Circle 3
Dante explores Circle 3 and learns of the inhabitants, who he calls the Gluttons and learns of their sin and the punishment that is bestowed upon them. In their lives, The Gluttons did not make wise use of God's gifts and instead they lived their lives wallowing and in unhealthy food and drinks, creating garbage and offal. Dante describes Circle 3 as, " Huge hailstone, dirty water, and black snow pour from dismal air to putrefy the putrid slush that waits from them below " (45). The sinners of the circle live in torment and in the filth that they have created as they lived life with a surfeited amount of food and alcohol, as Cerberus, the three headed hound of Hell, stands over them clawing and mutilating their bodies with his claws and teeth.
As Cerberus watches over and tortures the Gluttons, Dante describes him as, " His eyes are red, his beard is greased with phlegm, his belly is swollen, and his hands are claws to rip the wretches and flay and mangle them " (45). Cerberus slaving over the Gluttons symbolizes the way they slaved over food and alcohol in their life and now Cerberus slaves over them in eternal pain as they live a abject live in the putrid slush beneath them. The swollen belly on Cerberus can also symbolize the excessive amount of food that has gone into the belly's of the Gluttons in their lifetime.
Dante walks above the putrid slush fraught wit despair and disgust as he see's the torment that the Gluttons suffer from. He see's the frozen rain of hell as it descends unstoppably upon the Gluttons and describes their reaction as, " And they,too, howl like dogs in the freezing storm, turning and turning from it as if they thought one naked side could keep the other warm " (45). I believe the never ending freezing rain and hailstorm symbolizes the suffering that their bodies may have went through as they consumed unneeded and healthy products. The entire circle seems to reflect on the garbage that they created in life and the suffering that they put their bodies through as they slaved over food and drink.
Below is a link to a article about facts and reasons that lead toward Obesity
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/what-is-obesity
Below is a link to facts regarding Alcoholism and how common it is today in the U.S.
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/understanding-alcohol-abuse-basics
