There are several ideas that I can derive from the poems Hell and the Plague. Thoughts of somewhat complex structure and written with images and allegories, the texts are a rich source of expectations of a human life. The texts explain the purpose for which human life was created, how lives can acquire their meaning and how human beings can exploit their potential and finally explain the failures of humanity's realization in life. In the text Dante's Inferno, the purpose of life is shown in attempts to avoid bringing our body to hell after death by avoiding sins on earth. This was demonstrated in the journey through hell made by Dante and Virgil, where Virgil uses human reason and self-knowledge as the primary means of discovering our purpose in life. It is also our goal in life to give meaning to our lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay There are several ways in which we can make sense of our lives according to Dante. This can be achieved by becoming aware, having reasons to live, taking responsibility for our actions and sins and knowing that true wealth lies in God. We can also give meaning to our lives by tapping into our full potential and learning about exactly who we are as human beings. According to The Inferno, there are many ways to realize our full potential as a human being. The first step toward this is recognizing our sins and demonstrating our responsibility for them. Virgil explains to Dante that the problem with people in Hell is that they are irresponsible for the sins they commit. The other path to realizing one's full potential is to know the truth. This can only be made possible through the knowledge of God. The other way is to look at our lines. This simply means that we need to know who we are and what we are capable of accomplishing in life and relate them to those we are not capable of doing. However, there are serious bottlenecks preventing us from realizing our full potential. According to Dante and Virgil, it was probably a series of experiences they had in hell. The summary of it all was the lack of salvation. This was also supported by Socrates, who said that "to be without salvation is worse than death." Since we became involved, salvation has been made necessary by many people. Sin has acted as a barrier to destinations leading to the exploitation of the full potential of human beings. The three beasts that served as a barrier to Odysseus's rise, as Gilgamesh recounts, symbolized the sins at work to prevent human beings from realizing their potential. Unless sins are overcome by a demonstration of responsibility, no progress can be made toward a coveted destiny. “Three beasts stopped him as he came up the hill” (Sowell, 547). Sins can be highlighted in several ways. The number one way in which human beings are seen as sinful is through cheating. It was said that Odysseus was going to hell because he was a liar. However, Enkidu came to his rescue as the direct path to heaven had been lost to him. It was because of one of those types of sins that was like an appetite that cannot be satisfied. Another form of sin was that of anger and gloominess. The other was the inability to control one's passion and desire. This can be demonstrated through the lust for human flesh. The causes of this scene are diverse and their control is normallydifficult to achieve. Sins make us less human, causing us to lose our reason and our freedom. These sins include the desire for food, sex and money. In all these lusts the soul is generally tarnished. An example of lustful sins was shown in Francesca and Paulo. Francesca had an affair with Paulo's brother and both were killed. There are also other ways in which people have sinned as Dante explained. This included the practice of wasting and hoarding money, which involved the use of weights in the gold trade to create wealth. It was a sin because people focused on material wealth instead of focusing on God for wealth. Virgil further explained that fortune is generally random and human beings should not focus on material wealth that depends on death. As Job said, “Never know what your fortune will be” (Sowell, 552). According to Dante, of all sins, fraud is the most punishable by God. This is because it is usually done by the man himself. This makes cheating even more painful during the punishment process. Fraud takes the form of intellectual harm and is usually committed by people. Dante explained two types of fraud that varied in severity level. These include complex fraud and simple fraud. Simple fraud is said to occur when one individual deceives another, especially an elderly person, to obtain personal benefits. Complex fraud occurs when one person deceives another person, especially one they trust. This can happen for example in the event of betrayal. Other sins include violence, lack of truth in knowing God, and failure to take a stand between good and evil. The Plague The rat plague symbolized our conscience as human beings. There is the purpose of life, because life is considered absurd and lacking in meaning, but we must make it meaningful for us. The old woman talks about how the life she lived was such a burden for her, but she always remained resilient in the face of the situation. The two that Dr. Rieux came from in the 1940s are such boring and monotonous people. All people do is walk, love and die. However, people's main interest is above all to work and get rich. This is the main purpose of life here. Truth and justice were some of the areas in which the meaning of life was explained in such an environment where life was pointless. This is explained in Dr. Rieux's meeting with Raymond. Tareua also understood the meaning of life by gaining his consciousness. This was after the rat menace had gotten out of control and so people began to look into why this was happening. Dead rats only symbolized the level of consciousness of human beings. Certain things must be done to ensure that we achieve their goal in life. The people of Oran had to think about their existence, even if their lives had become insignificant. They had to give up sleep to stay conscious. “Something frightening was bound to happen if they were to become aware of this form of consciousness” (Camus, 78). The stepping on the dead rat, for example by Dr. Rieux, was a wake-up call for the city's residents. It was something horrible that ensured that an individual like Dr. Rieux was removed from the routine and boring life. The encounter with the dead rat was the symbolism of an unexamined life. Raymond Rambert and Dr. Rieux used two dimensions of life examination that were in conflict with each other. Dr. Rieux, however, did not want.