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How Does Paradise Lost Cause Disobedience?

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In Paradise Lost, poet John Milton focuses on telling the story of the fall of mankind to his readers, specifically the temptation of Adam and Eve by the devil at the beginning of creation. By caving into sin and disobeying God’s commands by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve lose the beautiful paradise in which they live and become aware of the presence of sin in their lives. Adam and Eve’s disobedience becomes even worse when one realizes that their mistake will not only affect their future, but also the future of all human beings who have yet to be born. However, by portraying God as both just and merciful, Milton conveys to his readers the belief that despite all of their shortcomings, there is still hope for Adam …show more content…
This is why one of the more striking scenes in Paradise Lost is when Adam and Eve prostrate themselves together before God in genuine sorrow for their disobedience. As Milton describes this key moment, “Repairing where he judged them prostrate fell/ Before him reverent, and both confessed/ Humbly their faults, and pardon begged, with tears/ Watering the ground, and with their sighs in the air/ Frequenting, sent from hearts contrite, in sign/ Of sorrow unfeigned, and humiliation weak,” (2140). By showing this true regret for their sins against God, Adam and Eve are hopeful that they God will show them his mercy. This becomes evident when Adam says to Eve, “Undoubtedly he will relent and turn/ From his displeasure; in whose look serene,/ When angry he most seemed and most severe,/ What else but favor, grace, and mercy shone?” (2140). Adam knows that God is both just and merciful. Even though Adam and Eve have been punished by God by being expelled from Paradise, they will never be abandoned by him. God’s mercy is infinite, and mankind’s first sin, although grave, is not beyond forgiveness. This notion also rings true for all of Adam and Eve’s descendants. By agreeing to send His Son to die for the sins of man in Book 3, God is making salvation accessible to all

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