Examples Of Good And Evil In Paradise Lost

In addition, here, as throughout much the poem, Satan continues to hedge the other side of the argument, insisting that he isn't forced to do evil by opposing God, but that "to do ill our sole delight" (160). This belief that he has a choice in the matter is tied up in the misconception that he was, and continues to be, equal to God, as "reason hath equall'd" (248) them.  Quite to the contrary, Milton makes it clear that "the will And high permission of all-ruling Heaven Left him at large to his own dark designs" (211-3).  And it is only Satan's perverted sense of reason that convinces him that "The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n" (254-5).  He believes that his reason and contemplation will help him discover "How overcome this dire Calamity" (189), or failing that, change his will such that it fits his current circumstance.  This is the classic method of the delusional and disenfranchised, holding out hope for change, but at the same time putting forth the belief that the current situation can actually be beneficial.  The sophistry has shown through Satan's speech, as he declares that there is no way for God to beat him, in his mind, when we know he is already defeated.

However, craving independence from God ferociously backfires on Satan when he finds out that even after leaving hell, he cannot escape it, “which way [he] [flies] is Hell, [he] [himself] is Hell,” (IV, 75). Satan finds his way to revolt against and separate from God to overrule Heaven and become king, instead however, he takes on the role of the representation of all evil which is evidently seen in his interactions with Eve.

If god was all good, all powerful and all knowing, he would not allow the existence of evil.

The idealistic goal of humans is to achieve goodness. However, many become lost on the path to reach this goal as they are ignorant of how to find it. Goodness is procured through basing personal choices on love and loyalty, no matter the circumstance, while evil is made through selfishness, power pursuits, and the causing of pain. In “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, the author paints a picture of moralistic conflict throughout the story to shed light on the main point of human character: goodness and evil are made by the choices an individual makes and partially shaped by their circumstance that develops the character they become.

In his essay, "The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy," Peter van Inwagen alleges a set of reasons that God may have for allowing evil to exist on earth. Inwagen proposes the following story – throughout which there is an implicit assumption that God is all-good (perfectly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient) and deserving of all our love. God created humans in his own likeness and fit for His love. In order to enable humans to return this love, He had to give them the ability to freely choose. That is, Inwagen holds that the ability to love implies free will. By giving humans free will, God was taking a risk.

His argument is basically this: if God is omnibenelovent, omniscient and omnipotent then either evil does not exist, or, if it does, it is not really evil.  Milton lays the groundwork definitions, aligning the parties in his illustrative argument early.  "If then his providence / Out of our evil to bring forth good, Our labor must be to pervert that end, / and out of good still to find means of evil" (Milton I: 162-165).  The word 'his' refers to God and relates the word 'good' with him, and relates Satan to the word 'evil'.  The justifications for these labels are more implied than anything else, based in the relationship of the Christian God, and thus the Bible and the actions and motivations displayed by Satan.  He becomes tied to " ... deep malice to conceal, couched with revenge" (Milton IV: 123) and "... ire envy and despair" (Milton IV: 115).  Thus, good is implicitly the opposite of that: kindness with forgiveness, pleasure and joy.  Milton's argument follows a path of self-discovery, illustrates a sympathetic character and describes his internal conflict and resulting horror of his situation.  Mainly that he cannot ask for forgiveness and is thus locked into downward spiral between the reality of the situation, the expectations of his cohorts, and his own personal motivations.  In the end, his actions

Satan’s sense of justice makes him continuously farther away from his home. This is because Satan's sense of justice is about corrupting what is good and right in God’s eyes. An example of Satan’s sense of justice corrupting what is good and right in God’s eyes is when Satan deceives Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Here Satan believes that he is doing right by trying to get God’s greatest creation, mankind to rebel against him. Satan’s sense of justice will never let him return home because his sense of justice is not aligned with God’s. If anything, Satan’s sense of justice is about causing other beings of creation to lose their homes. For example, because Adam and Eve choose to eat the forbidden fruit knowing the consequences it will have doing so, Adam and Eve lost their home as well. If Satan’s sense of justice had been aligned with God’s sense of justice, Satan would never have lost his home in the first place. This is all because God and his sense of justice is greater than Satan and his sense of justice. Satan’s perception of justice blinds him by the fact that he thinks he is on equal measure with God when in reality, he’s not even close. Satan lost his home forever because his sense of justice contradicts God’s and God is greater than he

In Paradise Lost book 2 people see the Satan saying how much God hates him. But in book 3 God talks about how he will always keep the door open for the Satan. To me I see that devil doubting God before listening to him. Satan says, “But what owe I to his commands above Who hates me, and hath hither thrust me down.” (lines 856-57 pg. 1982). These lines show when something bad happens or does not go your way you turn and question God and assume that he hates you. You forget that God knows everything and has a plan. But what sometimes people do not realize is that the gate is always open (God will always be there). We are trapping ourselves in our own hell. That is exactly what Satan is doing. Satan is making Hell worse for himself (yes, hell

Satan implies that he being as great as God in every way except for his power; the freedom of Hell; and that he rules his new kingdom of Hell is significantly more important than the reality that he has been banished from heaven. This information shows us that Satan is very stubborn, yet he is optimistic.

Satan was in a well-respected position while in Heaven, and therefore it is hard for him to acknowledge his current state publicly. His fear of how others perceive him interferes with him expressing his true feelings. Satan is still logical and he “does not degenerate: he is degraded.”(Waldock 417). In other words, Satan’s mentality after the fall is the same as it was before, yet his drop in status causes him to try to impress others and act unreasonably at times in order to protect his reputation and the legitimacy of his rebellion.

Throughout Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan is shown in a different perspective. Satan is in hell, reminiscing of the days in heaven. He is formulating a new way to redeem himself, but also is accepting his fate. He accepts that he has done wrong by God, but he also accepts that he has wronged himself. Satan’s revolution caused him to lose the luxury of heaven. Milton seems to pity Satan in Paradise Lost, saying such quotes as, “1:254-255 The mind is its own place, and in itself // Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n.” (Milton, 1. 254-5) Satan seems to accept the consequences for his actions, but knows that the damnation he faces will never compare to what was heaven; heaven is where he experienced true happiness. This is also evident when he first appears in Eden; Satan is jealous of Adam and Eve and envies their lives for living in such a place. Eden reminded Satan of Heaven.

The existence of famine, war, disease, and other distasteful aspects of humanity pose a tough, insistent question as to why God chose to create evil. As an infinitely powerful creator, surely a morally perfect God can and should create a world where evil does not exist in the first place. To propose otherwise seems to paint God as a malevolent being who apparently takes joy in watching the chaos. Bernard Leikind (2010) is a physicist who published an article that paints a representation of the mystery of evil as seen by most non-believers. In his article, Leikind uses the Old Testament biblical figure Job to support a malevolent God who just as easily gives as he takes away. He references Job 38:1-4 (NIV):

Epic tradition has existed long throughout the history of literature, built around the concept of the hero—the protagonist whose talents and admirable characteristics propel them to conquer an impossible task. In the case of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan exists as the protagonists of Milton’s epic, seeking revenge on God for punishing him to the depths of hell for leading a revolt against heaven. However, although Satan’s actions are villainous and sinful, his tale follows that of the traditional epic hero. Satan fits the characteristics of the epic hero through his illustrious status among his fallen angels and his immense hubris, leading to a plot to corrupt mankind and seek revenge against God.

Bring in representation of Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and introduce Mephostophilis; bring out parallelity between the two.

Most people usually ask why God allowed imperfections, problems and sins in everything He created. Why did God allowed evil in his creation? As the most powerful of all, God can easily remove evil in His creations but He still allowed evil. It is not because He doesn’t love us; it is just to test us. He allowed evil to linger in our world for us to help each other and conquer all the hardships and challenges in our daily living. He is the Supreme Being who possesses all the good characteristics and created the world perfectly. He allowed imperfections in our world for us to see that there is perfection. Imperfections are just the signs that we are unique from each other. If God created everything perfect, there will be no basis