Paradise Lost is a Genesis story told as it normally would be, but with a Satan-centered protagonist. The story is told largely with Satan portrayed favorably and with little presence of God beyond the curses, which convinces the audience that Satan's vision of God as a tyrant may not be too far off. However, Satan is portrayed as the villain of the story. However, he has the characteristics of a classic hero; including the flaws that make the audience relate to and feel sympathy for him. By using part of the black-and-white story of Genesis that paints Satan as evil and juxtaposing a narrative that paints Satan as a sympathetic hero, Milton raises a question about morality that largely defines the audience's reaction to the story: What is immoral? Two important things that make Satan a hero are identified at the beginning of Paradise Lost: an obstacle that Satan is trying to overcome and the flaws that Satan has. At the beginning of the poem, Satan falls into Hell, which sets up the narrative en media res (beginning with the action in the middle of the story) so that the reader does not know the circumstances under which Satan rebelled against God. Satan all At first he despairs at the thought of eternal damnation and discusses making peace with God, but decides that if he tried to redeem himself he would eventually rebel again. Instead, Satan decides to corrupt the supposed new race, the human race, that God has created and, with his host of demons, “ascend/self-exalt and repossess their native seat [in Heaven]” (1.633-634). As Satan brings about his end, however, some of his flaws are revealed, such as pride and vanity. Satan is not afraid of eternal damnation, indeed he imagines that being immortal he can continue to rebel and cause damage... middle of paper... ces, he could be described as a misunderstood savior; to that unsympathetic audience, Satan could be described as a deceitful and manipulative scoundrel with a hidden agenda. Although the audience may try to separate themselves from the moral point of view they hold, their experiences influence their opinions; more clearly, everything the audience has experienced influences their views. In this case, being human is part of how you feel about Satan tempting Eve, which affects whether or not you support Satan as a satanic hero; attempting to view this problem objectively is nearly impossible and causes more headaches than solid answers. Milton does a good job of expressing how even the darkest black next to the purest white is bound to stain the grey; in other words, bad and good can sometimes coincide and leave audiences tired and confused.