I chose to use an illusion because it intentionally warps the audience’s perception of the world, which is how I see this epic; on the surface, it may seem that Adam and Eve are on different hierarchal levels, but a closer examination reveals that they are equal. This illusion uses forced perspective to make it seem as if two objects of the same size are actually different sizes. In this case, Eve can only see herself as smaller/inferior while Adam is bigger/superior. Since Eve does not believe herself to be equal to Adam without eating from the Tree of Knowledge, she is “trapped” in the illusion, reflecting her question, “[F]or inferior who is free?” (9.825). However, the audience can see the illusion the way it is presented to them, or they can step back to see the reality that both figures are the same size. They can choose the interpretation that they think Milton is presenting, unlike Eve.
I decided to create an optical illusion that represents Eve’s view of herself in the latter half of John Milton’s Paradise Lost based on the argument that Adam and Eve are meant to be equals. After eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Eve wonders if the fruit will “render [her] more equal … for inferior who is free?” (9.823, 9.825). Eve’s comments imply that she views herself as unequal and inferior to Adam. Part of her reasoning behind this perspective is Adam’s reinforcement of these ideas by saying that Eve is “[s]afest and seemliest” when she is with him (9.268). Adam paints himself in a stronger light, so Eve develops the attitude that she must “prove” her worth to make up for her inferiority. However, Eve is not inferior to Adam; the two of them are a team where Adam is the “head” (logical and cautious), and Eve is the “heart” (instinctual and ambitious) (8.562, 4.484). They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but those traits do not put one over the other.
I chose to use an illusion because it intentionally warps the audience’s perception of the world, which is how I see this epic; on the surface, it may seem that Adam and Eve are on different hierarchal levels, but a closer examination reveals that they are equal. This illusion uses forced perspective to make it seem as if two objects of the same size are actually different sizes. In this case, Eve can only see herself as smaller/inferior while Adam is bigger/superior. Since Eve does not believe herself to be equal to Adam without eating from the Tree of Knowledge, she is “trapped” in the illusion, reflecting her question, “[F]or inferior who is free?” (9.825). However, the audience can see the illusion the way it is presented to them, or they can step back to see the reality that both figures are the same size. They can choose the interpretation that they think Milton is presenting, unlike Eve.
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