthoughts just as someone alive.thoughts just as someone alive.thoughts just as someone alive.thoughts just as someone alive.
This is shown in Pedro Paramo because it isdifficult to truly know who is dead and who is alivein Comala because they dont have a distinctdifferentiating factor. They are seen as parallelThey are seen as parallelThey are seen as parallelThey are seen as parallelparts with equal importanceparts with equal importanceparts with equal importanceparts with equal importance.
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MEXICAN CATHOLICISM DURING THE MEXICAN
REVOLUTION
-FromFromFromFrom 1876187618761876----1911191119111911 relations between the Romanrelations between the Romanrelations between the Romanrelations between the RomanCatholic Church and the Mexican government wereCatholic Church and the Mexican government wereCatholic Church and the Mexican government wereCatholic Church and the Mexican government weresteadysteadysteadysteady. Daz had a devoted interest in keepinggood relations with the Churchgood relations with the Churchgood relations with the Churchgood relations with the Church because hebelieved it would aid him in his plans and make his
goals easier to attain.- Diaz, however, did not completely support the
church. Many Roman Catholic clergy, includingMiguel Pro, were executed during the antiexecuted during the antiexecuted during the antiexecuted during the anti----clericalclericalclericalclericalCristero WarCristero WarCristero WarCristero War during the later part of theRevolution.
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CRISTERO WAR
Particularly offensive to Catholics was Calles'sinsistence on a complete state control on educationcomplete state control on educationcomplete state control on educationcomplete state control on education,
suppressing all Catholic education and introducingsecular education in its place.
The effects of the war on the Church were deep.The effects of the war on the Church were deep.The effects of the war on the Church were deep.The effects of the war on the Church were deep.BetweenBetweenBetweenBetween 1926192619261926 andandandand 1934193419341934 at leastat leastat leastat least 40404040 priests were killed.priests were killed.priests were killed.priests were killed.There were 4,500 priests serving the people before therebellion, but by 1934 there were only 334 priestslicensed by the government to serve fifteen millionpeople. The rest had been eliminated by emigration,expulsion and assassination. By 1935, 17 states had nopriest at all. Catholicism and church had hit a hugeCatholicism and church had hit a hugeCatholicism and church had hit a hugeCatholicism and church had hit a hugedownfall.downfall.downfall.downfall.
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By: Mia Mills
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Born May 16, 1918 in the town of Sayula, Mexico
Died in 1986 of lung cancer
Their family consisted of wealthy landowners buttheir money was lost after the MexicanRevolution/Cristero War
Grandparents raised him after all the deaths of thefamily members (Father, Mother and Uncles)
Growing up with his grandparents, he was grantedaccess to the library of a priest who kept books intheir house
Rulfo recalls this as being a fundamental in hisliterary creation and development.
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Rulfo held various different types of jobs
during his lifetime These include different writing, agency, culture
and art-related jobs
His artwork (photography) is located in thePalacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City
His literary creations are short, only publishing
two works: The Burning Plain ( El llano enllamas) and Pedro Paramo
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The aftermath of the Mexican Revolution
greatly affected Rulfos childhood His father was killed after the revolution and
his mother died of a heart attack- thus, leavingRulfo an orphan
His two uncles were murdered along with hisfather due to troubles during the Revolutionand Rebellion
Many of these family deaths created a lastingeffect on Rulfo and his writings (the prevalenceof death in nearly all of his works)
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The Cristero War (1926-29) also plays a
significant role in Rulfos childhood It was a struggle between the government and
Catholic militias over the restricted rights of
the churches The War caused widespread destruction
during the late 1920s
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Rulfos hometown, San Gabriel, had been a thrivingtown until the revolution turned the town upside down-made the town poor and deserted
Rulfo depicted the ghost towns in Pedro Paramo asSan Gabriel after the Revolution by being represented asa place where promised reforms were never carried out
Meaning that Rulfo replaced San Gabriel with Comalabecause comal means an earthenware utensil that isplaced over the embers for the purpose of heating thetortillas--and the heat that prevails in that town was
what gave me the idea of the name Comala ,the place over embers, depicts the fiery
nature of Pedro Paramo
The town depicts rural Mexico and its people
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Jalisco was the state where he was born andtranslates to sandy plain-- this type of setting is
where nearly all of his writings take place Rulfo states that he choose the setting of a ghost
town because he had taken a trip to San Gabrielwhere instead of finding the idealized town he had
in his memories from his childhood he had literaryseen a ghost town
By using this in Pedro Paramo, he wanted to tryand bring back the town to life
The use of death and violence in Rulfos writings isdue to his own experience of violence during therevolution
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The Generation of 1952 included Rulfo and
his works by classifying them as the timeperiod of literary boom in Latin America
His literary works played an important role in
gaining worldwide recognition (along withother authors during the time period)
This also created more opportunities for
prominent novelists to become widely known
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http://www.gradesaver.com/author/juan-
rulfo/ http://mostlyfiction.com/latin/rulfo.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Rulfo
http://legacy.lclark.edu/~woodrich/SPAN230/seligmanparamo.html
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