Satan’s Silhouette (I wrote this essay thinking about him. I think he's Ozymandias.)
From the beginning of time, man has struggled with villains. They have haunted the chambers of both his reality and imagination, igniting dark flames wherever they go. The torch of their destruction is all too known. It has burned a hole in the very soul of mankind. It is true that man has known these villains by many names, and yet, they often appear to be the same or of a similar character. We can see that Ozymandias from the “Watchmen,” Medea from Medea and Satan from Paradise Lost share many features. It is almost as if they are fruit from the same tree, rotten fruit, and yet, wine can be made from their fermented bodies, the spice of life that tempts us to follow ways not typical of the good.
Ozymandias is like Satan and Medea in that he betrays. He has the personality of a traitor. Ozymandias is one of the Watchmen. He helps fight crime with the others, and yet, for his own personal mission, he decides to abandon his creeds and betray his fellow men and women. He leaves them behind. Medea kills her family and the king, a high ranking authority. Satan possesses similar sentiments and wants to overthrow God. Satan is cast out of Heaven and forced to wander in other realms. While Ozymandias is understood by the God figure, Dr. Manhattan, he is, like Satan, unable to overthrow God. God seems to understand Satan in some ways, and He does not destroy Satan, but He tries, like Dr. Manhattan, to foil some of Satan’s plans much to the dismay of Ozymandias who, like Satan, will do anything in his power to get his way and destroy all of his enemies. Medea also damages anything that gets in her path, like King Creon from Medea (853). The gods do not seem to mind Medea’s actions either.
Ozymandias has a dark temperament like Medea and Satan. He is not always in pleasant moods, and he is often contemplative in his actions and thoughts. Ozymandias is not a black and white character. He is not pure, unadulterated evil. He is a shade of grey, a being that choses to walk in the shadows of reality. He lingers in the mists of his fellow beings and waits for an opportunity to trick them, but he shows some light in that he has noble intentions to save the planet. Satan isn’t completely corrupt either, as he possesses reason. Ozymandias is still from a lower realm indeed, and he spreads his tinted realizations around and helps corrupt the world with his vision. Ozymandias wants to bring humanity to its knees for peace, or a world made by Ozymandias, and Satan wants to twist the world for his own ends as well. We see this in Paradise Lost, Book II when Satan brings up another battle (II:51). He only wants peace for his own sordid soul, a place where he can make up for his foul character. Medea seeks evil tranquility as well in another kingdom.
Satan and Ozymandias are both celebrities. It is part of their personality. Satan seems to want the glorious attention of his fellow man, and so does Ozymandias. This characteristic is easy to see. Ozymandias creates a multibillion dollar industry by “prostituting the struggles” of the fellow Watchmen (Movie: “Watchmen”). Like Satan, Ozymandias wants the attention and greatness that celebrity brings. Satan uses humans as his prostitutes for attention, and he manages to trick all of mankind for eternity. It isn’t like Satan is modest about his accomplishments. He is a well-known figure who is always bringing chaos into the mortal realm since the day he acted like a serpent and tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit (IX: 781). With this action he was able to bring about the attention of God and slight him. Ozymandias has this quality about him, as he is constantly doing things “for the ink” (Movie: “Watchmen”) or to be in the newspapers. He wants to be known. He wants people to pay attention to him, as he feels that he is the light of the world, the sole deliverer of a new age where there will be harmony.
Ozymandias is the hero of his reality as are Satan and Medea. Both Ozymandias and Satan feel like they’ve been wronged somehow, as does Medea. Satan thinks that it is better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven (I:263) along with Medea, and Ozymandias appears to believe the same. Ozymandias believes, again, that he is the only one who can bring peace to mankind. He goes out and destroys the entire world to build a new one, not minding the destruction of cities while Satan doesn’t mind the death of man and how man will be cast from the garden of paradise. We can see that Ozymandias is not a follower, and neither is Satan. Medea prefers to lead as well, not wanting to obey Jason (855). The qualities of Satan and Medea come out in detail in Ozymandias, especially the desire to be seen and heard. They are troubled souls on a mission. They are all rebels in disguise, and they see what they want and desire to force others to behold their wonders.
Another aspect that is shared between Ozymandias, Medea and Satan is that they feel a hint of regret for what they have done. They are not blind sociopaths driven by some unknown force foreign to mankind. They know that they have done evil. They feel it in their hearts as it scourges their minds, leaves them yearning for the heavens that once were so clear and readily available to them. Ozymandias makes himself watch every innocent face he has
“sacrificed” for mankind (Movie: “Watchmen”). Satan, meanwhile, feels the loss of contentment that he once had, “Loss of happiness and lasting pain/ Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes,/ That witnessed huge affliction and dismay/ Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate” (I:56-59). Ozymandias’ soul becomes angry when he thinks of all he has done, killed, while Satan is also in pain for all he has done. Medea cries over her children. Ozymandias, Medea and Satan seek to make things right in their own way.
In conclusion, we can see that Satan, Medea and Ozymandias have shared souls. They share many characteristics with each other. They are driven by the same powers. Satan is the perfume that Ozymandias and Medea wear. These villains may go by different names, but they are from the same grim origin.
(Works Cited on next page.)
This is my favorite poem ironically.
Works Cited
Brian Wilkie; James Hurt. “The Ancient World Through the Renaissance.” Literature of the Western World. Prentice Hall: 2000.
Watchmen. Dir Zach Snyder. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2009.
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