Explain the concept of contrapasso in dante's vision of hell and explain how both the location and the punishment of the neutrals reflect this concept.

In The Divine Comedy, contrapasso is the retribution of hell for the sinner's acts. It symbolically reflects the effects of the sin committed as punishment. It is based on "eye-for-the-eye, tooth-for-tooth"

In the same work, we are introduced to the antebellum which is also called the vestibule. It serves as a destination for souls who can not go to heaven or to hell. "Since heaven and hell are states where a choice is permanently rewarded (positively or negatively), there must also be a state where the denial of choice is rewarded, since denying choice is choosing indecision." The ante-hell is, therefore, the dwelling place of the undecided, the neutral, the cowardly and who spent their lives "on the wall." In life they never wanted to make compromises, make firm decisions or do anything definitive, because they thought they would lose the opportunity to do something else. Their neutrality and lack of action is rewarded in the form of a contrapasso and now they are forced to run after a flag that goes nowhere.