Paradise Lost by John Milton is a Genesis story told as it would normally be told, but with a Satan-centered protagonist. The story is told largely with a favorable portrayal of Satan and little presence of God other than cursing things, which convinces the audience that the view of God as a tyrant may not be too much. distant. However, Satan is presented as the villain of the story. However, he has the characteristics of a classic hero; including flaws that make the audience identify with him and feel sympathy for him. By using a portion of the black-and-white story from Genesis that depicts Satan as evil and juxtaposing a narrative that depicts Satan as a sympathetic hero, Milton raises a question of morality that largely defines the audience's reaction to the story: what is immoral? the important things that make Satan a hero are identified at the beginning of Paradise Lost: an obstacle Satan is trying to overcome and flaws he has. At the beginning of the poem, Satan falls into hell, which sets up the narrative in medias res (starting with the action in the middle of the story) so that the reader does not know the circumstances under which Satan rebelled against God. Satan at first despairs at the thought of eternal damnation and reconciliation debates with God, but decides that if he tried to redeem himself, he would end up rebelling again. Instead, Satan decides to corrupt the new race, the human race, that God has created and, with his army of demons, "to ascend/self-rise and reclaim their native seat [in Heaven] » (1.633-634). As Satan determines his end goal, some of his flaws are revealed, such as pride and vanity. Satan does not fear eternal damnation, rather he believes that being immortal he can continue to rebel and cause harm... middle of paper ......these, he could be described as a misunderstood savior; To audiences lacking sympathy, Satan could be portrayed as a deceptive and manipulative scoundrel with hidden agendas. Although the public may try to separate themselves from the moral viewpoint they hold, their experiences weigh in on their opinions; more clearly, everything the audience has experienced affects their point of view. In this case, being human is part of how you feel about Satan tempting Eve, which affects whether or not you support Satan as a Satanic hero; attempting to look at this issue objectively is nearly impossible and results in more headaches than solid answers. Milton does a good job of expressing how even the darkest black next to the purest white is bound to stain gray; in other words, evil and good can sometimes coincide and leave the audience tired and confused..