I'm interested to see the different opinions on this. When I finished reading for homework, I was curious to know what other people thought, and so I went online and read a few different analyses of Milton's portrayal of Satan.
Personally, I think Satan is the character that makes the poem wonderful. If someone had told me for reading that I WOULD feel sorry for Satan, I would have been skeptical...and that's saying something. I don't exactly use the word "evil" lightly, and yet it's almost been ingrained into our heads that the devil = evil. Plain and simple. Maybe it's just because I think more about human morality, but I just never really thought about Satan that much. So when I started reading Paradise Lost, it challenged my viewpoint very early on. I acknowledge that he does possess the vice of pride, yet I fail to see what is so evil about him.
When I was reading the opinions online, the explanations usually went along the lines of "well, yes, he is a victim...but he's evil" and then delved into the bad things that he's done. Really, is that it? Can we just so easily dismiss a character's pain, when that pain CREATED the character? How do we define evil, then? I'm not saying that dishonesty, trickery, and unbelievable ambition are good things. And yet, if we lost everything that ever mattered in our lives, we would want it back. I'm not talking about getting fired from your job or losing contact with a close friend; in this case, it's literally the difference between heaven and hell. I'm not condoning his actions here, but the motivation behind it makes sense. Yes, he could surrender and maybe attain some grace, but he knows that doing that, he would be trapped within his own mind, unable to act freely.
I'm not saying that Satan's the hero, but I understand why he does what he does. We all do crazy things to hold on to what we love. Yes, he does this to an extent that's extreme, but I still don't think it's evil.
So, what does everyone else think?
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Danielle I feel the same way. I've always come to know that anything relating to or about Satan was evil. That in essence, Satan was merely temptation to steer off course and make un-wise decisions. But Milton presents a far different Satan; a Satan that almost makes you feel symphathetic towards in a heroin sense. Satan resembles freedom; the freedom of choice since he answers to nobody but himself. There will be no "final judgement" and from my perspective that is almost envious because it takes away that pressure of someone always watching your every action.
ReplyDelete"Better to reign in hell, then serve in heaven." This is one of my favorite lines because it epitomizes fundamental freedom. Satan is very prideful and takes his wretched situation and looks at it in a positive light. Why always be a servant when you can be your own king? Also, the rebel mentality made me think of our own ancestors and the revolution they fought to become "free" from Britain.
Also, the rebel fallen angels are mentioned in the Bible as the "Nephilim" who had intercourse with human women and created a "superhuman" race. The great flood wiped out this hybrid breed but they are specifically mentioned. (Genesis and Numbers). (I thought this was bull but there is legitimate evidence to support that we had these creatures on Earth at one point in history.)
Also, if anyone would like to answer this for me, why (as Satan thinks) would God create Satan the way he is (pride and ambition) so he would fall from grace? God created his internal nature so that would automatically lead to his demise from Heaven?!?
ReplyDelete(refering to my first post) *Book of Enoch* not included in the Bible but is mentioned throughout it. look it up
ReplyDeletei am finding this book extremelly difficult to get through. it's not because i am confused about what is going on or anything it's that i am uncomfortable with what Milton is talking about and how he is interpreting the Bible. i am a faithfull person and i truely beliee in my religion but talking about God and saying that what is the "written word" is in fact NOT the "written word" bothers me. i dont like to talk about religion out loud just because it brings up so many arguments about how one religion makes more sense than another or the eholw Big Bang theory v. God. i am just incomfortable with it, and that is how i honestly feel.
ReplyDeleteI think it is easy to be uncomfortable with the way Milton talks about the Bible in this book. But I think there is so much more to it than meets the eye, maybe it isn't just about religion, I see a lot of government in this story, but maybe that's because when you get down to it religion is sort of a government all it's own.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to say yes "this is true and I stand by it" when there is so much out there to dispute it, I don't think Milton was trying to convert anybody by any stretch of the imagination and I don't think Mr. B or anyone in the class is either. But it has to be talked about, to be able to realize that JUST MAYBE everything you believe is a lie (not saying it is) builds a certain amount of character.
This book confuses me I guess because Milton doesn't make it very easy to read between the lines. There is so much there that people aren't seeing.
Actually the Big Bang Theory supports God theoretically, because someone had to create that huge atom that exploded in order to form everything and also correlates to Genesis.
ReplyDeleteAnd refering to Bekah's post, that is why this book and religion itself is controversial because most people want to live how they want and do not want to be told what to do or how to live for that matter. The Pagans and other religious groups before Christianity were looking at creation and life in a whole different perspective than what Jesus brought about. These groups did not want to submit to this alternative way of life and that is why the Church arranged holidays and such so it would correlate and make it an easier conversion. Also, the poem we read about how Christ, instead of his coming looked about as a great thing, could be viewed as the worst event in history because it changed the establishment and called for a revolution in religious ideology. If the Pagans came to accept that Jesus was the Son, then everything they have stood for and believed in for so long was wrong and their time was wasted. Who wants that to happen to them? Some people cannot deal with that thought so they disregard it. That is why I loved the talk we had about God being Truth and Satan being ambuguity because on planet Earth everyone is looking for "truth" in their lives and a sense of purpose for existing. But through work, media, and technology a huge cloud of ambuguity arises that seems to cloud and prevent people from soul searching these days and looking for answers. Scientology recently put out a commerical saying "If you are looking for Truth, go to their website" and many other religions or faiths make this claim. People want Truth, and Milton is claiming that God is Truth and that's what makes "Paradise Lost" so epic.
ReplyDelete...go to *OUR* website...."
ReplyDelete-Srry wrong word choice in the quote