Mt. Joy is difficult to climb because Mt. Joy symbolizes "Heaven" or "safety" and to reach that highest point, you must first travel to the lowest point. Reaching safety in life, or Heaven, is not just one easy climb; you must prove your worth and travel through obstacles to get there. To reach Heaven you must be truly good and be forgiven for your sins, but in the case with this story, you must also travel through hell. I think this is incorporated because God is trying to show Dante what can/could happen if you become a sinner. You must earn your right to reach Mt. Joy, and traveling through hell shows you how you differ from the people who are trapped there.

You have to travel through hell to get to safety because nothing in life is simple, and you need to struggle significantly to get to the good places in life. These hardships teach you lessons necessary to excel in the world. A person must prove his or her worthiness of "safety" by surviving a variety of challenges. This concept is very similar to that of getting a job in the world. People need get experience doing arduous tasks before they can get their high-paying, less intensive job.

Mount Joy is so difficult to climb because of 3 beasts: a Lion, a Leopard, and a She-Wolf that lurk near its peak. Together, these three monstrosities prevent adventurers from passing and force them down into the Dark Wood of Error. Furthermore, each of these beasts represent three larger ideas: incontinence, violence, and fraud. I believe that the Lion represents Violence as it is a symbol that rules over other animals through fighting with cruel tactics or not. The Leopard represents fraud in my eyes as leopards are mysterious creatures. Legends say it is the offspring of a lion and an imaginary animal called a pard. Finally, the She-Wolf represents Incontinence because in Canto I Virgil, according to translations, says "...feeding, she grows hungrier than she was she mates with any beast, and will mate with more...". Hence, she appears unable to control her own desires and therefore these desires consume her.

It seems that poetry is able to save us from the Dark Wood of Error because we become blinded by the lies in which Hell has bestowed upon the wanderer and only a poet will act as your translation past all of these lies and deceptions. In other words, the poet appears to be the symbol of truth and knowledge.

We must travel through Hell to get to safety because through Hell we are able to learn what befouls humans and avoid the punishments; the ability to seek safety without the risk of taking a gamble with decisions.

-Harrison Vu

Mount Joy is difficult to climb because it is a turning point in life. The indecisive must fully commit themselves to climbing the mountain if they wish to reach salvation. This requires them to make a choice, something they've yet to do in their lives. The lion, leopard, and she-wolf are obstacles that exist to highlight the fact that only someone who has committed themselves in entirety to achieving Heaven will prevail. - Jess Stein

Mt. Joy is difficult to climb because you have to pass the lion, leopard and she-wolf that guard it. The three animals represent fraud, incontinence and violence, and are the obstacles that the person needs to overcome to finally reach the peak of the mountain. Dante, for example, finds no way to get past the three animals, so he must blindly follow Virgil through hell. To reach the highest point in your life, you must venture to the deep, dark bottom. Patience is rewarded, and when Dante journeys through hell, he will find that the prize of finally reaching the peak of Mt. Joy will be worth the trouble. The difficulty of climbing Mt. Joy symbolizes that not everything comes easily in life, and the most precious rewards require patience and persistence.

Mt. Joy is difficult to climb because it represents the ultimate place of safety. However Dante's passage to Mt. Joy is impassable due to the three animals who stand guard. These creatures such as the Lion representing I believe violence, the leopard representing fraud and the she wolf representing incontinence. These creatures represent the mortal sins of human beings which Dante must encounter as he travels through hell accompanied by the Pagan, Virgil. Virgil who is a poet leads Dante through the dark wood of error, representing the truth and honesty in writers. Dante must travel through hell to witness those who have committed mortal sins in order to reach Mt. Joy. He must make this journey because without recognizing failure there is no way to achieve success.