In Milton's first book of Paradise Lost, Satan, the expected evil archfiend of the epic, is actually depicted as a powerful and heroic character. Satan's passionate and ambitious character is more intriguing than God's reasonable and mild personality. Milton needs Satan to be a desirable character in the beginning to represent the temptation man faces when dealing with the devil. However Milton, being a strong puritan, would never allow an evil character to become the true hero. Milton did not plan on Satan being viewed as positively as he sometimes is in book one. Much of the sympathy and praise Satan receives from readers is due to the changed morals of today's society. The ambitious and proud character that Milton created for Satan, is seen as positive in today's society. However when Milton wrote this epic, being ambitious was seen as an act against God. Milton had intentions to make Satan agreeable in the beginning, however he did not intend him to resemble the epic's hero. This view was caused by the change in society's morals and could not have been predicted by Milton.

Milton's presentation of Satan makes it very difficult not to respond to him with some admiration and sympathy. Lucifer is an impressive figure and Milton has prepared for him many persuasive speeches. These speeches were prepared purposely so people can understand the temptation faced by Adam and Eve, however Satan is not the epic's hero. Satan can only continue to live after his immoral acts because of the grace of God. Satan's pride and ambition is too strong for his own good, and it blinds him to whom the true power in the universe is- God. Milton has made Satan into a mighty stature to show how strong God must be to defeat his force.

Satan's positive image with the reader is also due to his attitude. Satan responds to his fate by claiming, "the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of a Hell, a Hell of a Heaven." The strength in Satan's personality causes the reader to feel favorable towards his attitude. The idea that it is "better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven", is also widely believed in today's society. Many young readers may see Satan's pride as a positive rebellion against God, because ambition and pride today is use

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Approximate Word count = 783
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)