SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FICTION I .docx

SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON
FICTION
I: Some General Structural and Formal Topics:
1. Discuss the author's (or authors') persona or literary identity
and situate it in relation to
the total imaginative structure of the work or works. By
persona or literary identity, I mean the
author’s implied personality, temperament, point of view,
values, and tastes. You will want to
analyze the interaction between this persona and the chosen
subject of the narrative. You can
elaborate on this topic by discussing aesthetic qualities (style),
tone or larger generic structures,
or thematic structures. Or, you can link this topic up with any
of the other topics that follow in
this list.
2. Discuss the relation of the author's view of things to that of
one or more characters and
situate this relation within the total imaginative structure of the
work or works. Consider the
author's total persona and how the author locates the character
within the author's own range of
judgment.
3. Compare two or more characters not just in relation to their
personal qualities but in respect
to their function within the total imaginative structure of the

work(s). There needs to be some
significant interpretive rationale for your selection. You might
choose characters who have some
similarity or contrast in personal characteristics and/or
situation; or you might choose characters
who seem representative of larger categories such as sexual
identity, family function, social
identity, cultural significance, or metaphysical perspective.
4. Discuss the significance of setting and situate this element
within the total imaginative
structure of the work or works. How does the setting help to
define or influence the author's
conception of possible values in the story? What limits do
settings place on human possibilities?
What opportunities do they open up? How do they enter into
normative concepts of moral value
or cultural order?
5. Discuss the narrative structure--the sequential structure of
narrated events--and situate this
element within the total imaginative structure of the works. Are
there distinct structural
divisions--for instance, divisions of chronological order or
pacing, point of view, represented
subjects, or point of view--in the sequence? What is the larger
thematic or imaginative
significance of these divisions?
6. Discuss tone in relation to the total imaginative structures of
the works; that is, is the tone
comic, satiric, ironic, tragic, depressed, heroic, or what? Tone
emerges as an interaction between
the emotional character of experience in the characters being
represented and the emotional
response of the author to the characters. What is the nature of

this interaction? To what extent
does the emotional quality of the characters' experience set the
tone? Is there any tension
between the author and the characters (as in irony and satire)?
What does tone--this emotional
quality or mood--have to do with the significance of the story or
stories? Is tone in any way a
crucial criterion of experiential quality? And is the
identification of experiential quality in any
way a primary concern of imaginative literature?
Carroll 2
7. Discuss the style of the work and situate it in relation to the
total imaginative structure of the
work or works. Style is the verbal aesthetic correlative for all
the other properties I have
mentioned in these topics. The most obvious aesthetic
properties of language are rhythm--
including the rhythmic structure of syntax or sentence structure-
-and variations in phonic
qualities (that is, qualities of sound). These purely aesthetic
components are correlated with the
connotative aspects of diction or word choice, and these aspects
are themselves integrally related
to the aesthetic quality of represented objects. Style is
evocative and expressive, registering
mood and state of mind. It reflects the characteristics of the
author’s temperament and manner of
thinking. Is the sentence structure complex or simple? Indirect
and self-involved or direct and
objective? Are the words abstract, subjective, concrete, vivid?

Is there much use of metaphor?
Tone intermingles with style; irony, pathos, and humor are also
components of style and enter
into an analysis of the use of language and the way language
reflects both the subject matter and
the author’s imaginative conception of the subject. How much
and in what way does the use of
language evoke and make imaginatively vivid the conceptual
and emotional components of the
literary representation?
8. Discuss the use of symbols, allegorical figurations, or fantasy
(supernatural events) and
situate this aspect of the work in relation to the total
imaginative structure of the work or works.
How do the events serve the particular purposes of the story?
In what way are they lodged within
a sense of subjective reality? How are they integrated with our
commonplace view of what is
objectively real? Is the relation between the subjectively and
objectively real itself an important
thematic issue? For instance, is the concept of the objectively
real associated with science or
with materialist sensualism? Is the subjectively real associated
with a spiritual or religious
conception of the world?
9. Discuss the total imaginative structure, that is, the total
structure of meaning in a work or
works. What are the largest governing elements and what is the
relation among them? How do
the emotional (tonal), sensory (aesthetic), and conceptual
(thematic) elements fit together to
constitute a total structure of meaning? If you like, you can
argue that there is no total
determinate structure of meaning and that the elements of the

work can be arranged in a virtually
infinite variety of interpretive ways to produce an infinite
number of possible significations, but
you must use this argument to illuminate a specific work or
works.
*****************************************************
*************
II: Some General Themes or Subject Topics:
1. Discuss the concept of individual identity and situate this
concept within the total
imaginative structure of the work or works. You might pay
particular attention to the problem of
the secret identity or the divided self, or you might choose to
consider the elementary facultative
components and personality components used to depict
characters, and you might want to
consider the way these components enter into the larger
categories such as sexual identity, family
function, society, humanity, life, and the universe. You might
want to consider the way the
structure of individual identity enters into normative judgments
of moral value or cultural order.
2. Discuss relations of sexual identity and/or family functions in
one or more works and
Carroll 3
situate these in relation to the total imaginative structure of the
work or works. Men and women,

fathers, mothers, children--are these categories important? If
so, how and why? How do they fit
in with tone, authorial point of view, setting, social and
political themes, or the author's
philosophical or religious views? Does it matter if the author is
a male chauvinist, a radical
feminist, a militant homosexual, or a celibate bachelor? If the
sexual character of the author does
matter, how does it matter? How does it influence his or her
depiction of moral or cultural
order? How does it influence the depiction of sexual identity
and sexual relations in the story?
What relation does it have to metaphysical views and to the
total imaginative structure of the
author's work?
3. Discuss the social and/or political themes and situate these
themes in relation to the total
imaginative structure of the work or works. Is there a critique
of an established social order? Is
there any implied alternative? What are the basic elements of
the social order? In what way is
social order influenced by individual identity, sexual identity,
and family structures? Are class
relations important? What is the relation of social structure to
socioeconomic organization?
What is the structure of power and/or authority in the society?
4. Discuss the concept of biotic "nature" or "life" in one or
more works and identify the
function of these concepts within the total imaginative structure
of the work or works. In these
works, does biology regulate human destiny, both individual
and cultural? Or is there some
spiritual world that transcends biology? What is the nature of
life itself? What about evolution,

the development of organic forms through the interactive
relation of organisms and their
environment? In what way is morality or culture dependent on
or in conflict with biotic nature?
5. Discuss the concept of the specifically human and identify its
significance within the total
imaginative structure of the work or works. What, if anything,
distinguishes human beings from
the lower animals? What are the dominant elements in the
human constitution? Are the
elements of human nature in concord or in conflict? How do
these elements enter into
conceptions of sexual identity, of family functions, of social
organization, or of culture? What is
their relation to the metaphysical (religious or philosophical)
views in the work or works?
6. Discuss the philosophical or religious views implicit in the
work or works and situate them
in relation to the total imaginative structures of the work or
works. Philosophical and religious
views concern themselves with the nature of life, human
existence, and the ultimate forces and
powers in the cosmos. How do these larger categories correlate
with personal and sexual
identity, social or cultural order, moral views or normative
value structures? Do the larger
categories regulate the more particular categories, or do they
themselves merely reflect other,
more elementary forces within the author's imaginative
universe? How much direct attention is
given to metaphysics? Is it a main focus? Is there any conflict
in the author's sense of what
constitutes the ultimate forces in the universe? Is the author in
conflict with himself or with the

ultimate structure of the universe? What is the place and
potential of human freedom or human
development within the total universal order?
*****************************************************
**************
Carroll 4
III: Some Topics from Evolutionary Psychology
1. Discuss the role of mate selection strategies, particularly
conflicts between male and
female strategies. Consider the greater investment of females in
offspring, and the tension
between male investment in offspring and male disposition for
multiple sexual partners.
Consider the psychological dimensions--motivational,
emotional--and the ethical or moral
articulations of differential male and female mating strategies.
Consider differences in short and
long-term strategies. Consider values such as attractiveness,
health, kindness, intelligence,
status, and wealth, as criteria of mate selection. Analyze the
way in which those criteria translate
into feelings and judgments for the characters, and assess the
normative value structures within
which the author situates those dramatic relations. Assess
conflicts with relatives (close kin,

parents, for instance) over mating preferences, and tensions or
disparities between conventional
social norms and the individual judgments or choices of
characters. Is male jealousy an issue?
Female? Are their differences in the types and sources of these
forms of jealousy? Are males
more jealous of potential sexual infidelity, and females of
emotional infidelity, or not?
2. Discuss the conflict between mating investment and parenting
investment in the story.
Consider the differences in male and female parenting
investment and the three factors that
regulate paternal investment in offspring: (a) aid to offspring
success; (2) paternal certainty; (3)
other mating opportunities for males. Consider also the way in
which female reproductive
strategies balance off mating effort—maintaining male
support—and parenting effort. Are step-
parents involved? If so, do they invest less willingly or not at
all in step-children? What
conflicts emerge from second marriages involving children from
previous marriages? What
stresses arise because one parent wishes for more investment in
parenting or in mating effort than
the other parent?
3. Discuss conflicts that emerge from child-parent conflict. Do
children and parents have
different interests? Do they struggle over the distribution of
resources? Do parents favor one
child over another and distribute resources accordingly? What
determines resource distribution?
Do children want parents or other relatives to die so they can
inherit wealth? Do older relatives
resist premature resource acquisition by younger relatives? Do

parents ever sacrifice themselves
for their children, or vice versa? Do parents try to enforce
values that reflect their own fitness
interests rather than those of their children, and do they invest
those interests with moral force?
Do children ever do the same?
4. Discuss the way in which the tension between “somatic” and
reproductive life effort
structures the behavior depicted in the story. Somatic effort is
the effort directed toward
gaining or keeping wealth, status, material goods. Reproductive
effort is the effort devoted to
mating, to parenting, and to helping kin. How do the desires for
wealth and status enter into the
characters’ motives? Are those desires partly in tension with
family bonds or romantic desires?
Are they partly interdependent with family bonds or romantic
desires? Is there any normative
organization of good and bad characters on the basis of the
focus characters give to somatic as
opposed to reproductive motives? (That is, are bad characters
hungry for wealth and status,
while good characters devoted themselves to love and family?)
If so, how do the
interdependence of somatic and reproductive motives
complicate that moral pattern? What are
the conventional social norms depicted? What is the author’s
relation to those norms?
Carroll 5

5. Discuss the tension between affiliative behavior and
dominance behavior in social life.
Are “getting ahead at the expense of others” and “getting along
constructively” major dimensions
of social life? If so, what specific goals or motives are
involved in each? What personality
factors contribute to each? In what ways do they conflict? Are
they also in some ways
interdependent? How does the acquisition and distribution or
sharing of resources enter into this
dimension? (Resources include both material goods and social
and other opportunities.) How
are “sympathy” or “empathy” involved in this opposition? In
what way do conventional social
status hierarchies complicate or help organize or produce
conflict in affiliative behavior? In what
way do the desires for mating or parenting or aiding kin
complicate or conflict with dominance
behavior? For both affiliative and dominance behaviors, what
forms of emotion are carried over,
as metaphors or emotional parallels, from the more intimate
relations of mating and family life?
What is friendship? Is it enabled by shared interests (material
interests, fitness interests) or
concerns (mutual involvement in some activity)? Is it a form of
mutual support within an
established social framework? Is it an economy of
complementary or common affections, ideas,
beliefs, values, perceptions? Is friendship or social bonding a
primary motive, in life or in this
story, or is it supplementary to some deeper need based on more
intimate shared fitness interests?
Is “power” in itself a motive? Does it serve as an end in itself?
If so, what must be sacrificed to
it? How does the assertion of power fit within the implied
normative framework of value in the

story?
6. Discuss the tension or interaction between elemental fitness
interests, somatic and
reproductive, and the functions of human intellect, mind, or
imagination. Is the mind used
chiefly as an instrument to satisfy needs for survival and
reproduction, for acquiring resources,
acquiring mates and sustaining relationships, raising children,
calculating kin relations, and
negotiating social relations, including establishing status and
forming social coalitions? Does the
mind have ends and aims of its own? Does it provide a distinct
set of motives and forms of
fulfillment? What function is served by observation,
intelligence, imagination? Why is art
important? Science? General knowledge? Is some
philosophical or imaginative conception of
the world an essential part of individual identity? How do
mental acquirements enter into social
identity? Into mate selection? How do mental acquirements
interact with other features of
temperament or personal identity? What are the features of
mental life? Are there distinct
faculties or aptitudes for curiosity, analytic precision,
originality, or articulateness? Do spatial
and verbal skills diverge in orientation and social function?
Are there significant gender
differences? How important are all these issues and questions
to the characters in the story? To
the author? Do distinctions deriving from mental aptitudes and
mental cultivation form
significant fault lines in the organization of characters into
communities or sets? Into
protagonists or antagonists?

The Miltonic Paradox-Analysis of Hierarchy
Upon analysis of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” one cannot
wonder how God had truly intended to form the world. One begs
the question of perfection, for it is clear that though God
himself is the most perfect being, none of his creations can
attest to sharing the same qualities. God has given his creations
free will and we are led to this point frequently by Milton. Yet
is free will not a diminutive of imperfection? Is this
imperfection purposely introduced by John Milton only to have
readers find a deeper meaning within his text and the concept of
free will?
There is also the reoccurring question of sight within Milton's
prose.When consulted by Archangel Michael it is apparent that
Adam’s vision is impaired by his humanity. For Adam must be
shown the future. Ultimately this is the consequence of his
sinful act. Let us note the significance of this act as it pertains
to Milton's political philosophy. Adam is representative of
England's public, as he cannot see the error of his ways without
assistance. Instead he must be led to the forgone conclusion that
he must let his free will guide his actions in order to nourish the
"Paradise” within.
Perhaps ironically Milton has come to symbolize the ruling
party represented by Michael. Milton strongly believed in the
concept of free will yet could not successfully convince a
majority of the English population of the communal efficiency
that a Democratic system offers. In fact many of the British
held ideals contrary to Milton's belief as Hobsian theories
justified monarchical reign. Thus Milton had perhaps
inadvertently made free will obligatory. Milton had at one point
in his campaign thought it necessary to assemble a limited
group of elite English spirituals in order to govern the now
unruly English population. He deemed this spiritual council "the
council of saints".

This development can very well be viewed as incongruous to
Milton's original theory of free will which emphasized the
freedom of the people in the deliberation of their own actions.
God seems to make the same impression through his trials of
Adam and Eve as he has now banished the two from Paradise
and subjected them to Michael who must now in a sense
deliberate for them, this is symbolic of Milton's building of
frustration with an uncooperative English people, who though
were offered a choice and chose of their own accord had
apparently made the incorrect decision having chosen to support
the reinstitution of England’s monarchy.
There is also a major question being posed as to the pre
disposition of the English political revolution to failure, just as
Adam and Eve had been, having had sin become engrained
within their daily lives through the imperfections of Paradise.
One of Paradise’s blatant imperfections resides within the fact
that it is growing at a pace too rapid for its inhabitants to tend
to. “This garden still to tend plant, barb, and flower. Our
pleasant task enjoined, but till more hands aid us, the work
under our labor grows, luxurious by restraint, what by day lop
overgrown.” (Milton, 206) This quote may also be implicative
of the need to nurture free will as an alternative to lopping and
barbering it. Free will is simply something that cannot be
restrained. This fact stated by Milton himself act only to further
the lunacy of Milton’s new found obligatory “free will”.
We know from Hobbes’ theory the role of the monarch as a
benefactor in a binding social contract grants a supreme ruler
access to the rights of a people. Yet he is meant to be somewhat
representative of his public, however the summation of his
power enables tyrannical notions to transpire.
Kingship has become a. daily ritual and is now engrained within
said society. A revolution on any scale would prove prevalent at
first would eventually face demise given the higher beings
immense influence. Let us note that a king is claimed to be of

divine blood, yet he is subject to human imperfection, does.
God face these same imperfections brought on by frustration?
And yet perhaps Milton is justifying God’s action by pointing
out the volatility of the human nature. Let us examine the
concept of Adam and Eve more closely before we delve into this
matter.
The assumption that this may have all been a test of will is also
justifiable, for we also see much of this trial played out amongst
Adam and Eve. From the beginning of creation we come to find
that humanity as portrayed by Adam is naturally inclined to be
curious, lusting for knowledge at all times. “But who I was, or
were, or for what cause, Knew not; to speak I tried, and
forthwith spake.” (Milton 268) This statement has been made by
Adam and it is apparent that he has been naturally inclined to
question his own being and the environment around him. Adam
and Eve are both faced with the challenge of denying this lust.”
Each tree leaden with fairest fruit , though hung to the eye
tempting, stirred in me sudden appetite to pluck and eat”
(Milton 269). This statement is proof of not only Adam’s
natural inclination to temptation but Eve’s as well. However,
they are given the opportunity to become heavenly beings their
diet permitting. As earthly beings perhaps Adam and Eve have
been naturally selected as beings inferior to those of angelic
origin, but with the ability to transcend through rite of passage.
Another possible disparity remains within Eve’s sex as a
woman. Eve seems to be somewhat enslaved to the idea that she
is meant to serve Adam, and this is pertinent to our argument
societal positioning because it is clear in Genesis that Eve’s
purpose is to proliferate with Adam . Being born of Adams
likeness from his own blood and flesh she is spiritually bonded
within him and is caught in a binding contract. Eve’s fate has
been sealed or her choice of lovers is narrowed to one, there is
really no alternate option except to obey God’s command.
It is apparent that she has been selected as the weaker vessel,

this revelation finally coming to pass in Adams description of
his new bride “Too much of ornament, in outward show
elaborate, of inward less exact. For well I understand in the
prime end of nature her inferior, in the mind and inward
faculties, which most excel, in outward also her resembling
less.” (Milton 276) One can understand just how frustrating
something like this can be and perhaps the strangulation of
Eve’s feminine nature is in part to blame for her misgrievance.
This again begs the question as to whether or not there is a
possibility that both Satan and Eve both succumbed to the same
natural inclination while facing the same trial by God.
The answer is a resounding yes, Eve’s positioning within the
hierarchy has forced her to face this trial and turn
disadvantaged her, Satan’s demotion is also clearly a hierarchal
disadvantage, and in fact the whole world has been created at
somewhat of a tilt having been laden with “dregs” upon its
creation. This dark matter we collectively refer to as dregs is
not a creation of God; rather they are remnants of the process
by which the earth has been created. “The black tartareous cold
infernal dregs” (Milton 242) This admittance perhaps suggests
that there are things that not even God can control, as much as
this adverse to Milton’s philosophy it must be taken into
consideration.
This sense of mystery provokes intrigue among Miltonic
readers. The literature begs us to deconstruct it incrementally so
as to broach the true value of its morality. If there is something
that the Human mind cannot begin to grasp, even with its keen
intellect. Who is to say that we should be delegated the right to
divinity. Milton is making this argument by impairing Adams
vision, and including the divine intervention of Michael. For if
our vision is limited then there is one of three dimensions
unveiled to the human faction, as is represented by the
limitation of Adams vision of the future from Christ onward. He
even goes as far as to have Michael re iterate the consequence

of man’s divine self appraisal to Adam “Of proud ambitious
heart , who not content with fair equality , fraternal state will
arrogate dominion undeserved over his brethren” (Milton, 25).
Michael is clearly stating that man cannot proclaim himself
divine for it creates an unjust imbalance.
Yet Milton does something very controversial indeed through
the inclusion of Gods unique foreknowledge which to some
seems to imply that there is no conceivable alternative to pre
destination. How can Milton allow for this, and does it truly
contradict itself. The answer is yes, however contradiction
within itself is symbolic of free will because its syntax is
tolerable of questioning. To question authority and to fall is to
govern one’s self. The fall is not quite as bad as is made to be.
Adam and Eve have been spared destruction.
This may be conceived as destiny, not pre destination but the
uncontrollable force that is destiny. It is a force so
serendipitous in nature that not even God can alter the outcome
of any given situation. This leads us to believe that perhaps
divinity is not the highest form of being. For God cannot bring
himself to destroy his creations and quite often makes reference
to the fact that he must abide by the rules. We never know what
rules God is referencing. Yet we do know that god is obligated
to follow them for he can only forgive Adam and Eve until the
son offers himself as a savior. In addition God cannot destroy
evil although he has the ability to do so. It seems as though he
has a natural inhibition.
If one is to be inhibited by nature then it is plausible that the
said being has been created. This could very well be a statement
on the part of Milton implying that God is deeper than most
believe God is represented as incomplete but only by his own
decree for we as readers cannot and should not be able to
broach the true ideals of divinity. What we know as true
divinity goes beyond Milton’s illusion of a punishing god. It is
a god that is able to utilize his abilities in order to provide for a

meaningful ending rather than haphazardly providing a means to
an end which at any rate undervalues said means, for all of
god’s creations have value.
God is not a creation and he is not inhibited. Rather Milton’s
syntax implies that he has some of these features, yet they are
purposely utilized to stress God’s intention to have those within
his environment make their own decisions un obliged. All of
these events have ultimately concluded in the union of the son
of god and humanity, yet it could only have come about through
the utilization of free will on the part of God’s creations. A
deconstructionist view may deem the son of God the central
figure of “Paradise Lost”, and this view though unclear at times
is made relevant through the introduction of “Paradise
Regained”. Several small decisions now comprise the storied
history of the human race. Trial is a testament to free will in the
sense that it challenges it, thus making its final product a
decisive line of reasoning.
Milton may have been stressing the importance of finality,
rather than focus on the earthly means of contemplation through
reason. The final result can only be described as the greatest
form of happiness. However there is a human philosophy and a
contrasting divine philosophy. The human philosophy is that of
Aristotle, stating that contemplation is the greatest happiness of
man. Yet Thomas Aquinas’ divine philosophy relates to us that
only union with God can bring to humanity the true happiness
we seek, however this union only comes through the ultimate
finality of death.
Milton had read many of the classic texts and surely these
philosophical ideas must have had some effect on his judgment
as a puritan as well as a writer and political figure. It is not the
means by which a decision is made that is most vital but rather
the final result that makes the greatest impact. Milton would use
whatever means necessary to have the people embrace free will.
However Intelligent Milton had been, he cannot profess to being

God or being divine, for proclaiming such a position demotes
his stature to that of those who he has worked tirelessly to
dethrone. “Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid, Leave them
to God above, him serve and fear “of other creatures, as him
pleases best” (Milton, 167) Milton may have been better served
letting the true meaning of his puritan faith guide him instead of
diluting it with tracts from Hobbes’ “Leviathan”. The difference
between Milton’s text and his reality differs in the sense that
they contrast. Milton does not possess the means of God’s
foreknowledge and therefore cannot foresee the reactions of the
public to his reasoning. Milton has strayed from his words and
made free will obligatory. However his text serves as an
example of the perfection that can be bred from the
imperfections of humanity.
Student’s name:
Instructor’s name: Gregory TAGUE
Course: Milton
Date: April 30, 2010
Temptation: a Process in Paradise Lost
Milton’s Paradise Lost presents temptation as something that
has its roots inside of the character. Whether it is Satan, Adam
or Eve, the tempted “person” is described as passing through
stages of inner thoughts and questioning before getting to the
point where he or she succumbs to temptation. The question is
to be asked: is God responsible for the rebels angels’ fall? Is
Satan the first to be blamed for Adam’s and Eve’s fall? Some
important elements of this epic poem suggest many reasons why
those characters succumb to temptation. While reading Paradise
Lost, one realizes that temptation is more complex than it
seems. It follows a process from the vision of what is forbidden
to the point of rebellion passing by the emergence of multiple
desires; everything happening within the character itself and

predisposing him or her to fall. To better understand Milton’s
conception of temptation, it might be interesting to discover
where temptation comes from, what the consequences of
temptation are and finally, what can human beings do to resist
temptation.
Temptation, in Milton’s point of view, comes from the senses.
The sight appears to be the first of the senses to get involved in
temptation. One can easily understand that the fallen characters
have to see first before they covet. In book one, the reader
meets Mammon, one of the rebel angels, who “for even in
Heaven his looks and thoughts / Were always downward bent,
admiring more / The riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold,
/ Than aught divine or holy else enjoyed / In vision beatific”
(Book 1, 680-684). Two words in these verses confirm the idea
that temptation comes from seeing: looks and admiring. They
even go gradually in intensity because when one starts
admiring, it means he or she is looking intensely and for a
relatively long time. Thus, instead of keeping his eyes on God
whom all angels are supposed to adore, which is the “beatific
vision”, Mammon was looking down. No wonder why he ended
up cast from heaven. Eve, right after her creation, acted
similarly: “As I bent down to look, [says she] just opposite, / A
shape within the watery gleam appeared / Bending to look on
me, I started back, / It started back, but pleased I soon returned,
/ Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks / Of
sympathy and love; there had I fixed / Mine eyes till now, and
pined with vain desire” (Book IV, 460-466). It is important to
notice that at that moment, Eve was gazing at herself to the
point of worship almost. By doing that, she reveals how proud
of herself she was; and pride, in Milton’s period, still was
considered the first of the seven deadly sins. In both Mammon’s
and Eve’s scenes, the character is looking down which, in a
sense, prefigures his and her fall.
Satan also gives us more reasons to think that sight matters a lot
in term of temptation. It can lead to good or evil actions. Satan,

in Book 4 of Paradise Lost, sees Eden and God’s new creatures.
This sight makes him rethink of his life in heaven and somehow
encourages him more to go after humankind in order to take
revenge of God: “Sight hateful, sight tormenting! Thus these
two / Imparadis’t in one another’s arms / The happier Eden,
shall enjoy their fill / of bliss on bliss, while I in Hell am
thrust, / where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire”(Book 5,
505-509). The reader will observe that the view of Adam and
Eve has inspired or rather revived bad feelings such envy and
jealousy in Satan. Later, Eve will live almost the same
experience. In Book 9, she will “gaze” to the fruit which she
describes as “alluring”. One can remark that the adjective
“alluring” describes how Eve sees the apple.
Temptation will go from the sight to Eve’s other senses: “When
from the boughs a savoury odour blown, / Grateful to appetite,
more pleas'd my sense / Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the
teats / Of ewe or goat dropping with milk at ev'n”. Her sense of
smell is also attracted and that will lead, as the reader already
knows, to the satisfaction of her sense of touch and taste as
described in the following verses: “An eager appetite, rais'd by
the smell / So savoury of that fruit, which with desire, /
Inclinable now grown to touch or taste, / Solicited her longing
eye” (Book 9, 739-743). Earlier, the reader saw how her hearing
was also engaged in the process of temptation with Satan
whispering into her ears in her dreams. Furthermore, the
temptation scene in Book 9 reports Satan’s persuasive speech to
convince Eve to eat the apple. Temptation has definitely a lot to
do with senses.
The sight is indisputably among all the senses the one that
communicates more to the mind and the heart in Paradise Lost.
While reading the poem, one should not forget that Milton
himself was blind. No one values vision more than a blind
person; vision that goes beyond what one can see with physical
eyes. In the first Book of Paradise Lost, Milton will remind the
reader that he is blind. However, his blindness does not limit

him because he “may see and tell / of things invisible to mortal
sight” (Book 1, 55). He is able to be the “first” to write the
greatest epic poem of man’s “first disobedience”. The reader
might conclude that there is another type of vision, inside of
people, greater than the physical one. This vision propels them
into achieving higher goals which are not necessarily better
goals. Like Milton, Satan has a determined vision: his mission
to establish his throne higher than God’s throne. In order to
accomplish that, he had to form the idea inside of him. He
might be doing things that the reader disagrees with but one
can’t help to sometimes admire his determination in realizing
the vision he has conceived in his mind. Consequently, seeing
isn’t not only physical it is also mental and in both sense it
generates feelings and desires that lead to the fall inside of the
characters.
Temptation does not come only from the senses it also comes
from feelings and desires that someone feeds in his or her heart.
Throughout Paradise Lost, the reader is exposed to the
character’s desires. He is first exposed to Satan’s feelings and
desires. Satan was full of negative pride, jealousy, envy and
ambition “he it was, whose guile stird up with Envy and
Revenge, deceiv’d The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride
had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host of Rebel
Angels…”. His desire was to be equal to God violating this way
the hierarchy that God Himself has established: “To set himself
in glory above his peers, / He trusted to have equaled the Most
High, If he opposed; and with ambitious aim / Against the
throne and monarchy of God, / Raised impious was in Heaven
and battle proud / With vain attempt” (Book 1, 34-44). Those
feelings and desires were nourished by the fact that Satan saw
God appointing the Son as second in command instead of Satan
himself and also by the view of Eden Paradise that God created
for Adam and Eve. The sight indubitably inspires feelings and
desires.

Satan is not the only one to have desired to rise higher. Eve also
expressed the desire to be elevated. According to Milton, she
was created secondly and to be second to Adam: “Whence true
autority in men; though both / Not equal, as thir sex not equal
seemed; / For contemplation he and valour formed, / For
softness she and sweet attractive Grace, / He for God only, she
for God in him; / His fair large front and eye sublime declared /
Absolute rule” (Book IV, 295-300). One has to take note of the
fact that in this quote, Eve’s description put the emphasis on her
physical appeal whereas Adam’s description seems to
accentuate his role as superior. The reader can recall Raphael
talking to Adam about heaven but not to Eve. He can also
remember that Adam was the one to have direct communication
with God not Eve. This is the hierarchy that God has
established: vegetables and animals are at the bottom of the
pyramid, man is superior to woman, the angels are superior to
human beings and God is on top of everyone and everything. All
those facts confirm Eve’s lower position and give a hint on the
kind of thoughts that were in her mind. As a matter fact, just
like Satan, she nourished the desire to become equal and even
superior to Adam by acquiring knowledge. The serpent
incarnated by Satan has certainly given a push to Eve but she
was already predisposed to be disobedient to God. After Eve’s
fall, the narrator reveals to the reader her true motives for
eating from the Tree of Knowledge. “But keep the odds of
Knowledge in my power / Without Copartner? so to add what
wants / In Female Sex, the more to draw his Love, / And render
me more equal, and perhaps, / A thing not undesireable,
sometime / Superior: for inferior who is free?” says Eve to
herself after the fall” (Book 9, 820-825). It becomes obvious in
the expression “A thing not undesireable” that Eve has a low
opinion of herself. It explains why she obviously was seeking
knowledge for the sake of being free and superior. And when
the serpent says “reach then and freely taste”, he pronounces
out loud Eve’s inner thoughts which is to rise up (reach) and to
attain freedom (freely taste).

Adam, on the other hand, was seeking knowledge for the sake of
knowledge itself. Since the beginning, the reader sees Adam
eager to know. This eagerness is almost irresistible. In book V,
the reader has a demonstration of Adam’s desire to know: “Thus
when with meats and drinks they had sufficed, / Not burdened
nature, sudden mind arose / In Adam, not to let the occasion
pass / Given him by this great conference to know / Of things
above his world, and of their being / Who dwell in Heaven”
(Book 5, 451-456). Adam, in Raphael’s company, is burning to
know more. He is not interested in only feeding his flesh but
also and mostly in feeding his mind. However, if food can
suffice his flesh, what Raphael is telling him never seems
enough; Adam always has more questions. Then, Raphael
advises him not to seek to know more than what God allows him
to know: “Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid, / Leave
them to God above, him serve and fear" (Book 8, 167-168).
Raphael knew that Adam’s burden for knowledge could
predispose him to fall. The same Adam was already questioning
the order instituted by God. In his mind, he saw Eve as “wisest,
vertuousest, discreetest, best”; higher that himself as opposed to
what Raphael taught him. Wasn’t Eve almost like a god to
Adam? Consequently, the reader is not surprised to see Adam
receiving the apple from Eve’s hands and sharing it with her
despite God’s interdiction. Finally, everything from his desire
to know to his perception of Eve was preparing Adam to
succumb to the temptation of eating the forbidden fruit.
Adam and Eve knew that they would die if they decided to eat
the apple. However, in Milton’s point of view, they did not
know the full consequences of their action. Those consequences
are numerous, physical and mental, immediate and gradual,
affecting them as well as their offspring. Just like the Angels
lost their “blissful state in Heaven” to go in the “utter darkness”
of hell, Adam and Eve lost “their happy seat”. As soon as Eve
started eating the apple: “Earth felt the wound, and Nature from

her seat, / Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe /
That all was lost” (Book 9, 780-784). Eden Paradise experiences
changes in weather and appearances and the first man and
woman had to be expelled. The transformations did not only
occur in Eden but also within human beings themselves.
According to Milton, even their ability to talk was altered. They
lost communication with God and did no longer have the same
kind of exchange between themselves. "They sat them down to
weep, nor only tears/ Rained at their eyes, but high winds worse
within/ Began to rise, high passions, anger, hate,/ Mistrust,
suspicion, discord, and shook greatly/ Their inward state of
mind." Imitating Satan, Adam will qualify himself as
“miserable” after the fall. Their disobedience to God also
produces solitude: solitude from God and solitude within them
although together: “The world was all before them, where to
choose / Their place of rest, and Providence their guide; / They,
hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, / Through Eden
took their solitary way” (Book 12) Moreover, Sin and Death
entering the world because of Adam’s and Eve’s fall, all
humankind will be “cursed”. Using the same sense which has
served to lead Adam to fall, Michael will make him see all the
consequences of his disobedience such as the flood that destroys
the earth. To the view of such negative future, Adam who was
so eager to know wished he never knew.
However, Michael did also use vision to show Adam that all is
not forever lost. They will regain Paradise but within them. Just
like temptation started inside to make them lose Eden, they will
have something inside of them to regain Paradise. In order for
that to happen, the Son will incarnate as Jesus-Christ and will
die for humankind. Then, he will send God’s spirit who will
show human beings how to resist temptation and keep the
paradise within themselves: “But from Heaven / He to his own a
Comforter will send, / The promise of the Father, who shall
dwell / His Spirit within them; and the law of faith, / Working
through love, upon their hearts shall write, / To guide them in

all truth; and also arm / With spiritual armour, able to resist /
Satan's assaults” (Book 12, 485-492). God’s order to not eat the
fruit of the tree of Knowledge was given orally. Later, Moses
wrote God’s laws on table stones. With the Son coming to earth
and through His spirit, God will write His law in human beings’
hearts. They will be able be obedient to Him and that is what
Jesus-Christ the Son incarnated will teach men and women in
Paradise Regained. Just like Adam and Eve, Jesus-Christ will be
tempted by Satan. The “tempter” will use everything that can
attract his senses to make him succumb: food, wealth, glory etc.
Jesus will always resist showing human beings that they can
resist too. Adam and Eve will be given the opportunity to rise
from their fall. The image of God spirit giving birth to the
world or the image of the Feminine Muse inspiring Milton
foreshadows God’s spirit who will inspire human beings. In the
scene of Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Bible, God’s spirit
ascends on him under the form of a dove. Jesus then was
capable of resisting the temptation that came shortly after. The
same way, God’s spirit given to human beings will make them
capable of resisting temptation and will help them keep the
paradise inside of them.
In conclusion, it is evident that, in Paradise Lost, temptation
does not come primarily from a “tempter” outside. It has its
origin inside of each one of the fallen characters who has fed it
until the point to commit disobedience. The tempter was clever
enough to take advantage of the right occasion where his
victims were weaker thus more incline top fall. Senses,
especially the sight and desires play a major role in people’s
fall. That is why in the second covenant, God insufflates His
own spirit inside of human beings. In a sense, it is like they
start having God Himself within themselves. Although the
consequences of the fall are numerous, Milton defends the idea
of “happy fault” or “fortunate fall” in Paradise Regained. This
last book announces a rebirth. God proves how much he cares
about humankind when He sends His Son by whom Satan will

totally be defeated. A new heaven and a new hearth will appear
where men and women will live happily ever after. It seems to
be like a fairy tale where it always ends well. However, some
questions come to mind that are difficult to answer: first of all,
was it really worth all the suffering throughout human
generations? Secondly, isn’t Milton as guilty of pride as Satan,
Eve and Adam by pretending to write the greatest epic ever and
to be able to “justify the ways of God to man”? What kind of
God would need a vindicator?

SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FICTION I .docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FICTION I .docx

Similar to SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FICTION I .docx (20)

More from rronald3

More from rronald3 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

SOME BROAD TOPICS FOR CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FICTION I .docx