Undisguised Evil /// Emily Thullesen

 Throughout Paradise Lost, Satan is disguised in many different forms. Even though he took the shape of many different creatures, the evil within him never changed. His intentions remained the same throughout the course of the novel, which only resulted in corruption and his own downfall in the end, even when he tried to make a heaven out of his hell. He acknowledges his state in claiming, “Which way I fly is Hell; my self am Hell (4.75).”

When considering this discussion point, Satans true character reveals how people in life will never truly change with how they appear to be. Just because Satan took the shape of many different creatures did not mean his heart was changeable, but rather he was in disguise. In this same way, people are never truly who they appear to be. This topic also correlates with the way most people can never have an absolute change of heart because that sinful nature is always there. 

I commented on Braylan Stringfellow and Haylee Lynd’s posts. 

Comments

  1. Abigale BellSeptember 13, 2021 at 10:49 PM

    Hi Emily! Interesting post! It seems kid of ironic that Satan would take on a different form yet not try to hide his evil. He openly sought to cause discord and destruction in Eden. He accepted his place as Hell. Isn't it amazing that we don't have to accept Hell as our only option?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bug OlsenSeptember 14, 2021 at 12:06 AM

    I think that another section in the book that proves your thoughts is the part in which he attempts to trick Uriel as a cherub. Even though he disguised himself to look pure and innocent, his evil intents, thoughts, and words ultimately revealed him by distorting his outward appearance after he passed Uriel. It reminds me of the phrase "What's down in the well comes up in the bucket", since it proves that no matter how hard we try to hide something it will always be revealed to God (and in many cases revealed to other people as well).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A House Divided//Emily Otts

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12 remind me so much of this play: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25) King Lear, at the end of the day, is about a family being divided multiple ways. These divisions arise over greed and hatred for one another and cause the whole family to be ruined because of it. King Lear first divides the kingdom after his daughter Cordelia does not proclaim her love to him, so he banishes her. Later, his daughters go against him for not doing as they asked, believing he is unfit and unworthy to be king, secretly plotting against him. But all of this comes to a head in Act 5. After capturing King Lear and Cordelia, Edmund plans to have them killed. You would believe the sisters would be able to work together because their plan is working, but an even greater division has risen between them. Both of them wish to have Edmund for themselves, and they plot against each o...
Read more

The Plague in Everyone// Emily Otts

     In part 4 of the Plague , Tarrou tells Rieux about how he has had the plague forever. Except, this is not the same plague as the one ravaging the town. Tarrou speaks of how his father was a lawyer who believed in the death penalty, how he saw so many people support it and be comfortable about it, and how he had to witness the executions of prisoners. He explains how this sort of mindset is a plague itself, one Tarrou had been fighting for a long time. " That's why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is also why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness, a weariness from which nothing remains to set us free except death" (Camus, part 4, chapter 6). Tarrou wants to desperately not submit to such awful ways of thinking.      Tarrou does not realize it, but the plague he is talking about is sin. Everyone has it, some people give in to it and let...
Read more

The Thirst for Knowledge

     With Book Seven of Milton's Paradise Lost, Raphael is continuing his exposition on Satan's apostasy. The plan is to expose Adam and Eve to the wretched fate of those who cross God's will. The more he shed's light on the subject, however, the more Adam is inclined to ask for more information. He wants to know everything about the subject, as well as God and His creation.      However, while the taste of such knowledge leaves Adam yearning for more, there are boundaries. It is like a toddler eating a cookie... and eventually begging her mother for the rest of the jar. Is it a coincidence that the one thing Adam and Eve are not to touch is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Most readers know how the story ends: these toddlers are never going to be content with a few cookies. They're going in for the jar.   There is a statement in the Bible that is constantly being repeated throughout the Old Testament: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...
Read more