Paradise Lost is a bible fan fiction. Milton
is writing the story of creation from Satan's point of view. This is interesting because all biblical
passages are written for God. Is Milton writing for
God? The alternative is worrisome. If Milton
is writing something from Satan's point of view, what is his goal? What word is he preaching?
In the bible, Satan is set up to be a mastermind of evil,
plotting against God at every turn.
However, in Paradise Lost, Satan is set up to be God's rebellious
teenager who is grounded for "all of eternity" and instead of serving
his punishment, chooses to disobey God through petty acts of sin, in typical
teenage rebellion fashion. "Better to reign in Hell than serve in
Heaven" is such a typical rebellious line.
He cannot think of asking for forgiveness to regain his place in
heaven. Will we ever reach a time when
the timeout ends? What will happen
first? Armageddon, or the end of the
timeout?
I feel though, the Satan is contrasted with Adam. When Adam and Eve are kicked out of the
garden of Eden, they chose to repent, and by being faithful they will one day
regain their place in heaven. This is
similar to Dr. Faustus in that Faustus could repent at any time and gain his
place in Heaven. Can Satan do this? Could he and all the fallen Angels regain
their place in heaven by repenting for their sins?
Chad, I really like your comparison between Satan and a "typical teenage rebellion." It does seem like Satan is not happy about being in Hell but he is trying to make the most of it and prove a point. What that point is, is a bit unclear to me. Like you said, can Satan repent and gain his place in Heaven again? I suppose if Satan is like most teenagers, he would do almost anything to avoid saying sorry or admitting his wrongdoings. Also, I'm not too sure Satan wants to be back in Heaven anyway. He seems to be enjoying his power in Hell and is excited to expand his empire. But then again, is he doing all of this to prove some sort of point, that he can deal with any punishment given to him or does he secretly want to be back in Heaven?
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