It is difficult to determine the true nature of Virgil in Dante's Comedy. At times, he provides incredible advice that parallels the wisdom of some early church fathers, and at other times he shows no expertise in any situation, to the point of giving completely uninformed advice. This disparity is confusing especially because Virgil seemed to be an infallible guide at the beginning of the Divine Comedy. Yet there are many events that undoubtedly confirm Virgil's defects. So what is Dante trying to convey with the character of Virgil? Virgil is not shown as completely evil or alone in his appearances in the poem, but there is no moral middle ground, as demonstrated by the structure of Dante's afterlife. So, all the reader is left with is Paradise's esteem for Virgil, which is the only certain truth the Poet offers the reader. Since Heaven chose Virgil to guide Dante the Pilgrim towards Paradise, but Virgil cannot continue beyond entering the earthly paradise, Virgil must represent a transitional phase that Dante must abandon in order to achieve full salvation. In his Divine Comedy, Dante portrays two main types of characters along his journey. There are characters who provide false or misleading information, found mostly in Hell and Purgatory, and those who provide honest and beneficial information, found in Purgatory and Heaven. Almost all the characters Dante encounters can easily be assigned to one of these two categories. For example, Francesca da Rimini clearly provides bad advice to Dante when attempting to gain his sympathy for his predicament. Likewise, Beatrice is an example of righteousness that aims to bring Dante back from his sojourn to the right path when Dante had the...... middle of paper ......Comedy"" Studies on Dante with the relationship annual of the Dante Society.90 (1972): 1-11. JSTOR. Network. 08 May 2014. .Guyler, Sam. “Virgil Hypocrite: Almost: A Reinterpretation of Inferno XXIII.” Studies on Dante with the annual report of the Dante Society.90 (1972): 25-42. JSTOR. Network. 09 May 2014. .Howard, Lloyd. Virgil, the blind guide: marking the way through the Divine Comedy. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2010. Print.Priest, Paul. "Allegory and reality in the "Comedy"" Dante studies with the Annual Report of the Dante Society.96 (1978): 127-44. JSTOR. Network. 09 May 2014. .