In Paradise Lost, John Milton investigates the clashing emotions and attitudes of the main character Satan. Although Satan is undeniably the prince of darkness, the reader is able to identify with him, as he appears to be witty, attractive, and endlessly captivating. John Milton allows Satan to possess the complex emotions of man, providing the character with qualities of both good and evil.
             Ambition is a particularly desirable trait of Satan. He responds to his eternal fate by declaring, "the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of a Hell, a Hell of a Heaven."(Book I, 254-255) Satan's strong will and personality causes the audience to favor his position. He cleverly utilizes dignity in affiliation with his determination to lead both his legion of fallen angels and the readers to believe that it is "better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven"(Book I, 263).
             However, Satan's charming persona and unstoppable drive cannot conceal the fact that he is, indeed, the Devil. Satan is able to influence his followers to battle God by presenting them with his own spontaneous, perhaps false, reasoning. His mastery of deception and manipulation causes him to possess a certain power over the audience. The devil is first described as "[He] ...whose guile/ Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived/ The mother of mankind" (Book I, 33-36). It can be assumed that John Milton presented Satan as a favorable character so the reader can fully understand the power of temptation.
             Satan's ambitious character proves to be far more complex than God's, and more interesting. Paradise Lost successfully portrays humanistic features in Satan, enabling readers to sympathize with him, and to see the contrast between good and evil.
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