Goethe's Faust - A Tragedy

752 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Goethe's faust part 1

Faust: A Tragedy

Webster's Dictionary says that a tragedy is a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair, or a disaster. This word and the story Faust, by Goethe, go together very well due to the amount of calamities within the tale. For this reason the subtitle "A Tragedy" is appropriate. It is befitting because of Faust's alliance with the Devil, his actions along with the Devil and the fate of two of the main characters at the end of the story. Faust: A Tragedy is very deserving of the subtitle "A Tragedy".

It was definitely a tragedy that Faust allied himself with Mephisto. Whenever a person strays from the positive path of the Lord to the side of the Devil it is definitely something very negative. For ages people have been using the phrase, "he sold his soul to the Devil", with no positive connotation. Of course when this phrase was used it was just to say that that person was evil, not that they actually let Satan purchase their soul. That would be ridiculous, correct? Well that is exactly what happened in Faust's case. Due to his own flaw of not being satisfied with life itself, he strayed from the Lord and traded his soul for a higher form of entertainment. "Thinking's done with, for ever so long Learning and knowledge have sickened me....Bring on your miracles..." It is tragic when someone feels that they understand so much, or try to ignore so much to the point where they think that they should give their soul away with no fear of eternal damnation. Faust believes or tries to believe that there is no after life and that he can just trade away his life to the most evil being in existence with no repercussions. Falling from God and making the Devil his partner is something that deserves the title "a tragedy".

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.

Show More
Related

  • Inhumanity in Night

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thus the theme of inhumanity can be seen through discrimination, fear and survival. Discrimination is seen when the Hungarian police beat the Jewish people because of their religion. Also, fear can be seen when Elie is whipped because Idek is afraid Elie would tell everyone of his affair. Lastly, survival is seen when the men beat each other for food. The reader can therefore conclude that what Elie Wiesel was trying to say about inhumanity was that other people are capable of treating other humans like animals and that it makes this victims feel less like people. This has implications about the real world and everyday life because there are maybe many instances throughout one’s life when they are being treated inhumanly. Additionally, many countries today suffer people are not being treated well, and the author seems to suggest that it should be stopped.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Gravediggers: Faust The Dog By Mattheus Ottleberg

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    Liesel yearns to discover the power of words through reading books. Throughout the story, she repeatedly steals books to grasp more information. It all starts with The Gravediggers Manuel; Liesel attains this book the day that her brother dies, while he is being buried by the gravediggers. Liesel pilfers this book from the gravediggers because the book will symbolize her remembrance of her brother, Werner. This also will start the beginning of her acrimony for the Fuhrer, because Liesel discovers that he is answerable for his death.

    Read More

  • Variation Of A Faustian Tale In The Devil And Homer Simpson

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Faust, part I, Faust is given Mephistopheles as his servant on earth, until he reaches complete happiness, “[t]hen [Faust will] do the same for [him]” in hell(87). Faust never reaches complete happiness in the end and eventually goes to heaven. The deal in “The Devil and Tom Walker” is that Tom gets a pirate’s treasure and a multitude of wealth, but he has to use the money for evil, and the Devil gets his soul. In the end, after he had a lot of evil over his life, he accidentally said, “‘The devil take me,’” without meaning it, and was taken to hell(135). In “The Devil and Homer Simpson,” Homer gets a donut, but “the instant [he] finish[es] it [the Devil] own[s his] soul”(Daniels, McGrath). Homer inevitably eats the donut, but he gets to go on trial for his soul, and his wife, Marge, saves his soul by saying he already promised it to her. In all of these stories, a physical contract was made with the devil, so it seems like the Faust character could not get out of it, but the deal is different for each story, and each one has a different outcome to portray a different message. Goethe conveys that complete happiness cannot be reached, but that it is never too late to be saved. “The Devil and Tom Walker” conveys that it is harmful to try to get a desired thing through evil means by making Tom go to hell in the end after all the evil he had done. In “The Devil and Homer Simpson,” Homer finding a

    Read More

  • Essay On Inferential Naivety

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ders can converge to a erroneous statement with a positive probability. Nonetheless, there is one exception worth noting originating from the work of Eyster and Rabin[10], who adjust the model to permit each agent to exclusively observe only the immediate predecessor. In this variation of the model, the actions, and as a result, the outcomes, of naive herders exactly match those of rational agents. The reason why this exception is capable of realizing satisfactory results is that by limiting the observation horizon, naive herders are unable to double count previous actions, consequently, all signals are counted only once. Still, relaxing this assumption even by a margin of one, where naive herders can observe the last two moves, suffices to yet again create the conditions that ensure with a positive probability that these agents end up converging to a wrong belief.

    Read More

  • Ancient Mesopotamia

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    The land of Mesopotamia sprouted many ideas for modern day technology. Mesopotamia was located in between two rivers. The Tigris and the Euphrates. The name Mesopotamia literally means between the rivers. Ancient Mesopotamia had many hard working rulers, great culture, and a polytheistic religion. All in all Mesopotamia accomplished loads of amazing things.

    Read More

  • The Romantic Hero in Goethe's Faust

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    emption, despite her sins, because “all her crime was love” (line 4501). Goethe’s Faust is a work in which a new type of hero emerges to satisfy the needs of a changing society. With Faust, Goethe succeeded in representing a microcosm of the tensions that accompanied the shift from rationalism to Romanticism. Complex and dynamic, Faust, like the great men of his era, is a hero whose most notable achievement is his

    Read More

  • Faust, the Superman Before the Übermensch Theory

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    The protagonist in Goethe's Faust I is a controversial character. Doctor Faust's moral character is not clearly defined and as a result, it makes it difficult for one to determine if he is a good or bad person. Despite the ambiguities, several pieces of evidence throughout the play show that Doctor Faust is a negative figure. Firstly, although Faust's perspective and character most likely started off to be positive, they are generally negative at the beginning of the play. Secondly, Faust's actions are not acceptable according to society's standards, therefore making him an immoral person. In Goethe's Faust I, Doctor Faust is a negative figure because he is an immoral man shown by his attitude and personality, notably the characteristics that resemble the Übermensch.

    Read More

  • A Divided Self: The Many Facets of Faustus

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Character of Mephistopheles in Goethe's Faust

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mephistopheles, from the epic poem Faust, by Goethe, is one of the most interesting characters if examined carefully. Much like today's crude interpretations of the devil, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- confident, witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, evil. There were very ironic things about him. Though he was evil, he was a force of goodness. The evil in him was portrayed in the negative aspects of Faust's personality, which showed that no matter how powerful the Lord was, the devil would always have an impact on a persons life and decisions.

    Read More

  • Deluded Pursuit in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    Faustus' hunger for immediate gratification suggests immense self-torment and self-denial. Weighing his options at each instant of time, he maximizes his pleasure and minimizes his pain, apparently discounting the implications of his decisions on his prospects and happiness in the future. Rebelling against God, he invites the devil's temptations, hoping to obtain an offer like Satan's to Jesus in the desert wilderness. One understands why Satan imputes an infinite value to Christ's soul. However, why does Faustus' soul warrant twenty-four years of service by Mephostophilis?

    Read More

  • Faust And Frankenstein

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    While voluntarily excommunicating themselves from society, both characters accomplish a portion of their goal and yet they remain unhappy because they never control the "perfect" life they have built for themselves. In Faust, the intelligent gentleman Faust, seeks spiritual wholeness in knowledge. Through years of hard study, Faust becomes knowledgeable in math, science and religion and yet he becomes inept and incapable of having any romantic or physical relationships with the outside world. As Faust strives to become the "over man" through knowledge, he realizes that books will not satisfy his curiosity and that sensual pleasures will. Therefore, in the process of creating his new life, Faust, becomes distant and unconcerned with all reality and humanity around him.

    Read More

  • Faustus And Mephastophilis Analysis

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Writing as Healing

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    Classical logotherapists believed that disease and illness inflicted a person in order to punish a person for something he/she had done. The illness was also viewed as a form of trauma that deformed one’s character by society of the classical era and healing of the illness restored one’s identity and moral purity. Healers used “verbal charms, prayers, and incantations” in order to drive out the demon that caused the illness from the infected person. Plato believed that healing occurred “in a plane of absolute, unchanging truths above and beyond the plane of lived experience.” In other words, Plato rejected the idea of that language could heal the diseased or traumatized person.

    Read More

  • Doctor Faustus Essays: Critical Analysis of Faustus

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay the critical approach on (Mythological and Archetypal Approach) played a big role in forming my opinion of the signet classic book, "Doctor Faustus"  It is to my knowledge that mythology does not meet our current standards of factual reality, but unlike the 16th century which this play was presented, men like Faustus saw myth as fundamental and a dramatic representation of the deepest instinctual life in the universe.

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Romanticism In Faust By Johann Wolfgang Von Faust

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Goethe's Faust - A Tragedy

Open Document