Christian Tragic Hero

Throughout the history of the world, authors relate the stories of numerous different characters, including heroes and villains. Everyday people, such as fathers, neighbors, and firemen can be considered heroes. However, when many people think of a hero, they picture Superman or some other superhuman with other-worldly powers or qualities. Many different views exist on what constitutes a hero, and authors, throughout the years, have depicted the various types of a hero. Each of these types possess its own group of characteristics and go through its own set of situations. Specific situations that these characters go through determine what type of hero they qualify as. A hero may possess characteristics or undergo specific situations that qualify

This feeling of sympathy comes somewhat from the way that Satan describes God. Rather than describing God from the Biblical perspective, Satan makes God seem like an unjust ruler. According to Danielson, “Satan enacts at the outset a parodic version of heroic tragedy, portraying himself in Book I . . . as the noble and indomitable victim of an irrational tyrannical, and wrathful God” (120). In fact, in Paradise Lost, Satan refers to God as “[holding] the Tyranny of Heav’n” (I; 124). When the reader views this, he or she almost automatically justifies Satan’s actions and feels pity for him. Normally, a reader feels ill towards the evil character, but in this case, Satan makes it seem as if God is the evil character and the one in the wrong, rather than himself. Also, the reader sees the depth of Satan’s suffering. God does not only punish Satan a little. Rather, God heaps eternal punishment upon Satan. Milton wrote, “But [Satan’s] doom reserv’d him to more wrath; for now the thought both of lost happiness and lasting pain torments him” (Book I; 53-56). Looking at this and not realizing how deserving Satan truly is of his punishment, the reader feels pity for Satan and dislike for God, rendering Satan a Christian tragic hero. According to Cook, the reader’s mindset toward a tragedy such as Satan’s should “[move] us to tears rather than anger or thought,” and that is exactly what Satan’s tragedy does (45). Rather than feeling disgust towards Satan, the reader feels sympathy, which makes Satan a Christian tragic