BACKGROUND
John Milton lived from 1608-1674. Paradise Lost first appeared in 1667 (it was reorganized 1674). This is an epic (very long) poem. The story of Satan's rebellion against God and of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, this is generally considered to be the greatest epic in the English language. Milton later went on to publish Paradise Regained (1671) which tells how Jesus overcame Satan's temptations.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Satan: The main dude of the story. He was a top angel who wants to rule Heaven. He hates having to follow or be second to God or his son, Jesus. Satan gets pissed when God’s son is given more power. After losing his revolution in Heaven, he can’t handle the loss, so he ruins the lives of God’s newest favorite creation, Adam and Eve. Satan’s not an ass all the time -- he doesn’t want to mess too badly with Adam and Eve, and misses the beauty of heaven, but he feels he has to do evil. He struggles to be free, but his huge ego and pride get in the way.
Beelzebub: Another fallen angel, better known as Lord of the Flies. He supports Satan when he’s down in the beginning of the story.
God: He knows Adam and Eve are going to sin, but is pissed at them for breaking his rule -- they weren’t supposed to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. He wants them to stay innocent, like children. But through his son’s pleading, he allows them to later be saved. He gives his power to his son, Jesus, to fight Satan.
God’s Son: Jesus, though never called so in the story, since he didn’t come to the earth as a person until his virgin birth through Mary. He beats Satan and saves the future of mankind by his later sacrifice. He’s the middle-man between God and Adam and Eve.
Raphael: An angel who is sent by God to warn Adam and Eve of Satan’s plan. He tells them all about the war in heaven.
Adam: The first man. He’s loyal to God and really loves his wife, Eve. After she eats the apple, he knows she’s lost, but out of his love for her, he eats it, too. He’s also curious about the universe and creation, and asks a lot of good questions.
Eve: The first woman and Adam’s wife, who really gets the short end of the stick. She takes the bite of the apple, but Satan does an amazing job of convincing her to become more knowledgeable. She was working all day in the hot sun, when Satan shows her the juicy fruit. How couldn’t she?
PLOT
Satan and all the other angels who fought against God and lost, find themselves in hell, their new home. Bummed that they lost, they decide to ruin his newest creatures, Adam and Eve. Satan flies to earth to see what’s up with the new planet, Earth, and Adam and Eve.
Upstairs, God is watching, and, being God, knows of Satan’s plan, and how Adam and Eve will be charmed and fail him by eating the forbidden apple. He doesn’t want them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. He is pissed. He gave them everything, wants them to stay innocent, and to live forever. If they eat and become aware, and know good and evil, they’ll die. They are like kids who God wants to keep free from pain. But he knows they will disobey him. After throwing up his hands, he allows his favorite and only son, Jesus, to some day take the hit and die for Adam and Eve’s sin.
Meanwhile, Satan visits earth and starts his damage. He whispers to Eve while she is asleep about the Tree of Knowledge. Two angels stop him, but not before Eve is already scared of disobeying God. Adam comforts her. God wants to be sure that Adam and Eve know the deal: that they are finished if they eat from the Tree of Knowledge. So he sends down one of his top angels, Raphael, to tell them not to eat the apple and all about the war Satan started.
Being warned by Raphael doesn’t really help. The next morning Satan hides himself in a snake and watches Eve work in the hot sun. She is surprised when the snake talks to her. If a snake could learn to talk, why couldn’t she learn of the mysteries of the world? She becomes convinced that knowledge and death are worth the price of ignorance. Scrunch! She eats the apple. She’s psyched. She feels like a god. She wants Adam, and tells him how the apple has opened her eyes. Adam is bummed though, he knows they’re done, but Eve gets him horny and he doesn’t want her to die alone. So he eats it, too. Then they go wild. After they’re done, shame and guilt hit them for the first time. They have the first fight.
God sends Jesus to earth to let Adam and Eve learn their penalty. It’s the biblical stuff: Eve and all women will be inferior to their husbands and men and will have to deal with the pain of childbirth. The ground Adam walks on will be cursed -- what that means isn’t clear, except he’s going to know life’s a bitch, and that he’ll die. And the snake will have to crawl on its belly his whole life, too. Feeling sorry for them, Jesus gives them clothes, then leaves for heaven.
Meanwhile, Satan is feeling good. He has Sin and Death build an express lane to earth. They no longer are confined to hell, but will get a big apartment on earth. All of Satan’s buddies have been changed by God into snakes. God also reminds them that in the end, he’ll have the last laugh.
Down on earth, Eve tries to make up with Adam. He’s depressed and pushes her away, until he finally takes her back, hoping someday things will get better. They pray to God for forgiveness and Jesus lets his dad know about how badly they feel. He accepts them back into the family, but insists they leave Paradise. He sends the angel Michael to escort them out, but not before giving him a view of a future of chaos and killing that will happen in the future because of their mistake. Michael does inform them of the second coming, a new paradise that will come after. Adam feels much relief, wakes his wife, and hand in hand, they leave Paradise.
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THINGS TO MAKE YOU LOOK SMART