How Dante Learns and Changes in the Film

       In the beginning of the film, Dante reminisces about his life before his journey through Hell. He looks backs at the circumstances that brought him to hell and “thinking about it now gives [him] chills” (Dante’s Inferno, 2007). His life has changed since then for the better and he cannot imagine going back to being lost.  Virgil helps him escape his dreary existence.
       Like in the book, Virgil guides Dante through Hell and teaches him the proper way to behave through praise and rebukes. Additionally, Dante is also slapped in the movie by Virgil. He is punished for desiring a car when Virgil wants him to focus on resisting those temptations and to notice the horrible punishments instead. In both the book and the film, Virgil is a teacher who shares his experience and knowledge with Dante, so that he may reconsider his actions.
      When he starts this journey, Dante is very confused and doesn’t seem to understand what he is witnessing. But, “hell was making more sense the deeper [they] went” (Dante’s Inferno, 2007).  Dante indicates greater understanding about Hell as they travel deeper. The poem focuses heavily on divine justice and its infallibility, but the film is not as strict or rigid. Dante appears conflicted about his feelings at times towards the souls, but his understanding towards the purposes of the punishments grows. He comprehends that the punishments are made to fit the crime and that they are eternal. He demonstrates this understanding in the last scene with Lucifer when he explains before Virgil that the souls will get eaten over and over again.  
       After seeing the sinners and their respective punishments, Dante changes his lifestyle on the surface. He knows that he will keep going out to the bar, but he also resolves to “watch my ass and do the right thing because if I don’t…” (Dante’s Inferno, 2007). The pause at the end of the dialogue demonstrates that he is thinking back to all the terrible things he saw in Hell. Now he is considering the consequences of his actions. Before the movie ends, it appears that he is about to tell Ralph about his journey and what he learned. He is sharing his newfound knowledge in a way that is similar to the motif of fame in the poem. The stories of the sinners will teach the people who are still alive how to behave and get into Heaven.