In the text Paradise Lost, Satan is very much a main character who has maybe the most dialogue and character development. In the beginning of the book, Satan led an army in Heaven and waged a war against God. He lost this battle and God banished Satan as well as his followers out of Heaven forever. He sent them to Hell, where they were chained to a burning lake to be tortured by their own minds and can regret their actions. Immediately after reading this in the book one might think of the terror of the punishment Satan is receiving and possibly of sympathizing with him. Further in the book Satan describes why he fought the war which in turn was a reason that relates to many humans and how they might make an important decision. That reason is standing up for what one believes to be right. Satan lured his followers into believing he would better be suited for power and possibly share some of the power he would get from God. But why would Satan be the one that readers should relate to and sympathize with? It is very strange of author John Milton to create such a complex and controversial character. Milton himself was a puritan in Western Europe. So of any stories a devout religious man would not consider this should be number one on the list. Most readers of Paradise Lost would agree, after reading the first half of the poem they want to sympathize with Satan. By showing similarities to humans, Milton tries to attract sympathy to Satan, but his deceitfulness proves he should not receive any.
In trying to make Satan seem more like a human than like an angel, Milton also makes readers believe what Satan tried to do was justifying and brought a heroic trait to Satan too. Each time Satan describes heaven he talks about God abusing his power and named him a tyrant. Americans today have an idea of what this can seem like, as the history of the USA stems from arguably an abuse of power in England.
