The Power of Choices and Consequences

In John Milton's Paradise Lost, the readers walk hand in hand through the views of revolt, treason, fall, temptation possessed within the heavenly, the earthly and the hellish triad. Created some four hundred years ago or so, the poem is attributed to the creative eruption that Milton has after experiencing the civil war in England and the loss of eyesight. It is through the characters of Satan, Adam, and Eve, that questions of free will, loyalty, and the hunger for wisdom are articulated and portrayed that remains relevant to the 20th Century audience.

The main theme that runs throughout Paradise Lost is free will, a state that Milton believes all human beings possess and which means to be loved by God. God, according to Milton, gave his creations including the angelic and the human race the ability to follow their own will but pointed out that love and obedience are worth nothing unless given freely. It is evident in how Satan's enslaves himself to heresy; being the most illustrious of all angels, who was made with the attribute of pride, Satan chose to be the rebel that does not answer to his creator. He made a wretched choice to lead a revolt against deity because he stated: "it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven". With these phrases, Satan begins to symbolize defiance, his downfall demonstrating the destructive outcomes of a will directed against its creator. Milton, through Satan, shows us the tension between pride and servitude, positioning him as a tragic figure whose desire for self-determination drives him to ruin.

Eve and Adam, the first people on Earth, testify to human innocence and the burden of free will. In their earned innocence and eternal peace in Eden, they can be easily hurt and deceived. A serpent, the embodiment of Satan, tries to stir Eve's emotions against Adam. The making of the wrong decision has alluded not just to a simple human mistake but rather a hopeless urge for knowledge that seems, in this case, too dangerous to pursue. Eve's descision not only symbolizes the quest for knowledge but also the will to commit the first act of rebellion, bringing about the downfall of mankind. Adam, in turn, following Eve's example, does not appear strong as he is well aware of the repercussions of his allegiance to Eve. Such integrity is plunged somewhere low, with two very human instincts, love and loyalty, interplaying. Through Adam and Eve, Michael discloses the notion of choice with respect to its aftermath, which in this case, destroyed the innocent beauty of simplicity. One time, the entire world as it was known was forever changed, and the consequences of that one choice transcended the levels of comprehensions.