Paradise Lost is an epic poem by John Milton that tells the story of Satan's rebellion against God and his fall from Heaven. After being cast out, Satan plots to ruin God's creation, humans. He tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, leading both her and Adam to sin and be banished from the Garden of Eden. The poem explores themes of free will, temptation, and the consequences of disobedience.
In Paradise Lost, John Milton talks about big ideas like rebellion, free will, and authority, and when we look at it through a postmodern lens, it gets even more interesting. Postmodernism says there’s no one “right” truth, truth can be different for everyone. For example, when Adam and Eve ask, “Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbidden?” (Milton l. 515), they’re not just disobeying God, they’re questioning why knowledge is off-limits. They’re challenging the rules and the authority behind them. Then, Satan says, “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven” (Milton l. 263). This isn’t just rebellion, he’s saying, “I’d rather be in charge in a bad situation than follow someone else’s rules in paradise.” Looking at it this way, Paradise Lost isn’t just about good vs. evil; it’s about people questioning authority and creating their own truths.
Link to Paradise Lost- https://nerd-central.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/paradise-lost-excepts.pdf
How does Paradise Lost relate to my Source #1-
Both Paradise Lost and Carlos Greaves’ Sure, the Velociraptors Are Still on the Loose, But That’s No Reason Not to Reopen Jurassic Park show how those in power ignore real problems to stay in control. In Paradise Lost, Satan says, “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven” (Milton l. 263), meaning he’d rather be the boss of chaos than follow the rules. In Greaves’ story, Peter Ludlow wants to reopen Jurassic Park even though deadly dinosaurs are still loose, focusing more on "fun hats" than safety. Both stories highlight how leaders downplay danger for their own gain, with Ludlow even joking, “We might as well just start getting used to them killing a few people every now and then.” It’s a funny but chilling way of showing how power figures ignore real risks to stay in charge.
Link to Source 1- https://nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/source-1?commentId=a9584a7e-7e7b-4edb-9c31-d8d489c2ca4c
Here's a link to the story- https://93c908e7-75fe-4f97-8e88-5e823fbe8c69.usrfiles.com/ugd/93c908_61abfd049c1343b1bf2b42f59a7decb9.pdf
How can Paradise Lost and my Source #2 be connected-
Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Making a Fist” and John Milton’s Paradise Lost are a surprising duo, but both play with big ideas about survival and identity. Nye takes the simple act of making a fist and turns it into a deep symbol of strength, kind of like turning a “thumbs-up” emoji into a life lesson. Milton, similarly, makes Satan seem more like a misunderstood anti-hero than just pure evil. Both works flip the script on traditional symbols, showing that survival and identity are way more complicated than we think, and they do it with a wink, making us confused and laugh at life’s contradictions.
Link to Source 2- https://nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/read-between-the-lines?commentId=67f726a8-e4c1-4dbe-bf4d-dfac6ab233c6
Link to the poem- https://static.wixstatic.com/media/93c908_53761d3dd3cd4bbbbb7c530854f28e49~mv2.jpg
Are Paradise Lost and source #3 similar-
Both the“Humility” music video by Gorillaz and Paradise Lost mix reality with fantasy and flip traditional ideas. In the video, the animated 2-D skates through Venice Beach like it's normal, just like Milton mixes angels and Satan with the real world in Paradise Lost. Both use pastiche, with “Humility” blending animation, pop culture, and real-life figures like Jack Black, while Paradise Lost mixes mythology with Christian themes. They both trick us with appearances, “Humility” sounds upbeat but is about isolation, while Paradise Lost makes Satan seem heroic, only to reveal it’s about pride.
Link to source 3- https://nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/10-famous-authors-on-their-favorite-books-1?commentId=132f5d31-01f9-4407-b4d2-529340cd3f96
Link to the music video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5yFcdPAGv0&t=194s
In conclusion, Paradise Lost by John Milton is more than just a story about good versus evil, it's about questioning authority and the consequences of defying it. Looking at the poem through a postmodern lens helps us see how themes of rebellion and power play out in different ways, not just in Milton’s work, but also in stories like Jurassic Park, “Making a Fist,” and Humility by Gorillaz. These works show how questioning authority and making our own choices can lead to both strength and destruction. Ultimately, they remind us that sometimes survival and identity are shaped not by following rules, but by challenging them.
Outstanding, my friend!!! I like your connection to rebellion with Paradise Lost, “they’re not just disobeying God, they’re questioning why knowledge is off-limits. They’re challenging the rules and the authority behind them.” (Bakingson) is a very cool comparison and theme that is seen throughout your blog post. I really like your comparison to “Velociraptors” and Paradise Lost; it is a very accurate point that you bring up, and a comparison that I wouldn’t have thought of. Larger companies and people of higher status seem to put others in danger for their gain and to stay in power. I think this fits perfectly with the No More Unicorns Shirt that Russel Hobbs from Gorillaz is wearing at the end of the music video. All in all, awesome job.
Wolf, Bark, Arf, and Out!
– RAVVIE
My favorite source you had was the Jurassic Park article because the main post modern trait it has is black humor and that goes along perfectly with Paradise Lost and the black humor involved with that story. Also connecting making a fist, Paradise Lost, Jurassic Park story, and "Humility" by Gorillaz is the perfect combination of postmodern traits.
I really like how you connected Paradise Lost to such a wide range of modern works, it made the themes feel current. The comparison to Jurassic Park hit me because both Satan and Ludlow seem convinced that control is more important than caution, even when everything’s falling apart. I also thought your take on “Making a Fist” was powerful, turning something small into a symbol of survival feels very postmodern, just like Milton turning Satan into a strangely relatable rebel.
This was a really cool and easy-to-understand take on Paradise Lost. I liked how you connected it to modern stuff like Jurassic Park, Making a Fist, and Gorillaz’s “Humility” to show how they all deal with questioning authority. The way you explained how each one looks at power and rules in different ways was awesome. The examples you used made it clear how these big ideas from Paradise Lost still show up today, and the postmodern approach made it feel super relatable.
I found how the connection behind the stories, them fighting the authority of something that comes off or is secretly bad, really shows how in todays world it can be seen and translated to how people and forces are to todays people and society.
I really found your graphics to be very fitting to the information. I found it interesting that the take was that survival will happen through challenging it. The book is from a long time ago but its lessons apply to today.
what I find interesting about this is the fact the something like paradise lost, which was written in a past generation and about one oft he most historical books has ties to this post modern era. The main idea about the blog post is that free will and other traits that aren't necessarily new in the world are bow being highlighted and emphasized in todays works.