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Fault and romanticism essay
Essays on the fate of Dr Faustus' fate
Essays on the fate of Dr Faustus' fate
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Nowadays, we all know that choosing what someone wants in his life and therefore, direct his destination, is a matter of self-decision, so we may conclude that the human being is the creator of his or her own way, and thus, is the one responsible for his or her own evils and bad decisions. Nonetheless, we also know that sometimes there are external factors that can push people into making certain decisions that may affect them negatively without they even realizing it completely. In the play Faust by Johann Goethe, decision-making power is concentrated in the main character that is Faust. This man is someone who is not satisfied with his current situation and does not really want to take his life the way it is. In addition, the figure of Mephistopheles is present, which could have made Faust more inclined to make bad decisions and to fall to the tricks of evil. However, I believe that if Faust had firm principles and human values, he would not have fallen into the traps of Mephistopheles. Therefore, I think that Faust should not be forgiven as, in my opinion, he is responsible for all the decisions he has made and that he should have overcome those temptations. …show more content…
Many of those tests may seem complicated, but in the end, they all share a common denominator, which is the basic choice between knowing what is right and what is wrong. This commonality is present in our story where the protagonist is truly free, until Satan's traps help him take the wrong path and mark a fateful destiny. In the play, it can be clearly told how good and evil lives within the protagonist, who is the one who has to decide which way to go. Human beings are always in situations where they must make decisions and Faust should know what is right and what is wrong. In our story, Faust is the one who has to make his decisions and he should be able to know what is right and what is
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.
The concept of bad for Goethe can be seen most in the character of Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles is believed to stand for the devil. When he first introduces himself he describes himself as "a part of that Power which always wills evil, always procures good.....the Spirit which always denies." Mephistopheles actions such as talking Faust into taking advantage of Gretchen and then telling him to leave her are seen as evil actions. The fact that Mephistopheles spends time with witches which most people see as evil shows that he is also evil. Goethe believes that all people sin sometimes and God forgives us. This is shown when Gretchen is in prison and after all the sin she has done a voice from heaven grants her salvation. Even though she did sin, most of her sin was because of inexperience and she was not purposely sinning.
Faust’s dealings with darkness eventually lead him to deal with the ruler of all that is wicked and deceitful, the devil himself. Naturally Faust, longing for more than earthly pleasures, is compelled to accept Mephistopheles’ promises of complete contentment and satisfaction. Faust’s ego is such that he feels he can not be out witted even by the most skillful and cunning deceiver to ever walk the face of the earth. Soon Faust is on a journey leading to more misery and t...
Mephistopheles was very much of a skeptic and a gambler. In the "Prologue in Heaven", Mephistopheles bet the Lord that he could turn Faust against him and make him do evil. This was ironic because most people would never dream of speaking to the Lord in this way. This showed that Mephistopheles was self- confident and witty. He was very set in his ways and beliefs and found it difficult to believe that God could keep total control over Faust, or any one else for that matter.
Faustus is never happy with all the goods that he received, because there was always the battle in the back of his mind between controlling his ego and superego. Faustus' fear and lack of self worth ruled over him and gave way to his inability to ever attain happiness. The psychological effects that Faustus experienced were a loss of his identity, happiness, and loss of control in his life. The struggle that Faustus went through emotionally and physically were supposed to be controlled by him, but when the end came he had no control over anything in his life, with his destiny having already been set. When the play ended Faustus had realized that twenty four years of complete extravagance was not what happiness was, and the only happiness that he could attain would be given to him by a wife or partner in life, which he would never attain.
III. Faustus is portrayed as a very individual character. He changes and is shaped by the events that happen all around him. Everything he does affects his future outcome. For example his decision to give up his studies of medicine were very un-stereotypical of a character that is studying to be a doctor to do. Even more so is his decision to take upon the necromantics of the devil. He says, “Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that end: A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit.” (1.11) He believes that he has learned enough information about all the great things of the world and there is nothing left to study that will intrigue him as much as magic will. His curious personality affects the play because his decisions determine the plot. For example the Seven Deadly Sins entice him so he becomes convinced not to repent his sin. This characterizes him as gullible, curious and adventurous. He becomes obsessed with his magic and he absolutely loves having the powers to do anything he pleases. An example of this is when he conjures up Helen. He knows he can do whatever he wants without reservation so he chooses to conjure the woman who launched a thousand ships. This shows that not only is he gullible, curious and obsessed but also Faustus only wishes for the best in whatever he does; the best that will please him.
..., Faustus is pleading with God and says, “Let Faustus life in hell a thousand years, a hundred thousand, and at last be saved” (Marlowe 2:103-104). However, he must realize that once he is in hell he isn’t coming back. The agony shown is this soliloquy leaves us wondering if he is being given the right punishment for what he has done (Pacheco 9). Some may be left with feelings of pity and fear and in wonder of what Faustus is going to experience when he is finally taken into the hands of Lucifer.
Faustus’ mind is fraught with despair in his final, closing speech. It jumps frantically from thought to thought: one moment he is begging time to stop, or slow down, the next second, he is pleading to Christ for mercy and salvation. He asks to be hidden, the next instant he is asking for his punishment in hell to last ‘A hundred thousand [years], and at last be saved’ (1.13.95). These various attempts to escape his imminent doom ultimately lead to him to realise that the situation is entirely his fault, just before midnight, he finally realises to ‘curse [him] self’ (1.13.106). This extremely passionate remorse leads to a recurring theme in the play, namely, the reasons behind him not repenting at earlier stages.
Faustus believed that he was already damned to hell and could not be saved by God. “Faustus’ offense can ne’er be pardoned: the serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus” (IV.i.41-42). Faustus was foolish to believe that hell was the place for him. Once he got a glimpse of his future in hell, he was afraid and needed to “save his soul”. “A year, a month, a week, a natural day that Faustus may repent and save his soul” (IV.i.140-142). He asked Lucifer to “spare” him, but he soon realized that it was too late. ”O, spare me, Lucifer-Where is it now? / ‘Tis gone: and see where God”
... about a chess match between man and the devil. The deal struck between Faustus and Mephistopheles is exposed as fraudulent. The deal is a false agreement in which both sides think they are outsmarting the opponent in order to quench their desires. Faustus wants power and knowledge, Mephistopheles wants a human soul, and each thinks that the contract will yield positive results for him while simultaneously not benefiting the other at all. The result is Mephistopheles winning Faustus’ soul while Faustus acknowledges that he was duped. It is evident throughout the entire play that neither Faustus nor Mephistopheles ever views the contract as a legally binding document. Faustus is aware repentance is an option while Mephistopheles does not accede to every demand made by Faustus. The contract itself is merely an attempted business scam on both sides.
alise he has made a fatal choice. By now the tragedy is inevitable; of his own free will Faustus has rejected all hope of salvation and the audience waits in trepidation for his impending doom. In conclusion the arrogance and blasphemy apparent in many of Faustus' speeches ("a greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit", "Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity" etc) are characteristic of the classical tragic hero. For example, Faustus' pride and arrogance (which the Greeks called 'hubris') is strikingly similar to that of Aeschylus' tragic hero, king Agamemnon. As far as the issue of free will is concerned, I think that Faustus does have the opportunity to make his own decisions, despite Marlowe's paradoxical portrayal of a God whom, whilst able to control our predestination, cannot (when it comes down to it) control or undo the contract which Faustus makes.
While working with the Devil Faust did a number of evil things, some being quite tragic. It was already bad enough that Faust decided to play games with Mephistopheles, but it was worse when he decided he wanted to draw someone else into his sick deal. Faust, being overwhelmed with lust, felt that he needed to seduce and corrupt a young girl. "Get me that, do you hear, you must!" This is even worse when you consider that it was inevitable that he would succeed with the aid of Satan.
This section of the play has both an important structural and contextual role in Dr. Faustus. Leading the audience through his doubt and limitations, Faustus begins to realize that his potential for knowledge and power is not half as grand as he expected. This leads him into strong bouts of inner struggle, as shown by the appearance of the good and evil angels on stage. The forces of good and evil start to tear away at Faustus, and he begins the decline into his inventible tragic downfall at the end of the play.
The first appearance of Faust in the story finds him having doubts about himself and the worth of his time spent in education. Undeterred by this depression, we see his pride has not diminished as he declares he is “cleverer than these stuffed shirts, these Doctors, M.A.s, Scribes and Priests, I’m not bothered by a doubt or a scruple, I’m not afraid of Hell or the Devil” (Goethe 633). Turning to magic to fill the void in his life, Faust conjures a spirit, but shrinks back from it in fear. In the ensuing argument between them, Faust asserts that he is the spirits “equal” (Goethe 637). Mephisto’s second visit at Faust’s residence leads them to having a drawn out discussion over the proposal of Mephisto serving Faust in exchange for his soul. Common sense might ask why a person would willingly discuss a deal with the devil knowing that it probably won’t end well. This instance would have to be answered that the imperious pride of Faust made him “so rash that he would give no heed to the salvation of his soul He thought the devil could not be so black as he is painted nor hell so hot as is generally supposed” (Fischer 107). In spite of his vast education, Faust’s pride pulls him into wagering his soul with Mephisto and causing the deaths of others and his
Doctor Faustus act of sin is very similar to what human being faces everyday in our lives. We all want to learn and want to gain knowledge and while achieving what we want, we make mistakes and fall but we continue with our path and we also know how not to make same mistakes twice. Faustus’s act of selling his soul was all because of him being ambitious to gain power that he never had, and he exchanges the twenty-four years of power with his soul. Faustus wanting to gain power and wanting to have knowledge of something that he never had is very similar to what we want in our lives. Humans always seek for something new and something to achieve. We have curiosity and jealousy that makes us going forward rather than staying still in one place. So when I was reading this play, I felt the connection with Faustus and felt the ending was such tragedy. I felt sympathy when Doctor Faustus said, “O soul, be changed to little water drops and fall into the ocean. Ne-re be found. My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!” (Scene 13. 108-110) This phrase was very emotional because it shows Faustus’s ...