Hello! My name is Larissa Barkley, as some of you know. Since there was no "recent" included with the instructions for uploading a picture, here is one of me when I was roughly 4 years old. Judgment is welcome and no, those were not my glasses (though I desperately wanted them to be, at the time). About me? I transferred into Wren High [[#|School]][[#|last]] year at the beginning of the second semester, and I am [[#|now]] a Senior. I will be attending Clemson University this fall and [[#|studying]] English (if all goes according to plan). Before South Carolina, I had lived in New Hampshire for about 8 years and some random places before that. I sing for my church, New Image, (don't ask me to sing for you though, cause I won't). I am an officer in NHS, NEHS, and a [[#|member]] of the Beta Club. I play varsity soccer for Wren, and played [[#|last]] season for Tri-County Soccer Club as well. Soccer is my passion, but I also enjoy running a lot. I plan to run a marathon in the summer, and a half in March. Also, I am in love with [[#|Doctor]] Who. Look it up if you don't know what it is.This is all I really can think of right [[#|now]] so... bye guys!
OH! and let the record show that I saw Mr. Alexander and his fiance at Yogo's this weekend and our initial thoughts are [[#|confirmed]]: His fiance is really beautiful! Okay, I feel like a creep [[#|now]]. Bye. Larissa, I just clicked on the link for Book 1 under readings and it was only 6 pages, I don't know what you downloaded, let me know if you click it again and it still has issues. -Mr. Alexander
First Personal Response: Genesis 1-3 (2/25/13)
I approached analyzing this passage from an objective view. Rather than looking closely at the words I’ve read so many times before as a child, I looked at it from an analyst's view. God/Moses/Someone wrote this using literary devices that were FAR from being recognized at the time, such as polysyndeton (He likes using “and”) and repetition for effect (just look at chapter 1, verses 6-7). Throughout reading this, I realized just how vague some of the wording is. The first 3 words are enough to confuse someone to the point they stop reading. “In the beginning,” leads me to ask the question of, in the beginning of… what? Another point I ran into is the changing between singular and plural. He refers to himself as “our” and “us,” but then changes back to singular pronouns in the next sentence (verse 26, chapter 1). He also refers to heaven as being “heavens,” however He only writes “the earth” which makes me wonder if there is supposed to be more than one heaven He is alluding to. God says that “man became a living soul” in chapter 2 verse 7, which I find is odd wording. What was man before he became a living soul? And also how would someone define a living soul, as opposed to a dead soul? Lastly, it refers to Adam and Eve as being “man and wife” in verse 25 of chapter 2. However, in those days a man and a woman could only be married if they had consummated the marriage rather than performing a ceremony like we do. So did they know they were married? Because they didn't know they were naked, which leads me to believe their innocence covers sex as well. And if they had already sinned, would they still be married? This is really the [[#|last]] thing, but if God made everything perfect and good in His sight, the serpent shouldn’t have even gone to the dark side (Vader strikes again). Why was that serpent bad out of all of them, and did God know this when He made it? These chapters go along with what we have been talking about perfectly, because it was the first fall of mankind, the first temptation and sin, and the first immoral act committed. The immorality of the act of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is more intense, to me, just because it was against the original creator of ...everything. Larissa, First of all, I must applaud you for your use of a very large word that I did not know the meaning of until I read this. So, thank you for teaching me what "polysyndeton" is. I love how you approached the reading objectively and I completely agree on the vagueness of the wording. Regarding the words "In the beginning", I've always just assumed it meant the beginning of earth, or the beginning of everything we know as humans. It leaves a lot of room for speculation, though. I've never really thought about the changes between plural and singular until our discussion in class, but I've always just assumed it was referring to the trinity. As far as Adam and Eve being naked, I never really considered them not being aware of it, but more like they weren't ashamed of it. I'm assuming that's how they were created when God made them, so I don't imagine they would think anything of it. I view their realization of their nakedness after they have sinned as a symbol of their shame and knowledge of wrongdoing. Your questions about the serpent really blow my mind, because I have no idea how anyone could begin to answer them. The serpent isn't something I've ever thought about apart from this story. Maybe it has it's own story that never got written. Only God knows. Good job, by the way! :) -Brianna.
Reader Response #2: "On the Marionette Theatre" by Heinrich von Kleist (3/9/13) As Mr. Alexander said, this piece of literature is not about how to make puppets dance. I was going to try to respond to this writing only having really read about half of it. However, I was really glad I decided to finish it when I reached the end. Throughout the beginning of the story, I was wondering what this was really alluding to. Was it really just about a guy's puppets and how he thinks their fake performance is better than a humans'? I quickly realized it wasn't though the more I read. Kleist's reference to the tree of knowledge on the second page, 3rd paragraph from the bottom, was what really tipped me off to the meaning behind his writing. I think that he was saying a few things. Firstly, I feel like throughout his writing, Kleist is emphasizing human error and mechanical perfection. I think this was to point out the opposing guy's view that humans can be, and are, superior to the marionettes because of their errors, not in spite of them. Secondly, I think that the story about the boy who tried to repeat his move until he practically wasted away was alluding to the fact that if we try to be perfect (and therefore fake), we lose the natural ability that God gave us. As humans, we were created to be perfect. However, the fall of man ensures the error in our ways now. Thirdly, I think the random story about a bear fencing is kind of making fun of the Bible, in a satirical way. (Maybe this is a reach) I felt like this story was completely ridiculous and was really confused as to why there was a bear fencing a man. But, when one of the people asked if the other believed this story the other guy answered that he absolutely did. I think Kleist was trying to point out that this same thing happens with the Bible and Christianity very frequently. People just take what the Bible says to be true, and don't question anything about it because some "stranger" (ie: a pastor maybe?) told them about it. And lastly, the main idea behind this is that Kleist thinks that all Christians are mindless people who are being used as marionettes by God. He says in the last few lines that "Grace appears most purely in that human form which either has no consciousness or an infinite consciousness. That is, in the puppet or in the god." Therefore, since the only time a human form has been without a conscious really is before Adam and Eve sinned, it can be inferred that God was using them as puppets before they had sinned. So does that mean God made them sin then? and furthermore, since humans have a conscious now, does that mean they are gods? or that they merely think they are gods? And the last thing I really wanted to ask about was the last three lines. I was kind of confused with those and what they really meant. I am not sure if any of this made sense at ALL, or if I just made all of it up in my head, but either way.
Partner Response #2 Larissa, This piece is definitely not about dancing, like you said. I think you definitely got the point of the story-- at least as far as I understood. Where the tree of knowledge tipped you off to the meaning, that was what confused me the most. I think it's really cool to see how different people pick up on different things, especially when we have class discussion. Your relation of the bear story to the Bible was something I never thought about. It is kind of funny how the guy never questions his friend's story. He just accepts it, even though the likelihood of ever fighting a bear is slim. He accepts everything the other guy says at face value. I completely agree with you that as human beings, the only time we have been unconscious to everything surround us was before the fall. To answer one of your questions, I believe that in many ways humans may consider themselves gods. We may not say it in those words, but we feel the right to rule over other things, are incredibly self righteous creatures, and do not humble ourselves nearly enough.
-Brianna
Reader Response #3: "Paradise Lost-Book One" by John Milton (3/13/13)
Okay, so I'm not sure if this just comes from being overly exhausted or if I'm just dumb from so many soccer balls to the head, but I really have a hard time understanding the point behind Milton's writing. I understand the basic story of what he is trying to say, but it's really hard to keep up with the in depth analysis. Having said that, I found it really interesting that Milton included some aspects of the actual Bible itself in his writing. I realized that I had a lot of questions concerning details which were similar to the questions I faced in analyzing Genesis. Also, while reading in line 74, I was interested in the meaning of "from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole." When I looked it up, I found that it was refering back to a Ptolemaic model of the earth. This model puts the earth at the center of nine concentric spheres. I saw a connection between this and the "nine times the Space that measures Day and Night" in line 49. I think Milton was trying to say that Satan is nine times as big as one of the concentric spheres around the earth. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I thought it was really interesting. Another thing that jumped out at me was the diction Milton chose to use in different parts throughout book one. None of the words he chose appeared different until line 125. At this point the word choice has more of a positive feel to it. I believe Milton even refered to "God" as being "our Conqueror" in line 143. The imagery Milton uses (specifically in lines 220 to 230) was helpful in being able to see the story as if it was acted out, rather than just told. Overall, I guess I just have too many basic questions to ask on here, so I'm not going to really bother until we go over this part in class.
Partner Response #3
Larissa,
I came across some of the same problems as I was reading. It's kind of difficult to comprehend why Milton is saying what he's saying. I loved that he included parts from the Bible, too!! It made it more interesting and relatable for me. I understand why we have read things in the order we did. Even though I've read Genesis many times, I'm glad I went back and read it again. Your comment about line 74 is something I didn't really pick up on. Your theory on that is really cool, and I think you could be right. When I first started reading Book 1, I had a really hard time understanding the writing. As I went on through, it became easier for me to know what exactly was going on. And don't worry, I had a lot of questions too.
-Brianna
Reader Response #4: "Paradise Lost Book II" by John Milton (3/20/13)
I enjoyed book two a lot more than I did book one. First of all, I liked it better because Milton actually got into more conversation rather than background information. I found it really ironic that throughout the beginning lines, Satan was attempting to unify the demons in a way through the war which was planned to break the bond that humans had with God. Milton throughout this book identifies different characters and their different personalities. Moloch is the one who is pleading for this new war against God, and seems to think his "original" idea is brilliant. Belial though is clearly more level headed and cautious. He reminded me more of Beelzebub in the sense that he was more intellectual and cautious in his approach to the idea of warring against a God who just cast you out of paradise. I liked how Milton continued to characterize the demons, because I never really pictured them as having individual thoughts. It makes me wonder as to how so many of the angels "became" or turned bad though. The odds of a few of them turning bad is relatively high, however since legions of the angels fell, it makes the fact that God intentionally created them "not perfect" chrystal clear (at least to me). It also struck me as odd that the angels and Lucifer would try to rebel against God, and continue to complain about their servitude to him (line 247), yet they want to create a similar government in Hell with Satan as their leader. Did they just rebel because they wanted to serve darkness, rather than light? Or did they not realize it would be similar in Hell? Also, I think that Milton's adaptation really gains insight to the thoughts that were going through the demons' minds at the time after the fall. I bet they were all quite panicked, just like Satan had thought they would be. They were without a master, which was not how they were created/intended to be, so Satan planted the seed for the idea of war on Earth and proceeded to become the hero of the situation. This immediately gained him the admiration and respect of the other demons, ironically. Lastly, it's interesting to me that all the demons still have so much fear. I feel like in order to rebel against God in heaven, you would have to be pretty darn brave, not really caring about anything much. However, these demons are scared to war against God, and increasingly frightened when the question comes up as to who will volunteer to go to Earth.
Partner Response #4:
This book really was a lot more interesting than the first. The dialogue helped to take the story to the next level for me as well. Giving the demons personal opinions and thoughts was really an intriguing idea. I never really thought of them in this way either. I think part of why they rebelled in the first place was due to a certain level of ignorance. I think they believed Satan and that together they would set up a more "fair" system where they could have more control and more glory. This obviously was not the case due to how Satan easily manipulates them into putting him on pedestal. I'm glad you mentioned the demons still having fear. I never really thought too hard about that because I would be afraid too if I had been in God's favor and then rebelled. But it makes me wonder why they never thought about that in the first place? Or did they not mind being in fear for eternity? There really weren't many pros to rebelling, but there were extensive and infinite cons.
Reader Response #5: "Paradise Lost Books 9-12" by John Milton (3/28/13)
I'm just going to go in order of the books with my questions/comments. In book 9, it's interesting to see that in the beginning, Eve is telling Adam that the fault lies upon Satan, rather then upon themselves. In line 330, it says that "his foul esteem sticks no dishonour on our front, but turns foul on himself." I never would have pictured Eve blaming the serpent, rather than accepting she did wrong to begin with. Also, I like how Adam is so strong in his faith in God. He is firm in his belief that God created everything perfect, and that He left man wanting for nothing. Adam goes on to address the power of free will within humans. He kind of goes on to personify Reason, but I'm not sure if he is just referring to Eve as Reason, or if it's just another thing of itself? Finally, in book 9, we have an interesting plot twist! Adam actually gives Eve permission to take the fruit. It says in the text that he is actually holding her hand, and she draws her hand from his to take the fruit. If this is the approach Milton is taking, then really the fault lies more on Adam because he gave permission and didn't try to stop her from eating it. It's also interesting that Eve ate more than just one bite of the fruit. Rather, she gorged herself on it until she was satisfied. This show the greediness man has already developed. From then on the story becomes more of a Romeo and Juliet type of romance. Adam gives a sob story about how much he loves Eve, and then he becomes desperate for what he will do without her. In this way, it seemed that Adam didn't really want to eat of the fruit, but more did it in obligation to Eve. He was afraid of losing her and having to start over with a new Eve. In book 11, I imagine it to be sort of like the first church service, with God as the pastor. He says that it is better to have not known evil at all, but then wouldn't man have had some sort of ignorance? And therefore not be completely conscious to the world around them? And finally, book 12! It says that Eve has to be awakened to move. So I guess that means some time has passed from when God realized their sin, and decided to act on the punishment. The angel details that all of Eve's spirits have been composed to meek submission, does that mean to God or to Adam? I really like how it ended with the image of them both looking back at the paradise they gave up, but I'm a little confused as to exactly what happened at the end. They went away on a chariot of angels into the world? I really enjoyed reading this. It gave me a whole new perspective on things!
P.S. Mr. Alexander, if you're reading this, please don't call on me tomorrow for anything or expect much intellectual commentary from me. Thanks.
Hello! My name is Larissa Barkley, as some of you know. Since there was no "recent" included with the instructions for uploading a picture, here is one of me when I was roughly 4 years old. Judgment is welcome and no, those were not my glasses (though I desperately wanted them to be, at the time). About me? I transferred into Wren High [[#|School]] [[#|last]] year at the beginning of the second semester, and I am [[#|now]] a Senior. I will be attending Clemson University this fall and [[#|studying]] English (if all goes according to plan). Before South Carolina, I had lived in New Hampshire for about 8 years and some random places before that. I sing for my church, New Image, (don't ask me to sing for you though, cause I won't). I am an officer in NHS, NEHS, and a [[#|member]] of the Beta Club. I play varsity soccer for Wren, and played [[#|last]] season for Tri-County Soccer Club as well. Soccer is my passion, but I also enjoy running a lot. I plan to run a marathon in the summer, and a half in March. Also, I am in love with [[#|Doctor]] Who. Look it up if you don't know what it is.This is all I really can think of right [[#|now]] so... bye guys!
OH! and let the record show that I saw Mr. Alexander and his fiance at Yogo's this weekend and our initial thoughts are [[#|confirmed]]: His fiance is really beautiful! Okay, I feel like a creep [[#|now]]. Bye.
Larissa, I just clicked on the link for Book 1 under readings and it was only 6 pages, I don't know what you downloaded, let me know if you click it again and it still has issues. -Mr. Alexander
First Personal Response: Genesis 1-3 (2/25/13)
I approached analyzing this passage from an objective view. Rather than looking closely at the words I’ve read so many times before as a child, I looked at it from an analyst's view. God/Moses/Someone wrote this using literary devices that were FAR from being recognized at the time, such as polysyndeton (He likes using “and”) and repetition for effect (just look at chapter 1, verses 6-7). Throughout reading this, I realized just how vague some of the wording is. The first 3 words are enough to confuse someone to the point they stop reading. “In the beginning,” leads me to ask the question of, in the beginning of… what? Another point I ran into is the changing between singular and plural. He refers to himself as “our” and “us,” but then changes back to singular pronouns in the next sentence (verse 26, chapter 1). He also refers to heaven as being “heavens,” however He only writes “the earth” which makes me wonder if there is supposed to be more than one heaven He is alluding to. God says that “man became a living soul” in chapter 2 verse 7, which I find is odd wording. What was man before he became a living soul? And also how would someone define a living soul, as opposed to a dead soul? Lastly, it refers to Adam and Eve as being “man and wife” in verse 25 of chapter 2. However, in those days a man and a woman could only be married if they had consummated the marriage rather than performing a ceremony like we do. So did they know they were married? Because they didn't know they were naked, which leads me to believe their innocence covers sex as well. And if they had already sinned, would they still be married? This is really the [[#|last]] thing, but if God made everything perfect and good in His sight, the serpent shouldn’t have even gone to the dark side (Vader strikes again). Why was that serpent bad out of all of them, and did God know this when He made it? These chapters go along with what we have been talking about perfectly, because it was the first fall of mankind, the first temptation and sin, and the first immoral act committed. The immorality of the act of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is more intense, to me, just because it was against the original creator of ...everything.
Larissa,
First of all, I must applaud you for your use of a very large word that I did not know the meaning of until I read this. So, thank you for teaching me what "polysyndeton" is. I love how you approached the reading objectively and I completely agree on the vagueness of the wording. Regarding the words "In the beginning", I've always just assumed it meant the beginning of earth, or the beginning of everything we know as humans. It leaves a lot of room for speculation, though. I've never really thought about the changes between plural and singular until our discussion in class, but I've always just assumed it was referring to the trinity. As far as Adam and Eve being naked, I never really considered them not being aware of it, but more like they weren't ashamed of it. I'm assuming that's how they were created when God made them, so I don't imagine they would think anything of it. I view their realization of their nakedness after they have sinned as a symbol of their shame and knowledge of wrongdoing. Your questions about the serpent really blow my mind, because I have no idea how anyone could begin to answer them. The serpent isn't something I've ever thought about apart from this story. Maybe it has it's own story that never got written. Only God knows. Good job, by the way! :)
-Brianna.
Reader Response #2: "On the Marionette Theatre" by Heinrich von Kleist (3/9/13)
As Mr. Alexander said, this piece of literature is not about how to make puppets dance. I was going to try to respond to this writing only having really read about half of it. However, I was really glad I decided to finish it when I reached the end. Throughout the beginning of the story, I was wondering what this was really alluding to. Was it really just about a guy's puppets and how he thinks their fake performance is better than a humans'? I quickly realized it wasn't though the more I read. Kleist's reference to the tree of knowledge on the second page, 3rd paragraph from the bottom, was what really tipped me off to the meaning behind his writing. I think that he was saying a few things. Firstly, I feel like throughout his writing, Kleist is emphasizing human error and mechanical perfection. I think this was to point out the opposing guy's view that humans can be, and are, superior to the marionettes because of their errors, not in spite of them. Secondly, I think that the story about the boy who tried to repeat his move until he practically wasted away was alluding to the fact that if we try to be perfect (and therefore fake), we lose the natural ability that God gave us. As humans, we were created to be perfect. However, the fall of man ensures the error in our ways now. Thirdly, I think the random story about a bear fencing is kind of making fun of the Bible, in a satirical way. (Maybe this is a reach) I felt like this story was completely ridiculous and was really confused as to why there was a bear fencing a man. But, when one of the people asked if the other believed this story the other guy answered that he absolutely did. I think Kleist was trying to point out that this same thing happens with the Bible and Christianity very frequently. People just take what the Bible says to be true, and don't question anything about it because some "stranger" (ie: a pastor maybe?) told them about it. And lastly, the main idea behind this is that Kleist thinks that all Christians are mindless people who are being used as marionettes by God. He says in the last few lines that "Grace appears most purely in that human form which either has no consciousness or an infinite consciousness. That is, in the puppet or in the god." Therefore, since the only time a human form has been without a conscious really is before Adam and Eve sinned, it can be inferred that God was using them as puppets before they had sinned. So does that mean God made them sin then? and furthermore, since humans have a conscious now, does that mean they are gods? or that they merely think they are gods? And the last thing I really wanted to ask about was the last three lines. I was kind of confused with those and what they really meant. I am not sure if any of this made sense at ALL, or if I just made all of it up in my head, but either way.
Partner Response #2
Larissa,
This piece is definitely not about dancing, like you said. I think you definitely got the point of the story-- at least as far as I understood. Where the tree of knowledge tipped you off to the meaning, that was what confused me the most. I think it's really cool to see how different people pick up on different things, especially when we have class discussion. Your relation of the bear story to the Bible was something I never thought about. It is kind of funny how the guy never questions his friend's story. He just accepts it, even though the likelihood of ever fighting a bear is slim. He accepts everything the other guy says at face value. I completely agree with you that as human beings, the only time we have been unconscious to everything surround us was before the fall. To answer one of your questions, I believe that in many ways humans may consider themselves gods. We may not say it in those words, but we feel the right to rule over other things, are incredibly self righteous creatures, and do not humble ourselves nearly enough.
-Brianna
Reader Response #3: "Paradise Lost-Book One" by John Milton (3/13/13)
Okay, so I'm not sure if this just comes from being overly exhausted or if I'm just dumb from so many soccer balls to the head, but I really have a hard time understanding the point behind Milton's writing. I understand the basic story of what he is trying to say, but it's really hard to keep up with the in depth analysis. Having said that, I found it really interesting that Milton included some aspects of the actual Bible itself in his writing. I realized that I had a lot of questions concerning details which were similar to the questions I faced in analyzing Genesis. Also, while reading in line 74, I was interested in the meaning of "from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole." When I looked it up, I found that it was refering back to a Ptolemaic model of the earth. This model puts the earth at the center of nine concentric spheres. I saw a connection between this and the "nine times the Space that measures Day and Night" in line 49. I think Milton was trying to say that Satan is nine times as big as one of the concentric spheres around the earth. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I thought it was really interesting. Another thing that jumped out at me was the diction Milton chose to use in different parts throughout book one. None of the words he chose appeared different until line 125. At this point the word choice has more of a positive feel to it. I believe Milton even refered to "God" as being "our Conqueror" in line 143. The imagery Milton uses (specifically in lines 220 to 230) was helpful in being able to see the story as if it was acted out, rather than just told. Overall, I guess I just have too many basic questions to ask on here, so I'm not going to really bother until we go over this part in class.
Partner Response #3
Larissa,
I came across some of the same problems as I was reading. It's kind of difficult to comprehend why Milton is saying what he's saying. I loved that he included parts from the Bible, too!! It made it more interesting and relatable for me. I understand why we have read things in the order we did. Even though I've read Genesis many times, I'm glad I went back and read it again. Your comment about line 74 is something I didn't really pick up on. Your theory on that is really cool, and I think you could be right. When I first started reading Book 1, I had a really hard time understanding the writing. As I went on through, it became easier for me to know what exactly was going on. And don't worry, I had a lot of questions too.
-Brianna
Reader Response #4: "Paradise Lost Book II" by John Milton (3/20/13)
I enjoyed book two a lot more than I did book one. First of all, I liked it better because Milton actually got into more conversation rather than background information. I found it really ironic that throughout the beginning lines, Satan was attempting to unify the demons in a way through the war which was planned to break the bond that humans had with God. Milton throughout this book identifies different characters and their different personalities. Moloch is the one who is pleading for this new war against God, and seems to think his "original" idea is brilliant. Belial though is clearly more level headed and cautious. He reminded me more of Beelzebub in the sense that he was more intellectual and cautious in his approach to the idea of warring against a God who just cast you out of paradise. I liked how Milton continued to characterize the demons, because I never really pictured them as having individual thoughts. It makes me wonder as to how so many of the angels "became" or turned bad though. The odds of a few of them turning bad is relatively high, however since legions of the angels fell, it makes the fact that God intentionally created them "not perfect" chrystal clear (at least to me). It also struck me as odd that the angels and Lucifer would try to rebel against God, and continue to complain about their servitude to him (line 247), yet they want to create a similar government in Hell with Satan as their leader. Did they just rebel because they wanted to serve darkness, rather than light? Or did they not realize it would be similar in Hell? Also, I think that Milton's adaptation really gains insight to the thoughts that were going through the demons' minds at the time after the fall. I bet they were all quite panicked, just like Satan had thought they would be. They were without a master, which was not how they were created/intended to be, so Satan planted the seed for the idea of war on Earth and proceeded to become the hero of the situation. This immediately gained him the admiration and respect of the other demons, ironically. Lastly, it's interesting to me that all the demons still have so much fear. I feel like in order to rebel against God in heaven, you would have to be pretty darn brave, not really caring about anything much. However, these demons are scared to war against God, and increasingly frightened when the question comes up as to who will volunteer to go to Earth.
Partner Response #4:
This book really was a lot more interesting than the first. The dialogue helped to take the story to the next level for me as well. Giving the demons personal opinions and thoughts was really an intriguing idea. I never really thought of them in this way either. I think part of why they rebelled in the first place was due to a certain level of ignorance. I think they believed Satan and that together they would set up a more "fair" system where they could have more control and more glory. This obviously was not the case due to how Satan easily manipulates them into putting him on pedestal. I'm glad you mentioned the demons still having fear. I never really thought too hard about that because I would be afraid too if I had been in God's favor and then rebelled. But it makes me wonder why they never thought about that in the first place? Or did they not mind being in fear for eternity? There really weren't many pros to rebelling, but there were extensive and infinite cons.
Reader Response #5: "Paradise Lost Books 9-12" by John Milton (3/28/13)
I'm just going to go in order of the books with my questions/comments. In book 9, it's interesting to see that in the beginning, Eve is telling Adam that the fault lies upon Satan, rather then upon themselves. In line 330, it says that "his foul esteem sticks no dishonour on our front, but turns foul on himself." I never would have pictured Eve blaming the serpent, rather than accepting she did wrong to begin with. Also, I like how Adam is so strong in his faith in God. He is firm in his belief that God created everything perfect, and that He left man wanting for nothing. Adam goes on to address the power of free will within humans. He kind of goes on to personify Reason, but I'm not sure if he is just referring to Eve as Reason, or if it's just another thing of itself? Finally, in book 9, we have an interesting plot twist! Adam actually gives Eve permission to take the fruit. It says in the text that he is actually holding her hand, and she draws her hand from his to take the fruit. If this is the approach Milton is taking, then really the fault lies more on Adam because he gave permission and didn't try to stop her from eating it. It's also interesting that Eve ate more than just one bite of the fruit. Rather, she gorged herself on it until she was satisfied. This show the greediness man has already developed. From then on the story becomes more of a Romeo and Juliet type of romance. Adam gives a sob story about how much he loves Eve, and then he becomes desperate for what he will do without her. In this way, it seemed that Adam didn't really want to eat of the fruit, but more did it in obligation to Eve. He was afraid of losing her and having to start over with a new Eve. In book 11, I imagine it to be sort of like the first church service, with God as the pastor. He says that it is better to have not known evil at all, but then wouldn't man have had some sort of ignorance? And therefore not be completely conscious to the world around them? And finally, book 12! It says that Eve has to be awakened to move. So I guess that means some time has passed from when God realized their sin, and decided to act on the punishment. The angel details that all of Eve's spirits have been composed to meek submission, does that mean to God or to Adam? I really like how it ended with the image of them both looking back at the paradise they gave up, but I'm a little confused as to exactly what happened at the end. They went away on a chariot of angels into the world? I really enjoyed reading this. It gave me a whole new perspective on things!
P.S. Mr. Alexander, if you're reading this, please don't call on me tomorrow for anything or expect much intellectual commentary from me. Thanks.