Being in the Audience Sucks /////// Isabelle Ferguson

    I would like to preface this post with a reference to what I said last class. Reading this is like watching a horror movie. The audience knows the serial killer is in the room the protagonist is about to enter, and we are screaming our heads off with the hopes that they don't go in there. We can scream until our vocal cords give out, but we all know what's gonna happen. It is FRUSTRATING! 

    God knows temptation is coming for His children. I can't hep but get the picture of a parent watching their child in any aspect of life. They're always wondering if they should help their child to save them the pain of failure or let them struggle to learn valuable life lessons. It's sort of a testament to how humans are created in God's image. God tries to prepare Adam and Eve without fully intervening in their test with temptation. He has literally raised them up in the way they should go, so they shouldn't depart from it. By sending Rafael with knowledge and a warning, Adam and Eve should be fine, right? At this point, they have three main rules: no further seeking of knowledge not meant to be known; no eating from the Tree of Knowledge; and take care of Eden. Simple enough, right? Who wouldn't want to retain the supposed "happy state" that God references to Adam, right? In this case, ignorance is literal bliss.

    I guess that's the pain of being a member of the audience. We know the serpent is going to successfully tempt Adam and Eve. Just like watching the protagonist walk into a room where the serial killer is present. The protagonist has no idea what is coming, and the audience can only sit and watch. 

Comments

  1. Taylor ViceSeptember 20, 2021 at 8:05 PM

    Yes, reading this is very similar to watching a horror movie! That is a very good comparison between the book and a horror movie. We know what is coming, and we are just reading the story as we wait for the inevitable fall of mankind. It is very frustrating knowing that we, as readers, would love to stop Eve from falling for the temptation offered by Satan, but it is impossible. So, yes, being in the audience sucks! // Taylor Vice

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  2. Haylee LyndSeptember 20, 2021 at 10:19 PM

    I like the comparison of parents watching their children and not knowing whether to save them from failure or not. But to so, takes away choice and takes away the value of them succeeding on their own. In the case of God, it takes all value away from our love for Him if He controls our every action. However, it must be so frustrating to watch us do the things we do.

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  3. Emily ThullesenSeptember 20, 2021 at 11:05 PM

    Yes! I noticed this as well! This book is packed with dramatic irony. I can’t help but cringe at the fact that I know the outcome of Adam and Eve’s situation in this particular story. Being in the audience of Paradise Lost sucks, but at least in real life situations we are faced with the option to stand up for what is right in most cases!
    Emily T

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  4. Emory CooperSeptember 21, 2021 at 2:09 AM

    I know what your'e talking about, Isabelle. What I find disturbing is that Milton usually presents God as all-knowing, all-powerful, etc., but in this case God is almost if not actually portrayed as helpless. God sees the fall coming, and despite all his pleading and planning, the outcome of the choices of Adam and Eve are out of His control. As a Calvinist, this is a problem I hold with the Arminian position of Milton.

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  5. Breanna PooleSeptember 21, 2021 at 8:09 AM

    The dramatic irony is strong in this poem, as we know what is going to happen and yet we can do nothing to stop Adam and Eve from the horrors they are about to inflict on themselves. I think this irony humanizes Adam and Eve, turning them from stock Bible characters into real people who lives and had to go through this test of temptation. If we were in their shoes, would we really have done any different?-- Breanna Poole

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