Man and Satan - Kindred Spirits in a Chaotic Universe - Literature Essay Samples

Perhaps the most seductive method of interpreting existence is through the bifocal lenses of morality. Whether in a religious or non-religious sense, almost every civilization, institution, and human has had its own demarcation of Good and Evil. Ironically, these various entities have so infinitely many variations of the moral code that it is futile to attempt to find unifying characteristics among them other than the essential ideas that make them moral codes. Fortunately, there are other ways to look at the world. Were it not for these alternative perspectives, it would be impossible to sort through the infinite value judgements and restrictions put on the human race by its various moralities, and the occasional brilliant individual who manages to transcend the moral system would necessarily be a perversion of man. In Paradise Lost, Satan is Miltons medium for depicting this brilliant, fiery independence from the restrictions placed on the human spirit by whatever religious or moral system may attempt define and constrain it. Satan is the aspect of humanity that strays from the path of God and ceases to see the universe in terms of Good and Evil. Similarly, while Satan may be responsible for humanitys fall, it is this very fall that makes us human as we understand the word today. It is in this way that Milton not only explains the ways of God to man, but at the same time makes it clear that these ways of God make us incapable of following the path he has laid out for us. When issues of religion and morality are put aside and the conflict between God and Satan is seen solely as a conflict between two separate entities, Satan is nothing more than a rebel who would relate with Cromwell, Milton, and other revolutionaries of the day in England.Instead of malice, hatred, and evil many of the qualities exemplified by Satan are admired by humanity as some of the highest possible virtues. After his expulsion from heaven, Satan reflects upon his situation and demands of himself unconquerable will, (Book I, 106) courage never to submit or yield, (108) and his own personal glory. (110) It is important to remember that before Satan was the archfiend he was one of the most powerful angels in heaven. He is an exceptional character, with a will and an intellect capable of questioning and even fighting God, the highest power in the universe. While some may see Satans rebellion as a repugnant affront to everything good and holy, those who are not concerned with the good and holy would see Satan as an immense power to be feared with a will and courage worthy of true admiration. Furthermore, Satan is much more than a one-dimensional entity capable solely of pure evil. His introspection makes it clear that life as the lord of Hell involves more than just corrupting humanity and plotting revenge against God. In fact, while God is spared many human emotions such as doubt, loss, and the pain of defeat due to his omniscience and omnipotence, Sa tan does not have this convenience. While Satan possesses plenty of qualities that would are certainly evil, they are all undeniably human qualities. Because of this Satan embodies not only all the qualities that we, as humans admire and strive towards, but also all of the less pleasant human emotions that make him even more approachable and understandable as a character.Because Satans fall bears such remarkable parallel to the fall of man it is necessary to adopt a perspective that departs from the oppressive morality of God. The fate of the two are intertwined- to condemn Satan is to condemn man, and the harshest judgment would be brought down upon men who exhibit the highest level of independence, passion, and philosophical integrity. Satan is a mirror off of which the essence of man is reflects, and does so brilliantly at times. More importantly, he shows us that mans essence is such that man is free to perpetually transcend his essence and reach for whatever infinite possib ilities lay outside the boundaries laid down by even God himself. It is essential to accept Satans existence in order to accept the state of man. For example, Satans fall occurred at the first moment that he conceived of disobeying Gods will, at which point his daughter, Sin, a goddess armed, (Book 2, line 757) emerged from his head. This birth is identical to that of Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom. The significance is that Satan is not inherently evil. Instead evil was something that he created by exercising thought and free will. Furthermore, the fruit from the tree of knowledge is the cause of Adam and Eves expulsion from Paradise. It is this parallel that provides an essential insight into the nature of the condition shared by all men. It is the ability to possess knowledge that provides man with a will that is free to depart from the path of God. Reason also is choice. (Book 3, line 108) Really, mans fall occurred when God gave him free will. Regardless of any s in man may have committed, the moment man was free he no longer was merely another essence in the mind of God, but an individual capable of determining his own limitless essence. Paradise is the original state of painless oblivion in which man cannot make for himself a hell by thinking, and Satan is whatever force initially removes man from oblivion.Perhaps if man had the same omniscience as God he would understand the ways of the lord and keep from his renegade path. Nonetheless, there are some contradictions in the essential nature of an all-knowing, all-powerful, yet at the same time judgement-casting being. If God is free, he is making decisions with no precedent and no laws to determine his decision. He would be paralyzed in Nirvana and existence would be, essentially, empty. On the other hand, God, in his total-knowledge of the universe, may be ruling over the fate of man with what he knows to be the immutable, universal laws of existence. Not only would this put God in the position of a mere errand jockey for some other arbitrary force, but Gods role as creator of the universe would put the universe in a strange, flickering limbo state. All of these possibilities may be perfectly feasible when you think about some of the crazy things in this existence, for example gravity and Catholicism. Nonetheless, it is probably more reasonable to believe that the nature of Gods existence is beyond the realm of human comprehension. Thus, by explaining the fashion in which man was expelled from Paradise, Milton makes it clear that mans salvation, soul, essence, and fate is up to him. We have lost the paradise of intimacy with God and the convenience of living within the scope of his omnipotence. We are alone and ignorant in a chaotic universe, where mans free will rules over Gods intended essence. While the desire to seek comfort and guidance towards salvation from God may be strong, the most we can know in terms of understanding the ways of God is that we have been cast from Paradise and in the end, we will have to choose if salvation is even what we want. And maybe salvation is what we need after all. Without Gods guidance or promise, maybe the real answer is to accept this reality, now, with the knowledge that it is impossible to condemn something as brilliant as the human spirit, and it is better to be free in any Hell than a slave in Heaven.

Conditional Liberation Immigration Past and Present in The New Colossus and The German Girl - Literature Essay Samples

The liberation of immigrants from the chains of their home countries, and the welcoming integration of these individuals into American life is the main message expressed by Emma Lazarus in her poem â€Å"The New Colossus†. This theme of liberation of an afflicted and vulnerable group of individuals relates to the events in the novel The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa in the sense that the protagonist, Hannah, and her family were the victims of the racially-charged displacement implemented by the Nazi Party in World War II. The immigration of Hannah and her family into a welcoming country un-afflicted by the chains of oppression was necessary to their livelihood. In contrast to the idea of America existing as the â€Å"Mother of Exiles†(6) as described in â€Å"The New Colossus†, America has existed primarily as a contradiction to this title both historically and in the present, with the implementation of certain regulations that have, in turn, limited the ri ghts of various groups of individuals. The Nazi regime brought with it radical change and the chilling marginalization of the Jewish community within the regions affected by the regime’s influence. Many Jewish members of German society emigrated out of the country within the first few years of the rise of Nazi Party, and thousands of other Jewish individuals were confined to concentration camps as the dictatorship progressed. For many of the Jewish, immigration to another country was a matter of life or death. In â€Å"The New Colossus† the lines â€Å"Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!† (13) serve as an accurate representation of the redemption that the displaced Jewish community craved and required for survival in light of the atrocities inflicted on the community by the Nazi Party. In the novel The German Girl, Hannah describes the transition she experiences from the life she knew, and beginning of her immigration process as â€Å"We were a wretched mass of fleeing people who had been kicked out of our homes. In just a few seconds, we had become immigrants. . .† Although the novel is a work of fiction, the displacement of these individuals could be both swift and unpredictable. In the novel, Hannah and her family were a part of the luckier group of Jewish individuals able to obtain the means needed to flee Germany. Although some members of the Jewish community were able to secure passage on a boat, this did not guarantee their safe arrival. An example of this is the ill-fated voyage of the transatlantic liner the St. Louis, in which the majority of the passengers were denied entry to Cuba. The American Government was well-informed in regard to the crisis, yet did not allow passengers aboard the St. Louis entry to the United States. A large portion of the passengers required to return to Germany perished in concentration camps. In â€Å"The New Colossus† Lazarus uses the line â€Å". . .The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.† (12) This line is referencing the countries in which the individuals immigrating to America are traveling from. The idea of this refusal and intolerance of displaced people can be compared to the discrimination seen in the crisis that affected the Jewish community in World War II, and how these individuals were expelled from their own soil. However, it can also be said that the idea of a shore that refuses to accept individuals on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, and other factors is a representation of the true nature of America with the rejection of certain groups of desperate individuals seen during World War II, and in present-day America with restrictions placed on certain travelers and the displacement of those in need of the refuge described in â€Å"The New Colossus†. The idea of the liberation of marginalized individuals is the main theme present in Lazarus’s â€Å"The New Colossus†. The idea of liberation relates to the events that took place in The German Girl in the sense that Hannah and her family represented a small number of the homeless immigrants seeking refuge on a welcoming shore during the Nazi regime. However, America contradicts the depiction of the United States as a safe haven for exiles described in â€Å"The New Colossus† both historically and in the present with the rejection of certain groups of individuals remaining a prevalent issue. Works Cited Correa, Armando Lucas, and Nick Caistor. The German Girl. Atria Books, 2016. Lazarus, Emily. â€Å"The New Colossus†. Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2017. 1354. Book.