Paradise Lost by Milton - Essay Example

A man’s choices can either be independent of or dependent on the ways of the scriptures’ teachings. A human mind maydecide to make heaven out of the worst situation or make hell out of heaven. In this breadth, Milton in his Paradise Lost, stated, “The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a Heavn of Hell, a Hell of Heavn”. In Paradise Lost, Satan as the main character is viewed by many as the hero after overcoming serious setback of being thrown out by his creator from heaven. He manages to overcome his doubts and setbacks, managing to achieve his goal of converting the human kind to do his will. Although Satan as a protagonist may not be the object of admiration as other heroes do, there are some admirable qualities of determination. Satan is also compellingly complex and manages to strike a majestic attitude, not threatened by death or conflict. In The Canterbury Tale, The Wife of Bath tells us how she uses her experience with men to achieve anything she wants. She glorifies her ability to control the institution of marriage, and that she has married several times five men. To her, marrying these five men is not only normal but is acceptable in the bible. I engaged the two characters in a conversation, as highlighted below: Me: welcome guys to our today’s discussion on your roles on earth. Several questions have been raised why you operate the way you do and why you torment those who do not agree with you in one way or the other. What can you say about these allegations? Satan: Thank you, as you I am Satan, the only person who has the ability to challenge our enemies. A man must be able to free his mind; otherwise he would simply be an empty shell with no purpose. That’s why I have to help man think freely, without restrictions by showing him the way to life. The Wife of Bath: Thank you for this forum, I’m here as a testimony of how a free mind can help free humankind’s mind (she wears a broad infectious smile). When Satan talks about the need to establish a free mind, I’m an example of what a free mind can achieve. Satan: (nodes his head in agreement) that’s why heav’n isn’t the right place for mankind, where you’ll be dup’t into believing that you’re free, yet in reality you become a slave of one’s way of thinking. Me: Well, (facing Satan) the last time you disagreed with God you had disobeyed him. You went ahead and started a war that you lost. Instead of picking yourself up and to wage another war, you wage war on mankind by duping them to follow your wicked ways (Milton 6). Satan: (trying hard to control his apparent angered look) I have not waged any war against God, but I’m just helping people free their mind from the slavery. Look at The Wife of Bath; she’s a free woman, not burdened by unnecessary rules that limit human’s ability. The Wife of Birth: (nodes in affirmative) Me: can you expound? Satan: Yes, I say God gives with one hand and takes away with the other hand. Let me explain, when he created us, he created the fruits and tells man not to eat. Why would you punish somebody for using what you have created for them? I mean that’s unfair and unjustified...isn’t that madness? The Wife of Bath: I feel liberated against any limitation. That’s why I can complain coz am having fun. Me: (facing The Wife of Birth) but I see you quote a lot from the bible. Why do you do this while disobeying His teachings? The Wife of Bath: Am aware people have criticized me for my five numerous marriages, five times to be precise. The critics’ argument is that Jesus only approved one marriage, by only attending one such marriage ceremonies in Galilee. However, my own view is that the scripture interpretation is what differentiates my views from those of my critics. What Jesus meant when he told the Samaritan woman that the then husband, who was the fifth husband to her, was not her husband is totally different from many understand. He simply meant that he did not have to be a wife to be recognized by Jesus. Satan: And that’s what I tell people that blind interpretation of the bible is what ails majority. The wife of Bath: (continues) I have, in several occasions, asked men how many husbands a woman should have in her entire lifetime. Unfortunately, no concrete answer has ever come forth. In fact, God recommended that we multiply and fill the earth, and that’s only possible with having many husbands in my lifetime. In anything in the Old Testament, some of the greatest followers of scriptures like Jacob and Abraham had several wives at once. Me: Satan, you are described as very complex and subtle at the same time. Your flawed character s a complete contrast of what God taught. Why do you act like this yet we all know you went to “God’s School of Morality” as His preferred angel? Satan: When we disagreed with God, I did not disobey him as portrayed but was based on the principle that what I felt was the right thing to do was not in line with what he thought was right. So I didn’t agree with him when he expelled me from his palace in what I believe was a simple ideological difference. I was not stir’d up with any revenge form but ma intention is to show that there is an alternative to Heav’n, which a free earth full of pleasure and good life. Me: Do you mean to say that let God stay with Heaven and you remain with Earth? Satan: Exactly, a’mean it’s extremely selfish to purport to own the two yet you only live in one. Let God know that people should have freedom of choice in their daily activities. If restrict’d then the life n purpose of the people’s existence is meaningless. People should be allowed to have fun, and enjoy the earthly wealth to the maximum. Why must the earthly good exist and my people are told not to enjoy it, that’s ridiculous isn’t it? Me: (to The Wife of Bath) you have claimed that virginity is for the perfect. Isn’t it good to be perfect? In nature, what is so common is not favoured, and from your bold step of moving from one husband to another may hit a deadlock in the near future when every man will shun you as a whore? The Wife of Bath: Yes, I will say and repeat virginity is a preserve of the perfect, am ain’t perfect. When God created me with all the beauty, he had planned what I would do in this world, and one of those things was to use my powerful sex appeal to get what I want. Me: While you claim that you only use your sexuality to get what you want, many take it that you use your sexuality to manipulate others. For example, you claim that your first three husbands were good while the last two were bad (Chaucer 7). Apparently, the first three husbands were older and richer than the last two. You go further to use your sexuality to get money from your husband and at the same time devise other tactics to ensure that they are completely submissive to you. Can you explain to us why you do this? And don’t you think it will reach a point when men will become cleverer and unearth your tricks? The Wife of Birth: (seems less surprised by these perceptions) am quite conscious of the issues you’ve raised. The problem is that your view of the world and events is a complete contrast of mine. First of all, everyone sin in one way or the other. Sinning just show the human side of us, hence the need to be accommodative. If it happens that my sparkle reduces sometimes to come, I will take it gracefully and settle down with a man I want. I have loads of experience to bed any man I want, it does not matter whether the person is married or not. Me: (surprised) Oh really!? The Wife of Bath: Yes! (Flaunting text messages in her mobile handset) You know nobody can work for ever. You don’t wait to get old to achieve what you want, when you can get everything you want at a younger age. Time waits for no one, and I will achieve what I want and decide to relax when I get older. With my experience I will get the man to take care of me when I get old. Me: Finally, I would want you guys to give your closing remark. Satan: I would want people to understand that there is no better place than earth. They should be ready to fight for a better earth than hoping that Heav’n exists. Nobody has ever gone there and come back. People need to enjoy fully without limit’n their ability to get what they want. The Wife of Bath: I would tell people to have fun, for those who are willing to live a full life. When people are full of hatred it means they envy you, just wishing they had the powers you to get what you want. Let people multiply according to the biblical teachings. The bible does not recognize virgins. If it did, then the virgins would not have existed coz no one would have given birth anyway. So let people enjoy and have fun, life’s short! Me: Thank you guys for your time, I appreciate it! Works Cited Milton, John. Paradise Lost. NY: Macmillan Coll Div, 1992. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales (Oxford World’s Classics). NY: Oxford University Press, 2008. Read More