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Faust: Positive or Negative Essay

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Faust: Positive or Negative
The Faust legend, as with other great legends, has many interpretations. In Goethe’s Faust: Part One, the protagonist’s character is questioned, and this uncertainty contributes to the number of interpretations the story has. It is unclear whether or not Faust is a positive or a negative figure. In the story, Faust gets pulled into a journey of deceit and sin. As long as Faust followed the Devil, he became closer to his own downfall. Alberto Destro argues that a moral hero lives his life according to the ordinary “moral” point of view. Destro claims that Faust cannot be considered a moral hero, but instead a negative figure because Faust does not follow the ordinary “moral” point of view. I agree with his …show more content…

When we take a closer look at Destro’s argument, we see that he does not agree to the fact that Faust could be considered a positive figure, and neither can he be considered a moral hero. Destro argues that Faust cannot be a moral hero because he failed to understand his “ultimate salvation” by the end of Faust I, whereas Gretchen—Faust’s lover and a murderess—was saved because she understood that she is guilty of all the things she has done: killed her mother and drowned her child (4507-4508). Here, we can see that Destro is comparing Faust’s and Gretchen’s salvations. We could say that Destro is questioning what salvation really is. From a Christian perspective, the salvation achieved by Gretchen is the correct one because she reconciles with God. Then, Destro seems to argue that because Faust is “superman,” then he cannot be a positive character. Destro’s “superman” differs from Nietzsche’s version of “superman.” Destro’s “superman” is an individualistic ethic where self-realization is the highest goal. Faust does not think about other, but only about himself. He is only worried about his own striving for self- realization. This makes Faust, in Destro’s eyes, a negative character. Contrary to this Faustian ethic, there is the ordinary “moral” point of view. It means that morality is rooted in with our relationship with others within a community. In this thought, the point of view

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