Satan is an interesting concept. He is a frequent character in all sorts of stories, from T.V. shows to books. There are two basic types of Satan that I have seen: the Unknower and the Uncarer. Let's talk about each one specifically.
The Unknower
The Unknowing Satan is, in some ways excusable for his actions and evil. He did not know that what he did is wrong, in fact, quite often he thinks it is right. But, he is still evil, still does evil, and is to blame for not guiding his moral compass in the right direction, for allowing himself to be deceived, often by himself, into believing that he is in the right when he commits evil. The header of The Unkower also covers people who wish to do good, maybe even head towards a goal that is good, but are willing to do evil to attain that good. That is, it covers people who fall into that age-old trap of believing that the ends justify the means. One such Satan is the antagonist of Gordon R. Dickson's The Childe Cycle, a series of science fiction novels that revolves around the entirety of the human race and it's evolution. He is named Bleys Ahrens, and, as Satans often are, is a master of manipulating people. He has this ability to get inside their heads and see what they are going to do next, what they will react to, and the ends that they will go to to achieve whatever goal they might have in mind. This gives him great power, because, if you know what someone is going to do next, you can be prepared to counter it. If you know what people will react to, then you can offer them something they cannot resist, or take something that they will go to any lengths to get back. And if you know how much they are willing to sacrifice for whatever goal they want to achieve, then you can offer them that goal for a much lower price, or make it just beyond their reach. This manipulation he does on a day to day basis, and very few people wise up to him. He, of course has his devoted followers, all of which think him a truly great man, but none of which truly understand him or his goal. He, because of his power, can take away a person's free will, because he knows how to make them do what he wants. To him, other humans are merely puppets to be made to influence other puppets, with him, the master puppeteer up above, telling them what to do. Sounds sort of like playing God, doesn't it? He does not recognize this in himself, despite how smart he is, because he is the one person he cannot get inside of. That is his primary fault, he set out to do what he felt he needed to do without looking at why he felt he needed to do it. Without fully understanding himself. And you have to understand yourself if you want to fully understand your goals. He set out to change the human race without realizing that all he really wanted was to change himself. He deserves sympathy, and gets it from the author in the form of novels, parallel to the rest of the series, from his perspective. He is still evil, though, and that is something that he cannot change.
The Uncarer
When someone describes someone else as evil, this is what they usually mean. An evil being who was once good; in fact, who chose evil over
good consciously. And, because he was once good, he often knows that he
is bad, and usually reacts by not caring and by reveling in his evil. This is true evil. The Uncarer sees himself, and maybe even hates himself, and wishes he could change, but is unable to. Because he has let the part of himself that loves to hurt, to destroy, take control. He is without qualms and without cares, about anyone except himself. The only way to hurt him is to hurt him. He often comes off as carefree, even light-hearted, because he too often gets what he wants. One such Satan is the character of the Sheriff of Nottingham in the fairly recent BBC retelling of Robin Hood. The Sheriff is a man incapable of sympathy, who will do anything to get what he wants, and does quite often. He hatches various plans to catch Robin Hood, and even uses public hangings of innocent men as bait for Robin. He tries to coerce one of Robin's band, whom he captured, into killing Robin. But he does this by, if the man does not kill Robin, threatening to make the man kill his own mother. He makes people choose between doing evil, and doing evil. He uses people as if they did not have lives, because he sees no life but his own. He does not recognize the fact that other people might have something to live for. As such, he is often confounded when someone stands up for what they believe in, stands up against him. He, of course, covers this confusion, because he does not want to appear weak. And he defeats himself, over and over again, because he cannot see anything from someone else's point of view. He has to be able to be someone else if he wants to get that person. He, in essence, needs to be Bleys Ahrens. And that is why Bleys is so dangerous. But the Sheriff is more dangerous to individuals, he has tongues cut out, people hanged and stabbed. Bleys tries to avoid any violence that is not necessary, but is more dangerous on a bigger scale than the Sheriff.
