Moloch, “the strongest and fiercest spirit” (44), needs to go to some anger management meetings. He wants to go against Heaven with “hell flames and fury” (61) immediately after the devastating loss they just faced. Moloch doesn’t seem to care that it’s a suicide mission; he just wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Moloch SMASH.
Belial, “more graceful and humane” (109) than our angry friend, is a lazy pretty-boy that talks too much and lies a whole lot. He makes me think of all the stereotypes about millennials and that makes me wonder: Does Belial wear leggings or skinny jeans? What about oversized sweaters? Or does he prefer hoodies? Does he show up to meetings fifteen minutes late with starbucks? I need answers.
Mammon is surprisingly practical and optimistic. Planning to “intend at home… what best may ease the present misery and render Hell more tolerable” (456-459), with both Satan and Beëlzebub’s approval, seems laughable and more than a tad ironic to me, but to each their own. Maybe Mammon aspires to star on a renovation reality TV show. He could call it “Flip This House: Hellacious Homes” or something of the sort.
Beëlzebub is Satan’s yes-man and a total brown noser. I’m also not impressed with him pulling a Melania and giving a speech that was startlingly similar to Satan’s speech from Book I in order to encourage the other devils to terrorize “a new race called Man” (358) and make God angry.
I was totally expecting the bit of narration that revealed that Satan wanted to hoard all the glory from volunteering for the mission to escape Hell (and then metaphorically raising it with mankind). I find it really entertaining that everybody else chickened out and that Satan tried to save their pride by saying “with reason hath deep silence and demure seized [them]” (432-433) . Shakespeare lied when he wrote “Hell is empty. And all the devils are here” in The Tempest.The devils are too wimpy to be here.
I love your breakdown of all the devils' characters. I will now forever read Belial with a Starbucks cup in hand and wearing a hoodie. I must confess I can't get Disney's Hades out of my mind with his two henchmen, Pain and Panic, especially when I read Mammon's argument.
ReplyDeleteI was also quite surprised about how the devils had gone about trying to figure out their course of action. I figured that Satan would already have a plan and mind and then simply tell the rest of the people that this was the plan they were going to go with. However, you are right; the whole situation was rather democratic.
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