Analysis Of John Orwell s Paradise Lost - 882 Words

Jenna Elliott Dr. Lingle-Martin British Literature February 14, 2017 How Epic Conventions Communicate Messages How does a story display a message? Often while reading, people do not realize just exactly how a text displays a message or lesson. Most of the time people realize what the message or lesson is only after they are finished reading. But, in fact many aspects of a text communicate a message. Conventions of epics play a big role in sharing the message. One may not realize it while reading, but if one were to look at the list of these conventions, one would recognize multiple examples of conventions in different texts. While each text may not have the same message, they all utilize epic conventions to help communicate a specific†¦show more content†¦However in Paradise Lost we witness a fall into the underworld, but not from what one would call a hero because he is more of a villain, this villain is Satan. At the beginning of the first book which begins after Satan s f all we get the background on why he had descended. God, Satan, and both of their armies were fighting and after God won, he punishes Satan s followers and Satan by casting them down to hell. At first Satan thinks being cast out of heaven and into hell is bad, but then he has a change of heart and emphasizes that he believes that his mind can not be changed by place or time. He expresses this belief by stating, A mind not to be chang d by Place or Time. The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heav n of Hell, a Hell of Heav n(1. 253-255). As these lines reveal, not only is the mind independent, but it also has the power to transform circumstances into good or bad. With this Satan chooses to transform Hell into good. He explains that he does this because he is still motivated by an ambition to rule like God. He justifies this by saying, Here at least we shall be free; th Almighty hath not built here for his envy, will not drive us hence: here we may reign secure, and in my choyce to reign is worth ambition through in Hell: better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav n(1. 258-263). This portrays Milton s goal of justifying God with his choice of casting Satan out of heaven into hell. The third andShow MoreRelatedGeorge Orwell23689 Words   |  95 PagesGeorge Orwell England Your England As I write, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me. They do not feel any enmity against me as an individual, nor I against them. They are ‘only doing their duty’, as the saying goes. Most of them, I have no doubt, are kind-hearted lawabiding men who would never dream of committing murder in private life. On the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well-placed bomb, he will never sleep any the worse for