Discerning Truth from Falsehood

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Paradise Lost and Tartuffe are similar works, both exploring the subjects of truth and falsehood. As such, Milton's Paradise Lost portrays the continuous battle between good and evil. In Paradise Lost, Eve falls from the safety of the prelapsarian state into the insecure, sinful postlapsarian world because she is unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. Likewise, Molière's Tartuffe exemplifies the problem of hypocrisy. Tartuffe explores the concept of how easy it is to deceive another person, while displaying how hard it can be to distinguish the truth. Thus, these works are similar in that they strive to reveal the difficulties in determining truth from falsehood and the problems that result from being unsuccessful in this distinction. Milton's Paradise Lost displays the difficulty in determining good from evil, or truth from falsehood. In Paradise Lost, Eve is faced with a decision: she is tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit that God has prohibited to be devoured. Satan flatters her and tells her many lies in order to persuade Eve to betray God. He tells her that she will gain all knowledge of good and evil, and that she will even become "Sovran of all creatures, universal Dame" (IX.612). Eve is unsure if the Serpent is being truthful with her, and she doubts the benefits that the serpent claims the fruit yields: "Serpent, thy overpraising leaves in doubt/ The virtue of the Fruit" (IX.615-16). She is tempted by the serpent's fraudulent words into disobeying the true word of God. As a result, Adam and Even are cast out of Eden, and a sinless world no longer exists. However, Eve's fall from the prelapsarian world could have been avoided. There are several measures that she could have taken to aid... ... middle of paper ... ...encourage righteousness. He reveals the ill fate that awaits an impious citizen. Through Milton's Paradise Lost, it is suggested that God punishes those who stray from the righteous path. This is made evident by the consequences that Eve suffers as a result of her inability to see through the serpent's corruptness. It is often hard to determine truth from falsehood in today's vast, hectic society. However, it is of vital importance because of the consequences which one will be subject to if a mistake is made. As evident in Paradise Lost and Tartuffe, there are always negative effects of confusing the truth with that which is false. Much like the consequences that Eve and Orgon are subject to, one who is deceived by fraud always suffers afterwards. Thus, Paradise Lost and Tartuffe serve to warn the reader of making hasty, false decisions that defy truth.

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