Is The Good Place channeling Dante's The Divine Comedy?

I posted almost a year ago on this page, and the subject of that was Dante's Inferno comparing it to another piece of pop culture. I have now returned to do the same.  This blog wasn't intended to be a Divine Comedy discussion blog, but her, might as well go for it. So, without further ado: here is my theory that The Good Place is channeling The Divine Comedy. 

I don’t know if this is a theory so much as it is just an interesting parallel. I should clarify that I am not, in any way, a Dante scholar. I’ve read the Divine Comedy once and thoroughly enjoyed it. Still, there are some similarities between the show and the Divine Comedy. If I did have to take it into full blown theory mode, if The Good Place is following the Divine Comedy, the four will eventually make it into The Good Place and Michael will not be able to. There is also an outside chance, depending on how close to The Divine Comedy the show wants to go, that at least one member of Team Cockroach is still alive.

The Divine Comedy begins with The Inferno. The Inferno opens with Dante waking up in the woods in his 30's (he says the middle part of his life). He feels lost and eventually finds himself at the gates of Hell, which has a sign stating, “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here”. His guide is the poet Virgil, who is a citizen of Limbo. This is technically Hell, though Virgil and other residents of Limbo are not punished. They cannot get into heaven because they were born before Jesus, and thus are not saved. This is important because later on, we learn that because of this, Virgil cannot enter Heaven, even as a guide to Dante.

This is how the Entrance to Hell is typically depicted.

Since the above picture doesn't have the sign, here you go.

I would say that all members of Team Cockroach are middle aged. I don’t know if exact ages have been given in the show, but none seem overly old or young. Jason is probably the youngest, though due to his lifestyle, quite possible he is middle aged. It may be a stretch to say that any of them feel lost, but often times when characters flashback on their lives they feel regret over how they lived. The first thing that they see when awaking in “The Good Place” is a sign that says, “Welcome! Everything is Fine!” Call this a twisted version of the sign above Hell.

Narrator: As it turns out, things were not fine.

It may be tempting to call Janet their guide to the Good Place, but I feel she aligns better with another character from The Divine Comedy, and so I give the designation of the show’s Virgil to Michael. In Season 1, Michael is the one most knowledgeable about the neighborhood (well, he did design it), and as we’ve gone into season 2, he knows about The Bad Place and how it operates. This is because he lives/works there, obviously. I would say that Michael grows into the role of “Virgil”.  As the series progresses, he takes a more active role in the lives of Team Cockroach, and seeks to improve along with them. This could also be viewed as Michael working to improve the lives of Team Cockroach.  (I’m not totally sure if Virgil had the active goal of getting Dante to improve as he guides him through Hell, or if he was merely a guide.)

Virgil showing Dante around Hell.

I had formulated this theory during a Season 1 re-watch, and the last episode (Chapter 24, Rhonda, Diana, Jake and Trent) was setting off all sorts of bells for me. I wish this season had maybe two more episodes, because then we could have had Team Cockroach explore The Bad Place. In the Inferno, Dante is shown how the damned are punished. (Some of the throw away lines about how extreme the punishments are in The Bad Place sound Dante-esque. Flesh being removed from bodies? That’s how thieves were punished.)  The torture museum as going to be exactly that. It was going to show what people did to end up in The Bad Place and how they were punished. The show didn’t actually go down that route, but that line made me think that this was a direction the show could take. I don’t think a full season of them in The Bad Place would be all that great (Michael isn’t lying when he says they would see things that would haunt them forever. For instance, fortune tellers had their heads forced backwards.)

Going to guess Hell doesn't have a chiropractor. 

This is where things get a little interesting. In The Divine Comedy, Dante and Virgil descend through Hell, they get past Satan (who is encased in ice) and they descend through a small opening to get to Purgatory. The exit of Hell is in its very heart. The exit to The Bad Place is in the center of headquarters.

According to the show, beings need a pin to get to The Judge. We know that Michael will be able to get there eventually. This, more so than Mindy St. Claire’s “Medium Place” may be purgatory. (Now that I think of it, Mindy St. Claire’s is probably closer to The Good Place. In the Paradiso (Heaven) there are beings far away from the center of Heaven, but they are still happy and content, because they are in Heaven and they can’t/wouldn’t disagree with God. Mindy’s house and life seem pretty shitty, but she likes it and seems to have no complaints. Also: Michael is really opposed to the Bad Place’s raid on Mindy St. Claire’s house (“It’s illegal!”) . If it truly is more of The Good Place, this could have major ramifications, though I doubt the show would venture into a war between The Good and The Bad Places.

In the Purgatorio, when Virgil and Dante go through Purgatory, Dante admits that he has flaws, and has committed the sin of pride. You could probably make a case that between all of them, Team Cockroach has committed all seven deadly sins, but I think they all commit Pride. I don’t think a single one of them is a clear candidate for Dante, but rather they are all four, collectively, a stand-in for Dante. But, he admits his wrong doing, knows he will spend time in Purgatory, and vows to make himself better once his tour of the afterlife is over. This is something that we have seen Team Cockroach due. Whether it is taking ethics courses (willingly!) or flat out admitting their wrong doings, they have all recognized their faults.

Go Team Cockroach!

It may be that Michael is not fully on Team Torture, and has thought there should be a way for people to redeem themselves. Given that Team Cockroach has been at this for over 200 years (based on number of reboots and average length of those reboots), that may allow them to get through to The Good Place. (Unless they are still alive, and this experience teaches them to become better people in the Real World, but I don’t buy into that theory. I only included it up top because Dante is alive. It is possible that one member is still alive, and will use the experience to better themselves, but otherwise, I call bullshirt on that particular theory).

Now, Michael might be able to join Team Cockroach in true Purgatory, but I don’t think it is likely that he can make it all the way to The Good Place. As stated before, because Virgil could not have been saved and lived in Hell, he could not even enter the Paradiso (Heaven). Michael himself states that he doesn’t know if he could make it into The Good Place. So, who will escort Team Cockroach through The Good Place?

Janet.

The real Bad Place was the friends we made along the way.

Dante has two guides in his journey through the afterlife. Virgil is his first one, and is with him through all of the Inferno and all of the Purgatorio. But, his second companion is Beatrice. Beatrice was an actual person that Dante knew, and in his works, she is an angel. It is she who guide Dante through Heaven. She is extremely knowledgeable about all things, and can even anticipate Dante’s questions (frequently in the Paradiso, Dante remarks that Beatrice knew what he was going to ask, but permitted him to speak anyway). Likewise, Janet is very good at anticipating needs and is a useful aid.

Admittedly, Beatrice never goes into Hell, and really only meets Dante at the top of Purgatory (think of Purgatory like Devil’s Tower, with the Garden of Eden on top). Janet functions in The Bad Place, and can go to where the judge is (I’m luggage!). But, her ability to freely move about the realms may be a nod to her being angelic. She can go where she pleases, but would be more comfortable in The Good Place.

"Hi there! Follow me, please!" 

(It should be noted that you can read The Divine Comedy as Dante having romantic feelings for Beatrice. If that is the case, your team leader for being most like Dante would be Jason. Dante frequently comments on Beatrice’s beauty, and Jason is very much so infatuated with Janet’s beauty).

What does this mean for the show? Well…

1. The members of Team Cockroach will, at the very least, tour the real Good Place. It would be fun to see what the actual Good Place is. Dante doesn’t get into Heaven at the end of the Divine Comedy. He is still living. But, he is armed with the knowledge that will allow him to get into heaven.

2. Michael will not get into The Good Place. He cannot even go there.

3. There is an outside chance that the members of Team Cockroach are still alive, and will have to use their knowledge of the afterlife to better themselves in the real world. Again, I am not sold on this, but that might make for an interesting final season.

I will admit, this laugh alone makes me think his original intent was not to help the humans.

I don’t think that she show is doing a direct parallel. If we did, this show would feature a lot of gruesome torture. I think there are also some liberties. For instance, the most likely candidate for Satan would be Shawn, but Shawn seems to be running The Bad Place, not encased in ice for all of eternity (In the Inferno, Satan doesn’t preside over Hell. He is being punished.) But, there are a few things that seem to line up with Dante’s work that I thought would be interesting to explore.

What do you think?

Is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Dante's Inferno?

I read this "article" today about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being a retelling of Dante's Inferno. I haven't done any literary analysis for awhile, and this seemed like more fun than grading. So...

My initial response to this is that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't a retelling of The Inferno. This seems like a good bit of click bait for people who haven't read Dante's Inferno. When you boil both works down to their bare essentials, there are similarities. But....I don't buy it. But, let's examine it. After all, the video basically makes the argument that the two works are the same because there's a boat and Wonka says, "Hell." Is there something more?

A few notes: I am in no way a Dante scholar. I am currently reading The Divine Comedy for the first time. Secondly, I am basing what happens in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the book, not the film.

Firstly, the whole purpose behind the Inferno is that Dante finds himself aimless and sinful. He wishes to make himself worthy of Heaven (or really, Beatrice, a woman in his life). Dante is guided through Hell by Virgil. There, Dante sees the sinners punished for all eternity in accordance to their sins. Finally, they reach the bottom of Hell to find Satan frozen in ice. Dante and Virgil climb down Satan, and get into Purgatory.

So, who is Dante? It must be Charlie, as he is the one that tours all the way through the factory. But, what is Charlie's sin? By all accounts in the book, Charlie is a good kid. He wants to go to the factory, but does not have the means to win the competition like other people do. Charlie wins the ticket when he finds some money on the street, goes and buys two candy bars. You could argue that he sins by not giving the money to his family, but I call that a stretch. Charlie does not share Dante's motivation for going into the factory/Hell.

Secondly, who is Virgil? At first glance, it might be Grandpa Joe. But, Grandpa Joe doesn't know any more about the factory than Charlie does (outside of knowing about Oompa Loompas). Rather, the best fit for Virgil in Wonka himself. Virgil lives in Hell (Limbo, actually, since he died before Christ came to be). He guides people through the factory. Interestingly, Wonka shows little remorse for what happens to the children. Similarly,  Virgil shows no remorse for the sinners, and even rebukes Dante for doing so at one point.

The other children could lend some interesting similarities. Augustus Gloop is gluttonous, and falls into a chocolate River. He then gets stuck in a tube. A similar fate befalls Varuca Salt. Both punishments echo the punishment of those who abused Church offices, which is to be buried upside down, with their feet sticking into the air. But, neither Gloop nor Salt abuse their office, so the similarities end there. For what its worth: the gluttons spend eternity walking around in frozen slush, which I guess the fudge processing center might resemble in look, but not in any other quality.  The greedy, like Salt, walk with giant weights. Her punishment doesn't line up with Dante.

A better similarity though is the punishment that befalls Violet Beauregarde. Violet steals gum, and is transformed into a blueberry.  In Hell, thieves are punished by having eternally changing identities. Demons force their way into the thieves, changing the form and look. The only way to get a human form back is to steal it. This is all quite painful (and disturbing). So, the punishment seems to fit with The Inferno, though on a lighter scale. The transformation does hurt Violet, and she is permanently changed afterwards.

Mike TeeVee is an odd case though. He loves TV, which isn't a sin. You could argue that he is slothful, and rots his brain. You could also argue that by relying on television, and not books, he sins against art. These sinners are punished by being forced to lie on burning sand. The TV room, with its plain whiteness, might evoke a similar image. Additionally, flakes of fire rain down on them in Hell, while TeeVee is struck by radiation. I'd call this a stretch (No pun intended, given what happens to Mike) but, like Violet, there is maybe a toned down version of the punishment.

Interesting side note: 3 of the 4 are located in the Seventh Circle of Hell. Gloop is in Circle 3.

Another interesting side note, is that in Dante's Inferno, the sinners more or less choose to be there. They reject God, and so they are condemned to Hell. The four children, or at least their parents, do not take responsibility for their actions.

At the end of the book, Charlie finds out that he won a competition. His reward is ownership of the factory. This seems like an odd reward if we follow the comparison.  He gets to live in Hell? Wonka, Charlie and Joe fly off in a glass elevator (which evokes the image of ascending to Heaven, but Dante does not go straight to Heaven. He and Virgil climb down Satan to the other side of the world, and then ascend Purgatory. However, I'm going to overlook that, as a retelling isn't going to be matched detail for detail.) But still, if the Factory is Hell, then why would Charlie want to live in it? Why would he want to run it? Dante is horrified by what he sees, and his trip through the Inferno spurs him to assure he does not end up there.

I will say, there are some striking similarities, more so than I thought at first glance. But, there are points where a comparison falls a part. One, Charlie and Virgil do not share the same motivation for entering the factory or Hell. Secondly, Charlie would be rewarded with owning Hell. The motivation and reward are two major aspects of any work of literature, and because these two works do nit coorelare, I find it hard to call Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a retelling of Dante's Inferno. Was Dahl inspired by Dante? Perhaps, but to call Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a retelling of The Inferno isn't quite accurate.

Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***

Today was my last day of Winter Break, and I really wanted to avoid leaving the house. This is for two reasons. 1) It was the last day of Winter Break, so I didn't want to go anywhere. 2) The high was negative three degrees today, so why WOULD I want to go outside. And so, even though my to-do list indicated that I needed to go to the school, I decided to not do that.

It's ok, I printed off things before break because I was feeling especially on top of it, for whatever reason, so I'm good to go.

Now, my to-do list did have me do quite a few things around the house, and I decided to give a listen to an audio book. I've fallen so far behind on my podcasts, I don't even know where to begin with them. So, I purchased an audio book that I had figured I was going to purchase eventually, either audio or in print, and gave it a go. The book was The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson. I should add that I am not a reader of Mark Manson's blog (I didn't know about him until I listened). Honestly, I chose this book because it's title amused me, and I figured I could stretch my chores into the 5 and half hours listening to the book required.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (I need an abbreviated title. The Subtle Art? TSAONGAF?) was incredibly enjoyable to listen to. I sincerely mean that. It is, at it's core, a self-help book. I'm not usually one for those types of things. I'm not going to pretend that I have everything figured out, and I'm not going to criticize people that read self-help books, it's just not my thing. But, again, amusing title. I figured it would be a self-help book with a twist.

I was not disappointed.

Manson argues that what he means by "not giving a fuck" is not a glorious indifference to everything. It is not an advocation of being uncaring. Instead, it's the opposite. It's caring a lot about specific things, people, ideas, yourself, and not caring what others have to say about it.

One of Manson's main points is that one of society's problems is that we care too much (I'll avoid his preferred term, if only because I try to keep my online writing PG....maybe PG-13). People who lose it over baristas that short change them on accident, or get wrapped up in the cancellation of a TV show, these things become so important to them and are a big deal because there is a lack of caring about other things. Manson argues that it's better to let that sort of thing go (Not GAF, if you will) and instead focus on what matters.

His other main point is that sometimes the person that you can't or shouldn't GAF about is yourself. Sometimes, we are the person holding us back. Do you want to be a writer? Do you want to ask that woman out? Do you want a promotion? What's stopping you? It might be yourself. If it is, Manson doesn't say, "That's wrong! Believe in yourself!" He says to question why. Maybe you haven't taken the plunge to be a writer because you're unsure of your skills. Maybe you don't feel comfortable in relationships. Maybe you simply haven't put your foot in the door. Sometimes, Manson writes, we have to look at ourselves to better understand our values, and see if what we say we want is what, in actuality, we want.

I don't know how much of Manson's argument is really new. I don't read a lot of self-help books, so I can't compare it. But, when I think about his argument, really, it seems like a lot of what you would find in any self help book. Think critically about yourself, your actions, and your desires. Here's some tips on maintaining close, personal relationships. Here's some harsh truths that people don't want to accept. But, he packages it around some really entertaining anecdotes, uses enough shock language to keep you engaged (Not just vulgarity. At one point he writes that a possible solution to finding a baby on your doorstep is to feed it to a pit bull. It should go without saying that Manson does not advocate this course of action and he did write immediately afterwards that every decision has consequences), and has some refreshing bluntness to make it stand out a bit.

Since, this blog includes the words "I Think" in the title, I figure this would be a good time do so. I have some goals, so let's apply Manson's line of thinking to them.

1) Write more. Why do I want to do this? I've always enjoyed writing. So, on the surface level, it's about doing something that is enjoyable. But, this year, I have said I want to write 1,000 words per day that are not work related. This ocassionally sounds insane to me. But, why do I want to do it? Part of it is because I've always thought that I could write, but never went about writing. Sure, I've done National Novel Writing Month and cranked out some crappy half-finished novels. But, I haven't written. So, I'm saying that every day, I'm writing. What's held me back from writing in the past? Myself. As Manson says, you are responsible for your actions. I can always say that I had a lot of school or work, but...eh. I found time to watch all of Breaking Bad.

2) Get down to 200 pounds. Manson actually talks about losing weight in his book, in that it is a short term goal that's good, but if you don't have one to replace it, then you can feel inadequate. I've made some progress towards this goal (I've lost about 20 pounds since August.) But, I've tried for years to lose weight. My Timehop is littered with statuses about "Hitting the gym!" and "Have to lose weight". But, I've really committed myself this time, and have seen results. Like my writing, I've decided that exercise is a priority. I've decided nutrition is a priority. So, I have tracked my food, and made sure I work out for 30-60 minutes each day. I've made the time. Once I get to 200, I don't know what will replace it. But, I know I'll have to be vigilant to maintain.

3) Save money. I think a lot of the same things can be applied to my quest to save money. It's about long term planning, and making priorities. Do I want to buy a house, or do I want a new Kindle? Do I want to have a savings cushion, or do I want the latest tech gadget? If I can carve out time for writing and exercise, then I need to carve out priorities with money. What's really important? What do I really need? I think it's ok to treat yourself every now and again, but instead of looking at what I could get in the short term, it's time to squirrel some away and think long term.

Overall, I thought Manson's book was very interesting, and it certainly gave me something to think about. And really, isn't that all you can hope for in a self-help book, even if it doesn't market itself as a self-help book?

Relaunching with a reading challenge

On my Facebook account, I have documented books that I read. Since books usually prove to be more photogenic than me, my feed in usually a lot of pictures of books. I've sometimes thought of doing more in-depth reviews, possibly video ones. But, I figure for now, I might do so on my blog here. After all, I have it. So...

Two things on the agenda today. One: a review of my latest book, and two: a reading challenge.

The first book finished in 2017 was an audio book. I listened to "The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that will Shape Our Future"  I wasn't sure about the audio book format. I enjoy podcasts, but tend to lose focus on them if they are longer than 30 minutes. I also worried about being able to keep things in my head in between listening sessions. I re-read things a lot actually, to try and understand them, so an audio version might make that harder.

All in all, the format was decent. I listened while on the treadmill. I'm not rushing out to buy a bunch of audio books, but might get one if I ever have a long distance road trip that I'm making by myself. Maybe I'll explore this type of reading later, but on to the review.

I thought the book was really interesting. I like the title, "The Inevitable". There's a lot of uncertainty in the world today. No matter your political beliefs (I am on the left, in case you were wondering) this is a time where a lot is unknown. Kelly argues, not explicitly but through his title, that regardless of who is in power, these technological advances are happening. A smart move to use a title like this with a book that focuses on the future.

Kelley explores things like artificial intelligence. One of the most interesting things from that section is that when we design AI, we will want to make sure that it does not have a conscious. Kelly argues that we wouldn't want a medical AI wondering if it should have majored in finance. The goal will be to create AI's that are not exactly like us, but hyper-focused on a service.

One thing that I didn't really like about the book is that Kelley seemed very light on details to one main question: what will we do? He points out that the industrial revolution made a high percentage of jobs obsolete, and that we are on the verge of a similar event in human history. But, as to what will replace those jobs, Kelly hand waves it away, saying that there's no way of knowing what jobs there might be. I'm sure this is the case, but it wasn't reassuring.

That said, I don't know that Kelly was trying to reassure the reader. This is what is happening, your worries be damned. He doesn't come out and say that, but again, going back to the title, these are events that are going to happen.

I bring this up because at times when listening to this book, I felt we were headed to technology driven dystopia. When Kelly depicts services that will plan your day, from what you wear to how you get to work, I wondered where the space for critical thinking was in this society. As an educator, I wondered what sort of skills we would need to impart on students for them to navigate this world, but a lot seems to be done for you automatically.

But then, Kelly would describe things like having easier access to information, and I thought maybe the future would be alright. I rather liked the idea hyperlinked books that will lead to a true World Library. I especially liked the part where said library would fit into your bag.

Again, Kelly basically argues (not directly) that whether you like it or not, the future is coming and this is what he thinks it will look like. He did a good job of depicting in broad strokes what this world would look like, but it was missing some details that would have given me a better picture.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.

Now, on to item 2!

I'm doing the 2017 Reading Challenge from the blog Modern Mrs. Darcy. There are two to choose from. I'm doing both.  I hope to use this blog as a way to talk about the books that I'm reading for the challenge and other thoughts.

Here's to a healthy and book filled 2017!