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Blue Weirdo
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- Nov 2, 2004
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I thought you guys might appreciate this. I made reference to The Muppets in an essay I had to write, for my Literature class.... on Dante's Inferno. Yeah I know that sounds like something Gonzo would think of (there's a reason I chose the handle Blue Weirdo)
Let me explain, The assiginment was to first describe how a certain sin was punished in Dante's version of **** and explain why it was approprite. Then second to come up with an alternate punishment to fit the sin and/or describe ways the sin was punished in other works. I used the sin of gluttony and referenced works where the gluttons got eaten themselves.
I won't bore you with the whole essay but here's the Muppet part:
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....... Dante chooses to punish the gluttons by depriving them of, and reversing, the pleasures food brought them in life. An alternative form of punishment that might be appropriate would be for the glutton to become that which is feasted upon themselves. This does occur to a very small extent in Inferno, due to the gluttons being guarded over by the ravenous demon dog Cerberus. Cerberus does take bites at the souls: “He rends the spirits, flays, and quarters them.” but this punishment is more prominent in other works.......
...........The theme of punishing the eater by having them become the eaten is found frequently in scenes featuring the Muppets. An early skit, appropriately titled The Glutton, featured a disgustingly gluttonous man who devoured everything before him, both food and flatware, until he began eating nuts and discovered one to be a small living creature. When he tried to eat it anyway, the creature magically shrunk the glutton, who was then promptly eaten by a large version of himself.
Probably the most famous incident of this theme occurs in the skit known as Inchworm. In it Kermit the Frog would eat small worms that approached him until the last one he tried to consume turned out to be the nose of a large monster, which promptly devoured Kermit. It might be worth noting that in later years, after Kermit’s character was more developed and gained a kinder personality, the skit replaced him with another character, Lenny the Lizard, who had a more sinister appearance, and was usually depicted with a negative personality. Apparently Jim Henson felt that Kermit had earned redemption.
Many Muppet skits featured voracious characters that were punished for their gluttony in one way or another, even if it was merely indigestion caused by its still alive victim fighting back. One scene, The Computer Dinner, featured a monster that devoured a machine piece by piece as a recording explained each part, only to discover that the device was a powerful explosive, which then detonated in its gullet.
Ironically, one time a Muppet was not punished for gluttony is in the Disappearing Clues skit. Here a monster has murdered his employer, but as the evidence against him is presented he eats all of it, including the maid who witnessed the crime. With no evidence to convict him, he gets away clean. So not only is gluttony not punished, it is used to escape punishment for a far worse sin! .....................
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I normally suck at essays but this one actually managed to impress my teacher who comended me for my unique unexpected take and thinking outside the box.
Let me explain, The assiginment was to first describe how a certain sin was punished in Dante's version of **** and explain why it was approprite. Then second to come up with an alternate punishment to fit the sin and/or describe ways the sin was punished in other works. I used the sin of gluttony and referenced works where the gluttons got eaten themselves.
I won't bore you with the whole essay but here's the Muppet part:
------------------------------------------------------
....... Dante chooses to punish the gluttons by depriving them of, and reversing, the pleasures food brought them in life. An alternative form of punishment that might be appropriate would be for the glutton to become that which is feasted upon themselves. This does occur to a very small extent in Inferno, due to the gluttons being guarded over by the ravenous demon dog Cerberus. Cerberus does take bites at the souls: “He rends the spirits, flays, and quarters them.” but this punishment is more prominent in other works.......
...........The theme of punishing the eater by having them become the eaten is found frequently in scenes featuring the Muppets. An early skit, appropriately titled The Glutton, featured a disgustingly gluttonous man who devoured everything before him, both food and flatware, until he began eating nuts and discovered one to be a small living creature. When he tried to eat it anyway, the creature magically shrunk the glutton, who was then promptly eaten by a large version of himself.
Probably the most famous incident of this theme occurs in the skit known as Inchworm. In it Kermit the Frog would eat small worms that approached him until the last one he tried to consume turned out to be the nose of a large monster, which promptly devoured Kermit. It might be worth noting that in later years, after Kermit’s character was more developed and gained a kinder personality, the skit replaced him with another character, Lenny the Lizard, who had a more sinister appearance, and was usually depicted with a negative personality. Apparently Jim Henson felt that Kermit had earned redemption.
Many Muppet skits featured voracious characters that were punished for their gluttony in one way or another, even if it was merely indigestion caused by its still alive victim fighting back. One scene, The Computer Dinner, featured a monster that devoured a machine piece by piece as a recording explained each part, only to discover that the device was a powerful explosive, which then detonated in its gullet.
Ironically, one time a Muppet was not punished for gluttony is in the Disappearing Clues skit. Here a monster has murdered his employer, but as the evidence against him is presented he eats all of it, including the maid who witnessed the crime. With no evidence to convict him, he gets away clean. So not only is gluttony not punished, it is used to escape punishment for a far worse sin! .....................
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I normally suck at essays but this one actually managed to impress my teacher who comended me for my unique unexpected take and thinking outside the box.