Paradise Lost Essays (1970 words) - Religion, Abrahamic Religions

Paradise Lost John Milton divided the characters in his epic poem Paradise Lost into two sides, one side under God representing good, and the other side under Satan representing evil and sin. Milton first introduced the reader to the character Satan, the representative of all evil, and his allegiance of fallen angels that aided in his revolt against God (Milton 35). Only later did Milton introduce the reader to all powerful God, leader and creator of all mankind (John). This introduction of Satan first led the reader to believe acts of sin were good, just like Eve felt in the Garden of Eden when she was enticed by Satan to eat the fruit off of the Tree of Knowledge (Milton 255). The later introduction of The Almighty had the readers change their feelings towards sin, as the ways of God were introduced to them and these ways were shown to be the way to feel and believe. This levy of good vs. evil carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven. The common representation of sin and evil came from the lead character in the battle against God, Satan. His name means "enemy of God." He was a former high angel from Heaven named Lucifer, meaning, "light bearer" (John). Satan became jealous in Heaven of God's son and formed an allegiance of angels to battle against God, only for God to cast them out of Heaven into Hell (Milton 35). This did not bother Satan at first since he became the leader in Hell rather than a servant in Heaven. Satan believed that it was, "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" ( I-l. 263). Much of Satan's reliance on getting things accomplished came from his ability to lie and deceive. He lied to the fallen angels about the Son and his "vice-regency" in Heaven in order for them to follow him instead of The Son. He also concealed his true self by hiding in the body of a serpent when presenting himself to Eve in the Garden of Eden (Blessington 32). She would not have been as easily tempted into sin had he not concealed his true form. In addition, Satan showed the reader a large amount of anger and destructiveness when he planned his revenge on God (Milton 62). Satan even found pleasure in the pain and destruction of other people and things, "To do aught good never will be our task, / But ever to do ill our soul delight" (qtd. in Blessington 32). It is clear the feelings and views of Satan represented evil. With Satan and his battle against God, he formed an allegiance of fallen angels to help him carry out his evil goals. Satan placed his chief supporter named Beelzebub in charge of the fallen angels, and getting them together to form the Demonic Council to serve as an administration for Hell (John). Milton described Beelzebub as being a " Majestic, wise statesman" (qtd. in Bush 265) in his leadership abilities of this council. Although Satan put Beelzebub in charge, it was not because of Beelzebub's abilities, but due to the fact Satan was able to trick his chief supporter easily into expressing his beliefs instead of Beelzebub's own. With Satan's ability to deceive Beelzebub easily, he will easily mislead the Demonic Council into carrying out his evil ideas against God in Heaven. The council held a meeting in the capital of Hell called Pandemonium, where the reader is introduced to all of the fallen angels, and learned their evil ideas of revenge against God and Heaven. The first fallen angel that spoke at the meeting was Moloch, who was the "strongest and fiercest spirit that fought in Heaven, now fiercer by despair" (Milton, II-l. 44-45). He came forth with a "suicidal battle philosophy" (Blessington 39), promoting open war in Heaven. He was very aggressive in nature, and did not care if God destroyed the fallen angels in the battle, as long as they fought in revenge (Bush 258). The second fallen angel that spoke at the meeting was the false and hollow angel named Belial. He represented true passivity towards fighting (Blessington 40). He conceded to God's power, realizing they would easily be defeated (John). Up next came the "least erected spirit that fell from Heaven" (Milton I-l. 679) named Mammon, who was characterized by greed and tangible wealth. When Mammon was in Heaven, he desired the golden floors he walked on better than desiring

Free Essays on Worldly Problems

In the world today, we are faced with many problems. Some problems that we face in almost every country are unemployment, food, politics, our governments, education and politics. Although we have those problems, it is the government’s job to deal with most of them. This essay will discuss which government is the most progressive and profitable. The reason I say most progressive and profitable because there really is not a best government in the world at least right now in this present day. The four standards that you should use to judge and acknowledge the quality of a government are: How strong their military is and how it can protect their country; How well they provide money for education and press it more, how well they raise employment and prevent high unemployment. The last standard that I chose to expect from a quality government is how well they balance their budget for the economy. These are four very important issues that a government has to deal with and must improve on everyday. Why I chose these four selections? Military, in order to have a strong government you have to have a strong military to back you in case of disagreements with other countries. Education, because people in our country need to be educated so they will know more about their government and it is just as important for the government to be educated just like everyone else. I chose employment because everyone needs a job in every country in order to live and take care of his or her families. Most importantly, the reason I chose that every government needs to balance their budget and economy is to prevent the country from being in Depth. The Government that is doing the best right now is China. China has always been known to have many educated people. Their government is one of the strongest governments in the world today. â€Å"China’s communist government has maintained tight control over politics and speech has opened up the economy†. China ... Free Essays on Worldly Problems Free Essays on Worldly Problems In the world today, we are faced with many problems. Some problems that we face in almost every country are unemployment, food, politics, our governments, education and politics. Although we have those problems, it is the government’s job to deal with most of them. This essay will discuss which government is the most progressive and profitable. The reason I say most progressive and profitable because there really is not a best government in the world at least right now in this present day. The four standards that you should use to judge and acknowledge the quality of a government are: How strong their military is and how it can protect their country; How well they provide money for education and press it more, how well they raise employment and prevent high unemployment. The last standard that I chose to expect from a quality government is how well they balance their budget for the economy. These are four very important issues that a government has to deal with and must improve on everyday. Why I chose these four selections? Military, in order to have a strong government you have to have a strong military to back you in case of disagreements with other countries. Education, because people in our country need to be educated so they will know more about their government and it is just as important for the government to be educated just like everyone else. I chose employment because everyone needs a job in every country in order to live and take care of his or her families. Most importantly, the reason I chose that every government needs to balance their budget and economy is to prevent the country from being in Depth. The Government that is doing the best right now is China. China has always been known to have many educated people. Their government is one of the strongest governments in the world today. â€Å"China’s communist government has maintained tight control over politics and speech has opened up the economy†. China ...

Go Down, Moses and Star Wars on Imperialism and Colonialism Research Paper

Go Down, Moses and Star Wars on Imperialism and Colonialism - Research Paper Example There are striking similarities between colonialism and imperialism though the differences must be examined as well. Colonialism is typically defined as the expansion of power by conquering new lands and gaining control over them. In short, colonialism is a system of direct political, economic, and cultural control by a powerful country over a weaker one. For example, Faulkner’s writings reflect the tensions of the south being dominated by the north. â€Å"In 1875 Mississippi Democrats "resolved to use as much force as was necessary" to regain control of their state government through elections, and their campaign of intimidation, which included the overt killing of blacks, succeeded.† Both groups of stories review multiple generations of imperial rule but also show that regardless of the strength one group has over another, that rule is limited as ultimately human nature is to rebel against absolute domination. Colonialism may go through a series of phases from success to failure. In these stories, the ultimate goal is colonization as one group looks to expand and control another. Though Faulkner’s stories focus more on localized groups and the Star Wars saga presents a quest for a more universal domination, both use methods of imperialism to achieve this end. Though the collection in Go Down, Moses focuses only within one country, it demonstrates the relationship between whites and blacks and then north and south across several generations. This element of time present in both Faulkner and the Star Wars saga not only shows that imperialism cannot last forever, the repetitions throughout each new episode or story leaves the impression that regardless of time or characters, some themes are always the same in history.