Pan's Labyrinth

I think that this film seemed to blend reality with myth, but the myth is true in the world of the film. I related it to 100 Years of Solitude with the magic realism and the isolated nature of the characters. They all seem to be isolated at this old mill, and the girl is the only one who can escape into "fantasy", what the adults cannot see. Also, this film applied the mythic quality of everything in 3s.

The ending was the most striking part of the film. When the faun said to the girl that she made the right decision, in choosing her blood over her brother's, I think that he knew her fate all along, that she was going to die and be reunited with her biological parents. Though she died, it wasn't a sad death, because after death she was reunited with her mother and met her father, who I gather is the God of the Moon. The place where the creatures can live freely I believe is the underworld. But this image of the underworld is not Hell, or Hades. If I had to make a comparison, I would say it is more like Heaven.

Run Lola Run

I saw the mythic elements in Run Lola Run in the fact that everything was done three times. I related it more towards Don Quixote because of the stories we saw within the overall storyline, such as each person Lola comes into contact with has their own story that changes. For example, the woman who called her a bitch, and her story.

In the film, I saw it as more of alternate outcomes of the same story, ending up with either the death of Lola or Matti.

In the third "outtake" I related it more to 100 Years of Solitude, with the magic realism. For example, the chances in real life of someone winning that much money doing very little at the casino is very unlikely, so the gods must have been on her side that day. Also one can relate that too Grimm's Fairy Tales where everything has a happy ending.

The Ogre day 4

In Hebrew, the name Ephriam means "fruitful". In Genesis, Ephriam, son of Joseph, is a leader of one of the tribes of Israel. He is blessed by Jacob, his grandfather, and then establishes himself as they wandered in the desert and finally settled in Israel.

In the novel, Abel saves Ephriam from death and brings him to the school. Unlike Abel's gathering of the Aryan, blond boys, Abel saves Ephriam from harm. As the other boys end up destroyed, Ephriam becomes stronger and survives. As the Russians attack the castle, Ephriam is celebrating the Passover seder, asking "Why is this night different from all other nights?" (p. 365). Abel delivers the Jewish boy just as the Jews were delivered out of Egypt in the story of Passover.

"All right, we'll go... The soldiers of God are striking down the eldest born of the Egyptians, but they will protect our flight." (p. 365)

Early in the novel (p. 40-41), Abel learns the story of St. Christopher saving the travelers and the Christ Child by carrying them across the river. The novel ends with Abel acting like St. Christopher and carrying Ephriam, saving him while he is sinking into the swamp.

I interpret this ending as redemptive. Despite the destruction of the children at the castle, he saves the innocent Ephriam, as a symbol of the Nation of Israel, continuing east.

There is a Talmudic saying, that says "Save one life as if you have saved the world".

The Ogre day 3

Goering uses animals to feel powerful and in control. The aurochs were genetically bred and then allowed to run in the woods (p. 201). Goering brings home a lion, which is treated like a plaything. He seeks entertainment from Abel's story of his encounter with the aurochs (p. 202-203) and sharing his dinner and teasing the lion (p. 206).

The hunts, to me, are disturbing. The big hare shoot (p. 228) is an organized slaughter with no purpose except to kill. On pages 209-210, a horrible slaughter is described, which Goering enjoyed because he was unable to shoot the largest stag.

The animals are the innocents of the war in the woods. They are teased or killed not for a challenging sport but for being available victims of corrupt power. The animals are described as beautiful creatures, while Goering is described as a gross figure: fat, selfish, shallow, and moronic.

Abel finds himself comfortable around the children, but also with routine and structure. The school at the castle Kalteborn gives Abel clear guidelines for all aspects of daily life, even how to salute, and to whom to salute.

The school is a reflection of Germany under Hitler. Abel shows insight into the frightening world, which he captures in his diary on pages 253-254 when he went to Johannisburg and saw a military parade in the Adolf-Hitlerstrasse ("Adolf Hitler Street):

"This part of the crowd is in an advanced state of the metamorphosis that makes several million Germans into one great irresistable sleepwalker, the Wehrmacht." (p. 253)

To me this refers to the genetic efforts to "cleanse" the German people. The sleepwalking people represent the fact they have all been brainwashed.

In the same way Abel describes the crowd at Johannisburg, the rituals at the Napola also brainwash the boys and drive out any individual thinking or free will.

"All this ritual ritual enchantment secretly works on their nervous systems and parralyzes their wills. A mortal pleasure grips their innards, brings tears to their eyes, and freezes them in an exquisite and poisonous fascination called patriotism. Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer." (p. 254)

The Ogre day 2

What I noticed about the text was how each journal entry gets shorter and shorter as the novel progresses. But as the second part of the novel begins, it refers to Abel in the third person instead of the first person.

On page 153, when Abel is in Strasborg, I was reminded of the massacre of Jews that occurred there in the Middle Ages, as, in the time of the novel, the Holocaust is occurring.

100 Years of Solitude, day 4

Chapter 16 opens with, "It rained for four years, eleven months, and two days" (p. 315)

The unending rains seem to parallel the biblical flood, washing away the sins of the world. In Macando, the flood washes away the last remnants of the banana factory and the massacre. It signals the beginning of the return to a primitive society. Even the characters become more natural and less materialistic, like Aureliano Segundo. He is home (instead of at the home of his mistress), so he simply stays there, waiting for the rain to end. He begins to work around the house and lose weight. By the end of the book, following the ruins of the flooding and draught, the town and its final inhabitants are destroyed by a hurricane. To me this means that the author is trying to tell us that there is no salvation in modernity.

At the beginning of the novel, I felt that Ursula's character was the strongest. She was in control of her family and her home. She was the thread that continued through generations. Even as she became blind, others were unaware because she was so in tune with each person's daily routines. Because Ursula lives to be between 115 and 122 years old (p. 342), she is a witness to the early Utopia that was Macando in the early years. She was also witness to the advancement of modern times in Macando, war, the banana massacre, and the eventual capitalistic destruction. I think her slowly shrinking, even becoming like a doll or plaything for the children in the house (during the flood the children carry her around and decorated her like a doll), is a symbol for the disintegration of Macando.

100 Years of Solitude, day 3

In ch. 12 (pages 235-236), while folding sheets with the other women in the garden, Remedios The Beauty simply rose to heaven. She is portrayed as simple, uninterested and uncultured by conventional expectations. She wore simple clothing, shaved her head, all the while becoming more beautiful. Because she is a character who retained perfect innocence while other themes in the book (such as modernization, infidelity, incest and war) drag the main characters into states of despair, violence and hate, it seems that there could be no other way to save her character from the cruel world. Rising to the heavens, while still pure and innocent, Remedios escapes the fate of the other inhabitants of Macando, where Utopia is crumbling.

The episode in ch. 15 is very disturbing to me. After striking, the banana factory workers are invited to the center of town, where they are brutally slaughtered, along with innocent bystanders, by machine guns set up around the square. This episode seems like the culmination of how far Macando had come from its previous peaceful utopian state. Modernization and capitalistic greed caused the slaughter of thousands, in stark contrast to the community portrayed in the early chapters of the novel, where no one had died.

Especially disturbing was the complete denial of the murders, not only by the authorities but also by the townspeople of Macando. The theme of memory loss and amnesia is again evident. I drew a connection to the Holocaust in Europe during WWII. Was it memory loss or desire not to know the truth, like what happened in Europe during WWII? This event in Macando and the inhuman pulling of bodies from the train and dumping them into the ocean are both very reminiscent of the Holocaust in Europe and other genocides throughout history (Armenia, Darfur, Yugoslavia, etc), and also of modern political abuse of power on behalf of the United States in Latin America and worldwide (Vietnam, Panama, Chile, Iraq, etc.).

100 Years of Solitude, day 2

So far, there has been mystical intervention into the course of the characters' lives. For example in ch. 10, one of the twins (sons of Arcadio and Pilar Ternera), Aureliano Segundo, enters the gypsy Melquiade's room, which had been padlocked since his death. The room is clean without signs of age. Everything is left as it was. Aureliano Segundo becomes interestedc in the papers and manuscripts, including the stories of the gypsies' visits to Macando. After continued interest in the manuscriots, Melquiade began to appear and to converse with Aureliano Segundo. As when other dead characters appear in the novel, the author portrays them as alive and vibrant, not as ghosts. Even though they are dead, they are still active characters in the novel.

Early in the novel, when the young Rebeca first arrives, the loss of memory is the result of the plague of insomnia. The theme of amnesia is again evident and seems to be used for the main characters of older Rebeca and Colonel Aureliano Buendia to close out pain. After Jose Arcadio is shot, Rebeca becomes a hermit. In pages 156 and 157, Rebeca is writing past memories and seems aware of the current war and the world around her.

In ch. 9, when Colonel Buendia is crushed by the futility of the years of war, he comes home and seems unable to connect with his past, his family, and his interest in his old alchemy laboratory.

100 Years of Solitude, day 1

The character of Ursula is the matriarch of the family and displays the maternal drive to keep her family thriving despite difficulties. She takes care of her family by making and selling candy and pastries when her husband is no longer functioning as a leader. By doing this, traditional gender roles are reversed. She takes in Rebeca, who just appears out of nowhere. She searches for months for her son Jose Arcadio when he runs off with the gypsies. On page 54, the author relates that Ursula took note of her family and expanded the house to be sure they all stayed together.

Ursula also rules the household with a no-nonsense approach. She demonstrates this with her severity in dealing with Rebeca's problem of eating only dirt (page 42).

I think that Ursula is portrayed in this way to reverse the traditional gender roles. She is portrayed as a central character that will run as a thread through the family saga as it unfolds.

The theme of a Utopian society is already prevalent in the novel. The young families who founded the town of Macando travelled together under the leadership of Ursula's son, Jose Arcadio Buendia. They built a town near a clear river, where duties were distributed and every house was to be made to be equal to the next. "No one would enjoy privileges that everyone did not have" (p. 38). This is a clear example of the author's intent on creating a Utopian, socialist society through literature.

When an officer of the government arrives in Ch. 3 and ordered all houses to be painted blue, Jose Arcadio Buendia confronted him regarding his right to give orders. " 'In this town we do not give orders with pieces of paper,' he said without losing his calm. 'And so that you know it once and for all, we don't need any judges here because there's nothing that needs judging.' " (p.56).

The fact that no one has died yet in Macando seems to be a symbol of a Utopian and ideal society, and that all could live peacefully and in harmony.

Grimm's Fairy Tails, day 2

One theme is violence due to jealousy. In two stories this is a theme: Briar Rose and Snow White. In Briar Rose, the princess is cursed by one woman because that woman was not invited to the birth celebration. She cursed the princess to die at the age of 15, when she pricked her finger. However, the curse was softened by another woman who was invited to the celebration. This woman turned the curse into 100 years of sleep.

In Snow White, the step mother was jealous of Snow White's beauty. Her hatred was so extreme that she sent a hunter to take little Snow White to kill her. He didn't, but rather brought back the tongue and heart of an animal. Once the evil step mother discovered that Snow White was still alive, her bitter jealousy caused her to try to kill her three times. In the end, she is punished by having to dance to death in "red hot iron shoes".

In both of these stories innocence prevails over bitter jealousy. The violence caused by the evil women does not bring them any satisfaction.

In both The Golden Goose and The True Bride, there is violence portrayed as abuse. The abused or neglected children in both of these stories find fortune through magical figures. In The Golden Goose, the generous youngest son, who is given less food than the others and not valued by his family, is rewarded for his kindness to an old man in the woods. He ends up with the golden goose, which causes a princess to laugh. The outcome is that this mistreated son ends up with his own kingdom.

In The True Bride, the evil step mother (again we see the theme of evil step mothers) gives the pretty child an impossible task to do. She has enchanted help, which rewards her with a castle and a prince. The step mother is mean and abusive and ends up being killed by being hit by the cellar door.

In both of these tails, the selfish and mean adults do not get the best rewards. Instead the children end up wealthy and happy.

Grimm's Fairy Tails, Day 1

When I think of "fairy tails", a beautiful princess is involved. In many of these stories, the females are described as very beautiful. For example, the miller's daughter in The Handless Maiden; the daughter in The Twelve Brothers. Even Rapunzel "grew up to be the most beautiful child under the sun" (page 67). At first we see the beautiful girls as innocent, while the evil women are portrayed as ugly, yet more powerful, such as the witch in Hansel and Grethel. In the end, however, the beautiful, innocent heroines show strength and wisdom. The heroines, while on the surface are sweet and delicate, are intelligent and strong. In Hansel and Grethel, Grethel tricks the witch and saves the two of them. In The Robber Bridegroom, the miller's daughter exposes the evil robber at her wedding by remaining calm and telling a story (which was the terrible experience she had witnessed on pages 143-144, and concluded with "and here is the finger with the ring!")

Even those female characters who were harmed ended up with positive outcomes, such as Rapunzel being stranded in the desert and still meeting her prince.

I think that the violence was extreme in some stories, such as in The Robber Bridegroom. In both that tale and in Hansel and Grethel, cannibalism was described and witnessed. I am not sure that that violence serves a purpose, or is even necessary to support the message of good overcoming evil. But on the other hand, it truly demonstrates evil. I think that it is just that era's version of a horror story.

In A Tale of One who Travelled to Learn what Shivering Meant, the simple son saw horrific sights that did not seem to frighten him, such as the dead man on the gallows and the haunted castle. While this story seems like there is a message (not to be cowardly), I think it is really more of an excuse to tell a good ghost story.

Don Quixote day 6

Don Quixote's character is becoming more and more desperate in his insistence that the inn is enchanted and his being taken captive is due to this enchantment. As his situation (being held in a cage) becomes pathetic, he must find excuses for the way he is treated.

He also defends the books about knights to the canon they meet on the road. The others make fun of him and laugh at him (p. 470) when he tries to save a young lady, which is actually pilgrims carrying an image of the Virgin Mary.

After Don Quixote was beaten, he willingly accepts Sancho Panza'a idea to get home and asks to go back in the enchanted cart. It seems that he begins to give up on his adventures and is becoming docile. It was a pathetic sight to see him enter his village "at noon, and as it happened to be on a Sunday, everybody was in the square, through the middle of which the cart trundled on its way."

In chapter 47 on page 438, Sancho Panza, yet again, demonstrates his basic, noble and true character. He knows that the priest and the others have tricked Don Quixote when they captured and caged him.

"I cans see through you, too, however much you try to cover up your tricks. But there we are, where envy rules virtue can't survive, and where meanness is king there isn't any rooms for generosity."

Sancho warns the priest that God will take the priest "to task" for treating Don Quixote so badly.

Don Quixote day 5

On page 324 in chapter 36, as all of the stories and people involved converge at the inn, Dorotea finds herself face to face with Don Fernando, who she gave herself to as a "wife" and who she says she is now in love with. She implores him to do the right thing, because he seduced her, and she is beneath him in status, she makes her case for why he should take her back as his wife.

I think that the following quote is her best arguement.

"What's more, true nobility consists in virtue, and if you forfeit that by denying me my just rights, I shall be left with better claims to nobility than you."

This quote is another example of the theme of chivalry and honesty, but also shows how Cervantes was a revolutionary thinker for his time by including the ideas of justice and rights for all people, including women.

On page 351, more travellers arrive at the inn. A man arrives with an exotic woman who he identifies as Moorish. She calls herself Maria and her companion claims she wants to convert to Christianity.

While Spain during the mid to late Middle Ages was known to be a crossroads for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, I believe that the character of Maria / Lela Zoraida highlights the prejudice against Islam and Judaism at the time.

On page 352, in reference to Maria, Dorotea asks:

"Tell me, is this lady Christian or Moorish? Because her clothes and her silence are making me think that she's not what we'd prefer her to be."

Don Quixote chapters 28-35

In chapter 30, the priest and Cardenio are talking about Don Quixote. On page 279, the priest says:

"If we leave aside the absurdities that the good hidalgo come out with concerning his mania, in conversations on other subjects he talks with great good sense, and shows himself to have a clear and balanced judgement."

This quote was interesting to me because it seems that the other characters were seeing something true and honest in Don Quixote's motives, despite his madness. It seems that they see Don Quixote's motivations are to help people despite his delusions.

In chapter 32, the group is back at the inn and they are discussing the madness of Don Quixote, with the priest blaming the books about chivalry. In response, the innkeeper defends the books:

"I don't understand how that can be so, because in my mind there isn't a better read in the world." (page 290)

The innkeeper, his wife and their daughter defend the stories of chivalry on the grounds of bringing pleasure to them and the people that go though the inn.

In both these examples, it seems to me that there are indications of what might be positive about Don Quixote's quest for chivalry.

day 3 Don Quixote

There are two episodes in these chapters that both illustrate Don Quixote's self-absortion into his own story, even though he encourages others to share in his vision. As Sancho Panza, in chapter 20, relates a story (page 157), he asks for Don Quixote's attention. Sancho was trying to distract Don Quixote and he succeeded to do so, as Don Quixote never knew that Sancho had tied the horses' legs to keep him still for the night.

On page 159, Sancho Panza refuses to finish because Don Quixote interrupts him and doesn't listen to the way Sancho requests.

In chapter 14, the hermit they encounter agrees to tell his story, provided that he is not interrupted (page 197). In the end, with a long discourse on chivalry, Don Quixote does indeed interrupt the story (page 202). Once the story has been interrupted, the hermit began to rambe insanely.

I think that Don Quixote is very hypocritical. He preaches chivalry and justice, also for women, while through his own ego, interrupts people constantly.

day two of Don Quixote

In chapter 15, Don Quixote tries to fight a group of men from Janguas after his horse tried to mingle with their ponies. Then, Sancho follows him in the ridiculous fight that ensued. I interperate Sancho's reaction as honest and true, and also shows true chivalry when he says:

"I'm a peaceful man, sir, meek and mild, and I can overlook any insult, because I've got a wife to support and children to bring up. So even though it isn't up to me to give any orders, you bear this in mind, too - in no way am I going to draw my sword against anyone, peasant or knight, and I hereby, before God my Maker, forgive all affronts that anybody ever has offered me or ever will offer me, whether the person who has offered them, offers them or will offer them is of high or low birth, rich or poor, a gentleman or a commoner, not excepting any estate or condition whatsoever." (pp 117-118).

Don Quixote uses his delusional knight code to explain the defeat as his own fault. Logically, according to his knight code, he shouldn't have fought those who were not true knights themselves. Sancho is simply true and honest - that all affronts should be forgiven.

In chapter 17, after causing a fight, Don Quixote refuses to pay the innkeeper (page 134), saying that he thought that the inn was a castle. Once again, Sancho takes further abuse because he is left behind to pay, but he refuses on the grounds that his master wasn't going to pay and neither will he. Here again, Sancho takes further abuse in an almost comical scene with the innkeeper and the people of the inn.

In the beginning of the next chapter, Don Quixote says that the inn or "castle" must be haunted or enchanted.

i canti finali dell'Inferno

In canto 29, lines 121-123, Dante pokes fun at the Sienese and at Siena. This, in my opinion is derrived from the long-standing rivalry between Florence and Siena.

"Now was there ever a people so foolsih as the Sienese? Certainly not the French, by far!" (Canto 29 lines 121-123).

I think Dante is referring to the spending habits of the Sienese. As we know, Siena was a very wealthy city during the Middle Ages, and is still wealthy (or at least expensive to live in) today.

In the notes on page 462, we learn that Dante was poking fun at the Sienese people for their vanity, being worse than that of the French.

On a translation note, the modern italian word for "sienese" is senese (it drops the I from Siena). Interestingly, in line 109, the name "Siena" appears in the original italian. But, when Dante is refering to the Sienese people as a collective, he uses the singular form la sanese (notice the singular feminine definate article article la) . When he is referring to the Sienese people as a plurality, he uses the plural form i sanesi (notice the plural masculine definate article i). Also, in this archaic form of italian, the word sanese appears, with an A, instead of the modern senese, with an E.

In the final canto of the Inferno, we get this stupid depiction of Satan, as this strange bird with three heads. It is certainly not expected, but I think the fact that it is not expected makes it seem scarier. Also because fo the fact that Lucifer is this bizzare creature, almost stupid, to me is scarier than some beast. In my opinion, bizzare and grotesque is much more frightening than just something ugly or strong with teeth.

Canti 21-27

Since Dante is walking in the footsteps of Christ, I react in two ways:
1) I feel that Dante is thinking very highly of himself to compare himself to Christ.
2) I interpret that Dante is the only living person to walk along the same path that Christ did.

In lines 106-108, canto 21, a demon tells Dante and Virgil that there is a broken arch that prevents them from going onward:

"Then he said to us: 'Further along this ridge you cannot go, for the sixth arch lies all shattered at the bottom. But if you still wish to go forward, walk along this bank: nearby is another ridge that makes a path.'" (lines 106-110).


In the lines following this quote, Dante actually dates his journey into Hell.

"Yesterday, five hours later than now, one thousand two hundred and sixty-six years were completed since the way was broken here" (lines 112-114 canto 21).

According to the notes on page 330, "yesterday" refers to Good Friday, thus Dante's journey occurs on a Saturday. "Five hours later than now" refers to the time of day, which would be noon. And it is believed that Christ died at noon. And Christ died at the age of 34, in 34 A.D. Thus, (as we do the math) Dante dates his journey into Hell at the year 1300. Also in the notes it says that Dante was 35 years old when he made the journey into Hell. Thus, he is imitating Christ once more in the poem.

The arch was believed to be broken during the earthquake that occurred at the moment of Christ's death. The path that was carved out was made by Christ himself as he descended into Hell to save the souls of those who preceded him.

It seems that Dante feels that he is an important chronicler of the punishments in Hell. Also that he feels that he is important enough to literally follow in the footsteps of Christ and his path into Hell. But, unlike Christ, Dante does not pass judgements on the sinners he sees being punished. He merely acts as an observer, and is sometimes horrified by the punishments. I must mention that also, unlike Christ, Dante is not divine, but like Christ he is eternal, through his writing.

Also I must note the connection with the metaphor of the Scales of Justice in the Inferno. Hell is layered, and no sin is equal; some sins are greater than others. And the punishments match, parallel, or reflect the sins in either an ironic, literal or metaphorical way.

Inferno canti 14-20

Dante's view on homosexuality is disturbing. He seemed to view the Sodomites as violent against nature. Dante indirectly refers to homosexuality as violent against nature, "all fouled with the same sin of the world" (lines 107-8).

The description of Geryon implies to me that he is Jewish, and in Hell for fraud, with the rest of the usurers and moneylenders.

Canti 7-13 dell'Inferno

I was very struck by the walls of the city of Dis made of iron (line 78 canto 8). Iron sybolizes to me strength, war and impermeability. Iron is cold and heavy, and is a heat conductor, i.e. fires of Hell.

It is no suprise to me that Dante puts Farinata in Hell. He led the armies of Siena and other Ghibellines against the Guelfs of Florence at the Battle of Montaperti, where the Sienese and other Tuscan Ghibellines were victorious over the Florentines. This is something that the Sienese are very proud of, still to this day. Thus it is something that the Florentines are not proud of, and their hatred for Farinata remains. The image of Farinata in Hell is an interesting one:

"'From the waist up you will see him'" says Virgil to Dante (lines 32-33 canto 10). The rest of his body is not visible to Dante at this time, but become visible later. To me this implies that he is not a physical man, but a soul or spirit, or some sort of ghost.

L'inferno, canti 1-6 di Dante Alighieri

The first thing I noticed was naturally the Italian text. Dante wrote L'inferno originally in italiano volgare, or the form of archaic Italian spoken and understood by the masses. italian is largely based on the Tuscan dialect of Latin, and was in part founded by Dante himself because of his insistance on writing in vernacular rather than in Medeival or Classical Latin like those before him (Dante, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Petrarch were the first to write in archaic Italian, in order for their works to be understood by the masses who didn't know Latin). Reading the original Italian, I can understand words here and there, and I feel like I should be able to understand all of it, but I cannot understand it entirely since my native language is English.

Dante has a power of descriptiveness. He has a way of telling you something, without being direct, which in turn stimulates the mind to think. For example, in the beginning of the first canto, he does not say that Virgil as a ghost. Virgil simply states that he is "not a man, [he] was formerly a man" (line 67). Also, Dante describes his journey as if he had lived it firsthand, ripe with emotions that one would be feeling if travelling to Hell.

Virgil to me represents an Italian author's acknoledgement and love for the glory of the Roman Empire and classical antiquity while Beatrice represents the Roman Catholic Church, another part of an italian's life.

On a translation note, in modern Italian, dolore means pain. But in the context of Dante, it means sorrow. Also, primo means first, but here it means primal. Naturally, i am inclined towards the translation aspects of the Inferno. But one could easily say that God was first (il primo) and primal, and those in Hell are eternally in pain (il dolore) and sorrow.

Medieval and Renaissance Italians loved the classical antiquity (l'antichità classica). They seemed to dwell in the past rather than move forward. But nonetheless, their work is amazing. The fact that Dante uses Charon and the River Styx in his Inferno shows his appreciation for the Greek and Roman mythology that preceeded him. Charon, in fact, is Greek, not Roman.