Children are taught that there is a punishment for every bad thing they do; "time-outs" prevent them from doing things they are not supposed to do. Similarly, the fear of punishment deters more mature people from committing crimes. The crime a person commits buys time to reflect in the adult "time-out" zone, namely a prison. Dante Alighieri's The Inferno allows the reader to take a glimpse of an afterlife "time-out," where sinners reflect upon their wrong doings for an eternity. Dante writes The Inferno using symbolic retribution with the intention of deterring the reader from a path of error and sin to a path of righteousness.
             A sin found on the seventh circle of hell is suicide. The suicides are placed near the middle of Hell, placing them below sinners guilty of gluttony, lust, and wrath but above those who sinned against the truth. Those who commit suicide sacrifice their human form and can be found trapped in the body of a tree. These souls are rooted in one place and can neither move nor speak. Harpies feed on the leaves of the trees while a pack of wolves runs through the forest and breaks off branches. The wounds inflicted upon the trees by the wolves and harpies allow the trees to speak. "The Harpies, feeding on its leaves then, give it pain and pain's outlet simultaneously" (Canto XIII 101-102). Among those who are found here is Pier Delle Vigne, the minister of Frederick II who was accused of treachery and tortured; he committed suicide to escape the torture he endured. Dante feels that Pier Delle Vigne is not guilty of treachery because he cannot
             bring himself to talk to the tree. "Question him for my part, on whatever you think I would do well to hear; I could not, such compassion chokes my heart" (Canto XIII 82-84). The reader gets the impression that Delle Vigne is not guilty of his crimes when Dante writes, "I swear to you that ...