Reality Vs Reality Research Paper

“O Hell!” Satan’s opening exclamation of frustration immediately alerts readers to Satan’s state of mind. As Satan gazes on Adam and Eve, he is struck by their blissful state, which sends him into a spiral of confusion as he slightly reconsiders his plan to destroy them. To himself, Satan addresses the pair; he begins regretful and with pity for Adam and Eve. He later shifts in tone to vengeful, envious, and angry. Further exemplifying Satan’s contrasting attitudes, Milton uses antonymous words of emotion throughout the passage. By the end of passage, Milton solidifies Satan’s hardening of heart and ends the struggle that has been festering inside Satan since his first act of rebellion against God. Milton successfully uses both the shift in tone and the emotional diction to reveal Satan’s stormy internal conflict.

Immediately following the loss of innocence and the gain of knowledge in the soul of the monster, he becomes analogous to Satan, God’s enemy, in Paradise Lost. “I gazed upon my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph” (144), he states as William lies dead at his feet. The monster even recognizes that he is like Satan. He says, “I ought to be they Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel [Satan], whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed” (103). Just as the monster parallels Frankenstein in his quest for knowledge, he also does so in his being as Satan. He is the personification of the devil that is inside all in the form of sin. The monster and the devil share an experience in which it is obvious that one parallels the other. In igMalice, and with rapine sweet bereav’d

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.

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.

Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character meant to be the evil figure in the epic poem. Whenever possible Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story Milton tells the readers that Satan is an evil character, he is meant not to have any redeeming qualities, and to be shown completely as an unsympathetic figure. Satan’s greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the early part of the poem he is portrayed as selfish while in Heaven where all of God’s angels are loved and happy. Satan’s journey starts out as a fallen angel with great stature, has the ability to reason and argue, but by Book X the anguish and pain he goes through is

   Satan's primary operational problem in Paradise Lost is his lack of obedience. The fundamental misunderstanding which leads to Satan's disobedience is his separation of free will from God's hierarchical power. In the angel Raphael's account, Satan tells his dominions, "Orders and Degrees/Jarr not with liberty" (5.792-93). Tempting as this differentiation seems, Satan is mistaken. Free will and hierarchical power are not mutually exclusive, as Satan suggests, but overlapping concepts. Even though Satan has been created with sufficient freedom to choose to disobey, he tacitly acknowledges God's sovereignty when he exercises his choice. Satan is constrained existentially, from the outset, by

          The carefully placed line breaks in the phrase "Behold, instead / Of us outcast, exiled, his new delight, / Mankind created," (4.105-7) suggest that not only does mankind please God, but the fall of Satan and his followers also pleases Him. Also, it is natural for Satan to turn his eyes to Adam and Eve. Satan believes this to be a devious plot devised by him, but in fact it is what God has in mind, as the fall was necessary in order to have Jesus descend later to offer mankind salvation. Satan's conclusion that evil will be his good (4.110) also is in God's plan, and is not a result of Satan's choosing; it is the only course of action he is presented that suits his personality.

Satan encourages his followers and reminds them of their original cause. He shows great leadership skills by re-emphasizing their ideas that at least when they are reigning in Hell, G-d doesn't interfere, and although it is Hell it is still worth ruling rather than serving in Heaven. Satan is dwelling on his power which could be seen as his tragic flaw. He is allowing his pride and ego to surface by glorifying Hell (calling it "profoundest") and declaring himself in possession of Hell. He starts to think of the idea of Heaven and Hell as a mindset. He starts to believe that the mind is what creates a place as Heaven and a place as Hell. Satan feels as though Heaven is Hell because he must serve G-d there, but in Hell, he has a true Heaven because he is served and worshipped. This could be determined as his tragic flaw.

As Satan later claims, “To reign is worth ambition .. /Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” (PL, I: 262-63, p.156) His statement suggests that his fatal flaw might be his ambition, his desire to become even more powerful than he once was. This image of Satan having a 'fatal flaw', something that drives him into destruction, connects him with the idea of Aristotle's hamartia, and connects him to the imagery of the other a 'good person' who has fallen from grace, but is nonetheless a hero. Satan is also connected to Aristotle's idea that “heroic virtue is superhuman, godlike, and divine”5, when he is described to be “stretched out huge in length” (PL, I: 209, p.155) across the lake, further imprinting the image of his heroic status.

Within holy heaven, Satan infuses the sin of pride into the atmosphere by raising up against God, the King of all authority. Such opposition meets the Lord of all who casts this arrogant angel down into the depths of hell—a place where evil abounds. This opposition proves only the beginning of ensuing war which will intensify until God silences it in the depths of hell. In Paradise Lost, John Milton uncovers the brewing embers of this war right from its first spark. Milton expounds upon the fall of Satan with the intent of giving his readers a taste of the tension which this war between God and Satan gives. This taste will spark an understanding within the readers’ mind of the presence of this ongoing present war. Throughout this piece of

Overall I think in the poem “Paradise Lost” Satan’s character was meant to be more attractive to the readers so they would also be seduced by his ways. His character was meant to be more liked then he usually is in things such as the Bible. He was not necessarily meant to be looked at as the hero, but he was described in such a way that it tempted the readers to like him. Just like Satan lured people in and made them do the wrong things Milton lured in his readers to like Satan. He did such a great job that I felt sorry for Satan. But he also made us see everything from Satan view. Which basically

But by no means should Satan be interpreted as a simple and moral traditional hero in Paradise Lost. A large component of his allure is his complexity, which Milton does not hesitate to delve into. Satan experiences very human feelings such as pride, self-loathing, envy, regret, ambition, and uncertainty. No other character in Paradise Lost expresses such a vast range of emotions, and consequently no other character is nearly as dynamic or compelling. Eve is a stereotype, Adam a dullard, and even God is static in his peerlessness. When Satan rues, “I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere; Till pride and worse ambition threw me down/ Warring in heaven against heaven’s matchless king” (Milton 85), readers find him worthy of compassion, and even relatable. Then within the very same passage, they find themselves cursing his actions when he plots, “Honor and empire with revenge enlarged,/ By conquering this new world, compels me now/ To do what else though damned I should abhor” (Milton 96). Milton refuses to water down Satan’s indisputably villainous actions. Yet at the same time he provides an empathetic platform for the devil to explain his reasonings and ruminations. By doing so, Milton truly does ponder “how awful goodness is”, as he says on page 109.

John Milton's epic “Paradise Lost” is one that has brought about much debate since its writing. This epic tells the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, although from a different perspective than what most people usually see. Milton tells the story more through the eyes of Satan, whom most people usually consider the ultimate villain. The way in which Satan is portrayed in this story has caused speculation as to whether Satan is actually a hero in this situation. He certainly has heroic qualities throughout the story, yet still is ultimately responsible for Adam and Eve's sin. Satan can easily be classified as a hero in this story, as well as the main antagonist, depending on the viewpoint of the

Satan comes to man with his temptations as an angel of light, as he came to Christ. He has been working to bring man into a condition of physical and moral weakness, that he may overcome him with his temptations, and then triumph over his ruin. ...He well knows that it is impossible for man to discharge his obligations to God and to his fellow-men, while he impairs the faculties God has given him. The brain is the capital of the body... pg. 236

The universe that Milton portrays in Paradise Lost with Heaven at the top, Hell at the bottom, and Earth in between is hierarchical. Satan seeks to destroy this hierarchy. God sat at the top of this hierarchy and was expected to be obeyed. Satan attempted to rebel against authority, claiming that the fallen angels’ goal in the new life they were given is to be evil: “To do ought never will be our task, / But ever to do ill our sole delight” (1.159-60). They are virulent towards God and want to act out in spite of him. Satan wants to gather more fallen angels to plan and