Dr. Faustus Life Leads To One End And Death Analysis

Life leads to one end—death. Regardless of any justifications to relieve or comfort the realization of death, it will happen. The awareness of death can provoke rash decisions, thoughts, and actions. The reality of death embodies a dominate problem that motivates psychological and physical defenses. Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus conveys the significance of gaining crucial awareness of the psychosocial aspects of death and the meaning of life. The argument is that denial of one’s death leads to a life confined to misery. To approach the notions of how awareness of death affects beings, background information of Doctor Faustus is significant. Although born of low status in society, Faustus excels and receives his doctorate of theology. His ambitions

Faustus’ entire life has been fleeing from his own mortality. Faustus’ motive for selling his soul, is to have spirits: “resolve me of all my ambiguities” (Marlowe 190). One of the main reasons Faustus yearns for infinite knowledge is to answer life’s unanswered questions. With his newfound power, Faustus first seeks to increase his knowledge. His attempts to find the meaning of life consists of asking Mephistopheles about astronomy, the planets, and the universe. Faustus asks who made the world and Mephistopheles refuses to answer, saying that giving the answer would be “against our kingdom” (Marlowe 205). Faustus’ attempts to find the meaning of life, ends in failure. Even if Mephistopheles provided Faustus with all the answers he initially demanded, the knowledge thus obtained would have been compromised by his self desires. Faustus is cheated of the knowledge that might have become a means to his self-discovery that he has made a mistake and should repent. The loss of his moral compass prohibits him to choose between repenting or obtaining insignificant pleasures. Internal turmoil prevails throughout Faustus’ life due to his incapability to accept his

Doctor Faustus finds it logically impossible for himself to receive salvation or cease to exist. After selling his soul to Mephistopheles, his self worth and mortal compass become severely weak. He desires solely for infinite knowledge and God-like powers. His entire life has been devoted to avoid death on all accounts. Up until the last second, Faustus is begging for more time to have one last minute with his powers before he is damned for eternity. Although Faustus knew definite laws and theology, he did not have absolute answers to death. Confrontation of death would be accepting that he is mortal and that there is no definite answer to life nor death. Faustus believed that there has to be something more to life, that this can’t be it. Faustus develops a pessimistic fatalism, afflicted in helplessness, and a combination of perverse reasoning, foolishness, and delusion. He thinks that whatever he chooses the result is the same—death in this life and damnation in hell the next. Faustus surrenders true power—the power of faith, choice, and intellect—for empty pleasures that perish with occurrence. As the play unfolds, Faustus reaffirms his belief that his condemnation cannot be transcended through an appeal to God’s grace. His contract with the devil strengthens his certainty that his sins are too great to be forgiven and that his destiny is predetermined. He ignores and