Gates of hell

I finished Dan Brown’s “Inferno” (in Kindle digital edition) in just two days. Principally, I was interested in finding out what the controversy on the “gates of hell” description was all about. Early in the book, I already got a sense that it was an over-reaction. “Gates of hell” is a description of the human condition in many urban centers characterized by densely-packed populations mired in poverty and misery. The book focuses on the issue of overpopulation and its threat to the entire human race. As the villain, Bertrand Zobrist, put it, the instinct for survival will only lead hungry people to lives of crime and sin. Manila is featured as one such place where young kids are peddled to prostitution, street crimes so common, and more problems associated with an overcrowded metropolis. This was the context in which Felicity Sienna (F.S. 2080) described Manila as being the “gates to hell”.