A Comparison Of The Devil In Literature And Films

Satan is a powerful and mysterious being. Satan is well known of his evil nature. But, who is Satan in reality? Satan is known as Lucifer, the Devil, Son of the Morning, and many other names. As stated in the book, “In the Bible, he plagues humankind with temptations and hardships and tests basic belief in God, but not much more is known about his person. No one has been able to prove who he is, where he came from, if he exists, if he is an end result of God’s creation or if he himself is one of the creators (6498).” There are many debates whether the Devil does exist or if it’s just a belief. In films, many producers and authors have the opportunity to interpret various forms and interpretations about the Devil. The Devil in literature and films can take many shapes and forms. It all depends of the culture and interpretation a film is trying to illustrate to the audience. For example, The Bloomsbury Companion to Religion and Film states, “Types of Devils presented in these movies include the sympathetic Satan, Satan as comedic hero, tempter, deceiver and Satan as concept and/or metaphor (6510).” These different interpretations of the Devil in films have various patterns that depict a meaning.

Devil. For example, The Ninth Gate’s (1999), “Portrayal of Satan is sympathetic because the Devil assists the main character and leads him to a passageway of spiritual enlightenment.” In The Ninth Gate’s, Satan is not represented as the maleficent character of the film. Instead, he is the one who helps the main character embark on a spiritual awakening. This portrays Satan as a sympathetic character who is willing to help others which the audience can relate to because of his humanistic