Proving that I AM in fact doing work here.

Here is my Paper on "Paradise Lost"

Pictures from Versailles will be up tomorrow i promise, but i'm about to pass out from exhaustion.

Mid-Term Essay - Paradise Lost
In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, two main character arcs are followed, that of Adam and Eve, and that of “Th’ infernal Serpent,” (I 34) Satan. Both successful creations, who were given everything imaginable, and yet the story follows them into their demise. This begs the question “How?” Milton, by starting his book with “Of Mans First Disobedience” (I 1) tells us that it was their own choices that caused the fall. It was their “free will” that brought about the consequences that all of the characters endured. According to Milton; Satan, Adam, and Eve, all played personal roles in losing their paradise.
Lucifer, the arch angel, leader of legions, is the most powerful being next to God himself. He was beautiful, awe inspiring, more glorious than any human being would ever be. Yet, “he it was, whose guile stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d the Mother of Mankind.” (I 34-35) Lucifer’s pride brought him down. He plotted, schemed and manipulated the legions of God to believe that there was more to be had. He was second best. This was not enough. And so evil enters the story. God casts Satan and his armies into the pits of Hell. “Him with the Almighty Power, Hurld headlong flaming from th’ Ethereal Skie with hideous ruine and combustion, down to bottomless perdition, there to dwell.”(I 44- 47) Banished, but not destroyed, he waits for his opportunity. He waits and decides that it is better to “Reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n” (I 263) for “Here at least we shall be free” (I 258-259) Here we see that Satan chooses this life. He actively searches out ways in which to spite God for this punishment. He develops a hatred for who created him. And unable to overthrown the almighty one, he instead waits to punish those who bear his image. Satan wallows in his defeat, lets his pride take over, and thus throws away all of the gifts that God gave him. Milton paints heavily in the first book the nature of Lucifer’s character, showing how human he really is, his foibles and how easily his hunger for power turns him away from God.
Enter Adam and Eve. They are shown through the eyes of Satan, who witnesses them in a small argument over whether or not to separate in order to get more done. Eve proposes that they are not getting enough accomplished, as they are constantly distracted by each other. “In yonder Spring of Roses Intermixt /with Myrtle, find what to redress till Noon/ For while so near each other thus all day/ our taske we choose, what wonder if so near/ looks intervene and smiles, or object new casual discourse draw on/ which intermits our dayes work brought to little, though begun early/ and th’ hour of Supper comes unearn’d” (IX 218-225) Adam replies that it would be too dangerous for her to leave his sight, as they are more easily approached by Satan (who Michael has warned them about in an earlier book) when they are alone. “Not diffident of thee do I dissuade/Thy absence from thy sight, but to avoid/Th’ attempt itself, intended by our Foe” (IX 293-295) Eve protests more, but then Adam interjects with this thought again. He is speaking of God’s perfect creation and how the best things are “God ordained”(IX 343) But that “within’ himself/ the danger lies, yet lies within his power/ Against his will he can receive no harme./ But God left free the Will, for what obeyes/Reason, is free, and Reason he made right”(IX 348-352) Here in Adams speech to Eve, Milton is making one of his largest points. Adam is saying that God left his creation to choose as it will. That God could intercede, that he has all the power and that nothing can happen against his will. But he doesn’t. Why though? This is a very powerful point, and one that has caused much speculation, because this seems to say that God lets the bad things of this world happen. That he could stop them with a small motion of his hand but he does not, portraying a very cruel ruler. So, why? Well, it seems Milton answers this through the conclusion of Adams point. In the end of the discussion he concedes and says to Eve, “Go; for thy stay, not free absents thee more.”(IX 372) And Eve readily accepts “Thus saying, from her Husbands hand her hand/ Soft she withdrew” (IX 385-386)
Just like that, Eve is off on her own, susceptible to all that awaits her. Is Milton painting a picture of what free will is like to God? Adam warns her, pleads with her to stay with him, under his protection. But in the end he tells her to go if that is her will. Why? Because it is worse for her to stay if she doesn’t want to, Love is chosen. And just as Adam let Eve leave, so God let all three of them leave, according to their own choosing. Eve gives in to Satan’s claims that, “so much more knowledge, power, and understanding awaited her if she were to eat the fruit”. And Adam gives in to the same temptation from Eve. Adam and Eve reached for the fruit, Satan reached for ultimate power, they all reach for more, just as human kind does every day, and in their reaching, they fell from Grace. When Satan reached, he and his legions fell into hell. “To bottomless perdition, there to dwell/ in Adamantine Chains and Penal Fire” (I 47-38) When Eve reached, the garland of innocent love and adoration that Adam had woven for his beloved “Drown drop’d and all the faded roses shed”(893) and when Adam reached, the sky fell. “Earth trembl’d from her entrails, as again/In panges, and Nature gave a second groan, Skie lowr’d, and muttering Thunder, som sad drops/ Wept at compleating of the mortal sin.” (IX 1000-1003) And with each, “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain” (Genesis 6:5-6)
Milton uses the stories of the dissention of the Arch Angel Lucifer, and the Fall of Man, to depict a sub-story about free will, and how it applies to humanity. The concept of free will verses pre-destination has been one that has been heavily discussed in the church for centuries. In Paradise Lost, Milton makes his stand clear. God had full reign, right, and power, according to Milton. However, in order to prove his love for man-kind, he gives them the choice to accept the “Eden” he offers. Sadly, none of the characters in Milton’s story choose what they are offered. Instead, Satan finds freedom in Hell, freedom to reign, and peace in destroying others. Adam and Eve find each other, through lust and power and eventually their own vulnerability. Lucifer, Adam, and Eve all delight, momentarily, in the new level of freedom they have found. They have the greater knowledge than they ever could have imagined, however, they also discovered their own weaknesses. Satan begins to realize that there is no way he can get back into heaven without losing his pride. Adam and Eve see that they have lost the love that bonded them, and the peace with which they once lived. They blame each other. Everywhere there is discord. “This is mutual accusation spent/ the fruitless hours, but neither self-condemning./ And of thir vain contest appeer’d no end.” (IX 1187-1189) As Milton eludes here, there was no end to the discord. It continues on through the generations, all suffering for the Paradise that was lost due to the rejection of what God offered. “Soon found thir Eyes how op’nd, and thir minds/How dark’nd innocence, that as a veile/ had shadowed them from knowing ill, was gon/…They destitute and bare/ Of all thir virtue: silent, and in face/ Confounded long they sate, as struck’n mute.”(IX 1053-1056, 1062-1064) After the fall, the days of trying to restore piece by piece what is lost forever, begin. Choosing love daily in order to taste a piece of heaven and Eden that was lost to the generations. Struggling to regain Paradise.