"ABANDON ALL HOPE, ALL YE THAT ENTER HERE"
"Well that's a strange sign. And that's a strange door. Where am I?", I think to myself. Everything looks dark and cold. Suddenly, a spitting image of myself appears to me out of no where. "I'm your conscience", she said to me (I said to me?) "and I will be your guide as we descend into voter's hell."
"Here are your two candidates", she said to me. "As we descend into the five circles of hell, try to make up your mind about who you want to run this great country."
"This here, is your first candidate. Yes, I know she looks like a donkey.
And over here, is your second candidate. No, he's not behind the elephant. He is the elephant.
That's how things work around here. The candidates turn into their respective political symbols. That way, uninformed voters can just straight-party vote. They just look for the animals. This makes it easier on them- and now anyone can vote, regardless if they are informed about the issues or not.
Anyway, good luck. Here we go."
DENIAL: This cannot be happening.
How are these our two candidates!? Out of all the people in America... how these two?? These two cannot control our country. These two cannot determine our fate! How did we get here? This is actually some joke... right? Right??
ANGER: This pisses me off.
Who let this happen? I will knock them right off their rocker if I ever get to meet them. Every word they say is complete propaganda- how does no one see through that? These people are a disgrace to America and Democracy!
BARGAINING: Okay, seriously, what will it take?
I'll do anything- anything at all- if anyone else will run! No takers? I've taken a Political Science class once, and I took Government in high school, I could probably be better qualified for this job. PLEASE work with me here!!
DEPRESSION: The world is over.
There is no happiness. We will never recover from this. There is no light at the end of this tunnel. We will all die alone.
ACCEPTANCE: Alright, I guess this will have to do.
Both of you are lustful, and gluttonous, greedy, lazy, wrathful, envious, and especially prideful. You are both terrible candidates. But I know what I must do.
My conscience turned to me. "So what do you want to do? We have to catch the next train back to reality, otherwise we'll be stuck here in voter's limbo forever."
"Nah, I'm good," I said. "I'd rather stay in this hell, rather than face the one up there."
Author's Note:
I have always been fascinated by Dante's Inferno, and I was really excited to write this week and connect the election madness with Dante's descent into hell. I really wanted to include certain aspects of the original story, including the guide into hell, and the seven deadly sins. I wanted to change the circles of hell into stages of grief though, as we are all suffering a little bit (right?). I referenced this site for the five stages of grief. I referred to this site for the seven deadly sins.
Bibliography:
From Dante's Inferno, translated by Tony Klein.
This was an interesting take on the story you read and the current events happening in the US. I found the ending of your story especially comical!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share a story with you and whoever else reads this comment about one of my roommates. It was the night of the elections and she comes up to me and says, "I am so glad that the Republicans are winning, I do not know what I would do if Trump won the election."
It is important to stay informed sometimes the candidate of the party may not match your interests or wants. Even though the new president may or may not be the one that an individual wanted to be elected. He deserves our respect nonetheless. Excuse me while I lie down and cry at the experience that was my first election where I was eligible to vote.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing how well you summed up my feelings on this year’s election. I must say that this is one of the most traumatic and horrifying selection of candidates I have seen thus far. I opted out of voting this year, which I know is shameful. I was just to on the fence about Clinton and Trump was never a viable option for me. It seems when I first voted it was an easy choice a clear choice. When I first voted, the candidates were McCain and Obama. I wanted change, I wanted a different country, so you can imagine my choice. Now, it feels like we are stepping backwards and it’s a complete disappointment.
I haven’t read Dante’s Inferno, but I have always been interested about each descent and so on. This was a great read. Relevant and relatable, great job!
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI immediately love the rendition of Dante's Inferno. That is one heck of an epic poem, and its rhyme scheme has not been replicated since its appearance in Dante's original Divine Comedy. And what a great allegory for the current state of affairs in the United States. I assume it is safe to say you also feel like the country's political system is crumbling and failing. You're not alone! Great storytelling, and how very relevant. I loved reading it!
Thorpe