British Literature
Mrs. Schmidt Choice and Consequence
John Milton’s Paradise Lost and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress are both books that share the relationship of choices and consequences. Milton’s Paradise Lost is about the beginning of the world (Genesis), the creation of man, and the fall. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is about the spiritual journey of a man named Christian, who is scared of being condemned to death and leaves his city to try and find a place where he will live joyfully with God. Paradise Lost is about the ultimate choice and consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. God placed them in the Garden of Eden, a peaceful paradise that anyone would desire to live in, but under one condition. The Lord explicitly instructed them not to eat from the forbidden tree of Good and Evil. This was a simple command. The evil Satan, a fallen angel, was cast out from Heaven because he fought to be equal with God. He started his own life separated from good and is on mission to undermine all that is for God. He is conniving and deceitful and tries his hardest to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey. Eve finally gives in by eating fruit from the forbidden tree. Adam catches her but also eats the fruit. Feeling ashamed and naked, they realized what they did. They had sinned and now mankind has fallen. Paradise is lost! Because they were now sinners, they had to live separate from God and He kicked them out of Paradise. Pilgrim’s Progress is about the choices and consequences that Christian, the main character in the book, makes. He is fearful of the Bible, which made him believe that he is condemned to death because of his sins. Making the choice to leave his family, he flees from the City of Destruction, which is a terrible and sorrowful land. He wished to live with God in peace. Harris, 2
During this journey, Christian comes upon multiple obstacles, but he marches on carrying the substantial burden along. The deeper he gets into his journey, the heftier his burdens become. This shows the consequences that Christian has to put up with because of the inconsiderate choices that he has made. In time, things start to turn around for Christian. His burden is eventually lifted and he battles his way to Mount Zion, a beautiful place where he finds happiness and pleasure. Both books describe the choices that man may face while tempted by evil in their life and where those choices will lead them. In each of these books, there are forces of darkness working against the main characters, trying to make them fail. In Paradise Lost, Satan is the deceptive angel, fallen from heaven. He is very devious and powerful and is able to persuade humanity in giving in to sin. In Paradise Lost, the world is a perfect place. Adam and Eve live without sin and at peace with God in the utmost paradise. It is their choice to give into Satan’s lies and eat the forbidden fruit, which removes them from paradise and separates them from God. In Pilgrim's Progress, Apollyon has the same motives as the devil in Paradise Lost and he believes he has the power to rule. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian finds himself far from God and sets out on his journey to become closer to Him. He ultimately ends up in paradise, Mount Zion. Paradise Lost and Pilgrim’s Progress remind us all of the difficult life we face here on Earth. Through Christian’s trials and Adam and Eve’s free will and temptation, we see how the enemy works. Milton and Bunyan use different styles but both convey the importance of realizing the forces of darkness against the light. When Christians have knowledge of this truth,
Harris, 3 their eyes are opened and the path of righteousness becomes clearer. We will end up apart from paradise as Adam and Eve, or like Christian we will find peace and beauty in Mount Zion.
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