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Consequences of good and evil in Dr. Faustus
Good and evil in faust
Representation of the devil in faustus
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The Role of Helen of Troy in Doctor Faustus
To adequately describe the role that Helen plays in Doctor Faustus, it is necessary not only to look at the scene in which she features, but also all the instances that Faustus takes some form of pleasure from physical and sensual things. We need to do this because this is what Helen is symbolic of; she represents the attractive nature of evil in addition to the depths of depravity that Faustus has fallen to.
It is fair to say that Faustus represents the quintessential renaissance man - it is his thirst for knowledge that drives him into his pact with Mephastophilis, indeed it is the Evil Angel that best summarises this:
Go forward, Faustus, in the famous art,
Wherein all nature's treasury is contained:
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,
Lord and commander of these elements.
Scene I, lines 74-77
It is the restless spirit of the renaissance that drives Faustus to seek knowledge. He has already attained what he can through more conventional means, his "bills (are) hung up as monuments", and his "common talk found aphorisms". Faustus compares himself to the most famous figures of the classical period; to Hippocrates, to Aristotle and to Galen. He sees himself as having come to the end of what he can learn through his human tools; he needs something that will allow him to move outside the realm of nature, something supernatural. This is the reason why he came into contact with Mephastophilis, as he sought to use the new power that would come to him to further his own knowledge. It has been said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely - this is what has happened to Faustus. He ceases to become the seeker of knowledge, but become...
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...ed in the use of capital punishment as the result of trying to break his end of the bargain. Faustus' rebellion against his deal (a repetition of his body's rebellion against his signing of the contract) is only short lived, and his downfall is assured when Helen arrives.
Helen, then, represents the dangerous beauty of evil, the seduction of the past, and the desire for things pleasurable. Faustus' desire for her, for the most beautiful woman who has ever lived, seems understandable (though not reasonable) to us, because we all have a little bit of Faustus in us. It is, however, unlikely that any of us have a sufficiently Faustian nature to sell our soul to the Devil.
Works Cited:
Marlowe, Christopher. "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Eds. M.H. Abrams et. al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co, 1993.
The Industrial Revolution that took place after the Civil War made for a more economically sound country. American workers, however, were becoming more and more dependent upon their wages; a fear of unemployment also stemmed from this. Workers didn’t share in the benefits that their employers reaped. In a chart representing the hours and wages of industrial workers, from 1875 to 1891, it shows that even though their wages were subtly increasing, their 10-hour work day remained the same (Doc. A). Factories were headed by large corporations; this, in turn, meant that new machines lessened the amount of workers in certain fields. As a result of these unsuitable conditions, labor unions were formed. The challenges that these unions faced weren’t easy. If the workers involved in organized labor got too far out of line, these corporations could get federal authorities involved. Moreover, these companies could enforce “ironclad oaths” upon their employees. In a Western Union Telegraph Company employee contract, in 1883, it states that the employee will not be affiliated with any societies or organizations (Doc. E). Despite such setbacks, by 1872 there were over 32 national unions.
Labor Unions have been around for since the 1750’s. A union is “ a legally constituted group of individuals working together to achieve shared, job- related goals, including higher pay and shorting working hours ( Denisi Griffin 2015)”. Labor unions work with the employees to get the rights that they believe they deserve. The three laws that impacted unions was the Wagner Act of 1935, the Taft-Hartly Act, passed in 1947 and the Landrum Griffin Act of 1959. The Wagner Act was passed to help put unions “on equal footing as managers for rights of employees” (Denisi, Griffin, pg. 246). This law help to set up National Labor Relations Act and helps to administrate union laws. The Taft-Hartly Act of 1947 was passed to “limit union practices ( Denisi, Griffin, pg. 247) “and it also outlawed “closed shop (
Having attained all that he desires from the knowledge of man, Marlowe’s character Faustus turns to the only remaining school of thought that he feels he must master which is the art of necromancy. In his pursuits, he manages to summon the devil Mephistopheles, arch demon of hell, and strikes a deal to trade his immortal soul with Lucifer in exchange for being granted an infinite amount of power and knowledge that extends even beyond the limits of human understanding. However in the process of negotiating the terms of his pact, it becomes clear that Faust is in a constant state of uncertainty in terms of whether he should repent and forsake the arrangement or simply go through with it. This underlying theme of internal struggle is introduced very early and reappears in later acts with the appearance of established binaries that suggest a theme of division not only among the character of John Faustus, but within the written text as a whole. This suggests that Faustus is meant to serve as a symbol for the divided nature of man and the consequences of failing to negotiate the struggles that are a result of the divided self.
Although Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has outclassed every one at Wittenberg with his academic studies, he is "still but Faustus, a man." Proud of his accomplishments, he desires to become a superman. His judgment clouded by the sin of his pride, he misunderstands his knowledge and dismisses the disciplines of medicine, philosophy, law, and divinity. He lusts for God's capability to "make men live eternally or being dead raise them to life again," believing the devil's arts of magic and necromancy can provide the power, honour, omnipotence and, most importantly, the wealth he craves. His deluded pursuit of the immediate pleasures such wealth can yield brings upon himself the risk of eternal damnation. By conjuring the devil, Faustus removes himself from the influence of the Holy Ghost and God's love, instigating attacks of despair, and internal conflicts as personified by the Good and Bad Angels.
Mephistophilis is the opposite of Faustus. Mephistophilis is the stereotype of the typical conniving Devil’s assistant. He is always pressuring Faustus to listen to his “bad angel” and act upon his desires instead of his intellect. Mephistophilis’ personality influences the entire pl...
Doctor Faustus is a doctor of theology that wants no limits on what he can know or see or do so he sells his soul to the devil to gain these desires. While reading or observing Marlowe's fascinating play the reader or observer should apply the "New Historicism Approach," and take in to consideration Marlowe's and the 1590s society's beliefs, habits of thought, and biases about various concepts of obtaining the "forbidden knowledge". Like the people of the 1590s, Doctor Faustus searches for the "forbidden knowledge", begins to deny God during his quest for greater knowledge, and gains nothing from his vain activities throughout his lifetime. After these listed characteristics have been established one can begin to visualize the relationship between Marlowe's, Doctor Faustus and the beliefs and thoughts of the people of the 1590s.
(Munteanu, 2002). Therefore it can be said that Marlowe is attempting to alter the doctrines his fellow country men with whom are questioning their religions. Marlowe uses the renaissance ideals with the medieval myths to master his point. This work is a forewarning of damnation by those who attempt to alter the doctrines or moral standards, and a beacon of caution to those in search of the unknown. Dr Faustus, the work of good and evil. When man becomes idle his mind wanders and he wants more. With the wealth of knowledge Dr Faustus wanted more, he was no longer content with his academia since they could no longer provide him with wealth and fame as well as fulfill his souls want, he turned to the mastering of the dark arts.
Mephistophilis first appears to Faustus in his true, terrifying form (suggested on the Elizabethan stage by a lowered dragon). This wholly terrifying image is in keeping with the medieval concept of the devil as a hellish supernatural being that encapsulated horror. Mephistophilis’ appearance shocks Faustus to the extent that he implores him to return in a different form, this time as an “old Franciscan friar”. This embodiment epitomises much of the confusion concerning the devil’s character: although the costume of a friar is seemingly unpretentious and reassuring (and, for Marlowe’s contemporaries, a daring anti-catholic joke), in a stage performance of ‘Doctor Faustus’ the raised hood and floor-length robe is ominous and chilling. It is this contradictory melange of qualities that make Mephistophilis such an ambiguous character throughout the play.
Chapter 3: Cultivate managers who share your vision was the most important chapter to me. It talks about putting the right managers in the right positions. Welch says, “What we are looking for…are leaders… who can energize, excite, and control rather than enervate, depress, and control” (p. 35). Managers in a company should bursting with energy and are able to develop and implement a vision and not just talk about those visions. They must also know how to spread enthusiasm throughout the entire company. One of the keys to being a great business leader is getting employees excited about their work. One of the ways to get employees excited about their work is to allow employees more freedom and responsibility then they have now. In order to make this happen, middle managers have to be team members and coaches. They need to facilitate more than control. Managers should be energizers and not enervators. Welch suggests that the only way to last at GE is to get on board, to become a team player, and to adapt oneself to the company’s values and culture when describing the different types of managers that will or will not succeed. The first type of manager delivers on commitments and shares the company’s values. The second type does not meet commitments and does not share the company’s values. The third type misses commitments but does share the company’s values. Welch himself cares more that a manager sticks to the company’s values than meets the numbers. The fourth type delivers on the commitments but does not subscribe to the company’s values. Welch broke these managers into three categories, type A, type B, and type C managers. Type A managers were defined as team players that subscribe to the company’s values. People trust them; they make impacts on decisions, and are leaders who seek to develop high value in other...
The relationship between Faustus and Mephastophilis creates a dynamic that is rejected by society at this time. Although Faustus is well educated, he still lacks the one thing he truly desires: someone to control him, especially in a sexual manner. When Faustus decides to give Mephastophilis his soul for servitude, Faustus proclaims: “Lo, Mephastophilis, for love of thee, / I cut my arm, and with my proper blood, / Assure my soul to be great Lucifer’s,” (I.V.53-54). The declaration of love for Mephastophilis suggests that Faustus realized that, by giving Mephastophilis his soul, he will be able to gain his desire for control through Mephastophilis acting as his servant and granting him his wishes. Faustus does not realize until the last line of the play, however, that Mephastophilis is the one who is
The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus is Marlowe's misreading of the drama of the morality tradition, the Faust legend, and, ironically, his own Tamburlaine plays. In the development of the character of Doctor Faustus, we find one of the supreme artistic achievements of English dramatic literature, a milestone of artistic creativity and originality. The force of Marlowe's dramatic poetry resonates with lyrical intensity in its dialectic between world and will. Not only is Faustus the first true dramatic character of any psychological, moral, and philosophical depth in English literature of the modern period, but in his creation of this unique character we see Marlowe on the verge of Shakespearean characterization, that supreme artistic achievement that Harold Bloom calls the invention of the human personality.
Unaware that he is guilty of committing these sins, pride first leads Faustus into being extremely greedy, and this greediness acts in opposition to the will of God. While ambition is admirable, it appears to be a negative trait when it is not used for good. It appears that Faustus wanted to gain this knowledge for himself and not for the well-being of all people. Being so adamant about gaining this power
In Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus”, he tells a story of a man who “bids farewell to each of his studies – logic, medicine, law, and divinity – something he has used up” (The Norton Anthology 500). Faustus chooses to leave his studies to pursue knowledge in black magic. Faustus believes “A sound magician is a mighty god” (500). In his efforts to learn more about black magic, he in turn sells his soul to the devil. Faustus could repent his sins at any time; however he chooses to not upset the devil and Mephastophilis and spends eternity in hell.
Faustus was an exceedingly ambitious man, even in relation to what is considered to be ambitious by people in today’s society. In the prologue, The Chorus sums up Faustus’ background and early life, emphasizing his ordinary background and academic success. It seems that Faustus’ intellect made him become proud and this fired up his ambition. When Marlowe presents Faustus in scene 1, Faustus methodically shuns great authors and classically intellectual subjects, such as medicine and law because they hold little attraction to him, (line 11)
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.