Faust as a Romantic Hero

Author Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe depicts Faust as highly knowledgeable person who still feels an emptiness in his life. The author manipulates this aspect of the play to set up and

Christopher Marlowe's play, Dr. Faustus, is the story of the struggle of one man who is battling with himself over what he values most in life, and to what extent he will go to obtain what he desires. The battles over the control of one's ego and what a person values in their life are the two underlying struggles in this work. Faustus is a very educated and high member of society, but he was born in a lower class and has struggled all his life to be a wealthy person. He attains this opportunity to become wealthy when he learns how to call upon Satan, and he makes a deal with the devil to attain all the riches in life for his soul. Through out the play Faustus

pity and fear for him, making him the epitome of a tragic hero. His pride led to his ultimate

Introduction: How'd He Do That? 1. The “Faust legend” is when the hero is offered something he desperately wants and all he has to do is give up his soul to get it. 2. A Raisin in the Sun is a version of a Faust legend because Mr. Linder made an offer to Walter Lee, but he does not demand his soul.

Despite the religious warnings of his childhood Faust sells his soul for the low price of intellect. The means through which they have latched onto their remarkable features is an impermeable barrier. It exists between them and the world. Faust must live a lie, Dorian can see his soul withering away in his portrait and Macbeth flirts with insanity. Faust’s lines; “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

Faustus had strayed far from religion and

The Faust legend is one of civilization’s most prominent myths, and over time has been reinterpreted by many authors, each based on its own time. The tales overall are about people “who have compromised their conscience to get what they want.” The original Faust story consists of a man named Doctor Faust who began to study noble professions such as Divinity and medicine. He then turned the table and took on the belief of the devil seeking to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for his ultimate desire: power. The devil once came and Faust sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power, but, Faust agreed to give away his entire body and soul at the end of twenty-four years. Faust had everything within his reach: the finest wines, clothing,

Although Faustus may not think it, he guilty of each of those sins, namely jealousy and avarice. This shows an interesting contrast between his self perceptions and reality. He takes full advantage of the power the devil brings him. Faustus has fleeting regrets about his vow to the devil, yet never serious. In his thoughts of repenting, it seems to be only for his own good rather than reaffirming his belief in God. In the end once Faustus becomes conscious that his life of power will be over and he will remain a servant to the devil for eternity, he realizes his huge mistake. When his death is inevitable he curses his choice: “Accursed Faustus, wretch, what hast thou done? I do repent, and yet I do despair. Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast. What shall I do to shun the snares of death?”

As a result of this ambition and its outcome on his perspective, Faust 's rational dilemma has been retained by many to embody the indifference of man in the present day. All of Faust 's values and flaws, his strengths and weaknesses, are amplified so that his experiences and proper improvement are granted on a scope that is greater than life. At the end of the novel, Faust is granted salvation but continues to be seen as a great tragic hero. Faust’s misfortune has been portrayed as “rebellious," for he tries to stride above the constraints of humanity to explore that which is not inclined to mankind to have or experience. Faust 's countless experiences all convey the message that to find contentment one must learn to subdue

Over the course of the play, Faust is trapped. He sold himself to Satan himself in an attempt to experience more than he had entrapped himself with his academics. Although, this should in no way stop Faust from being responsible for all that he did. Faust may have been in love with her, but his curse caused Gretchen far more harm than good. Gretchen’s mother died from a botched sleeping potion of Faust’s concoction that they used in an attempt at privacy.

Faustus, was indeed a tale which promoted and advocated what is bound to befall those who go down the path of sin, especially the sin of pride during the Renaissance era. During the audience with the Emperor, Faustus was easily able to entertain the Emperor’s request of seeing the deceased spirit of Alexander the Great, thus rising his fame ever more from this achievement. But for so much pride and fame will always come at a very steep price. Marlowe emphasized this when Faustus time was at his end. He was found lying in fear of what he done to fulfill his prideful agenda.

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

    Faustus witnesses a supernatural event that seems to oppose his binding deal with Satan, and although it does make him question his actions and think about repenting, he ignores the event and continues to abandon his salvation. After deciding to pledge his soul to

Almost every human faces temptation in everyday life. However, for Christians, acting on these temptations turns it into a sin. Doctor Faustus struggled with temptations and sin in his search for endless knowledge but safely could not implement his Christian faith to save him. Christopher Marlowe displayed Faustus’s struggles through themes such as free will and predestination. Reflecting upon the story along with these themes creates the question of whether Faustus was predestined for damnation and if there is a point of no return for him on his trip with the devil. Due to the Christian background throughout the play, Faustus is not predestined for damnation and there is not a “point of no return” because of the devils constant temptation, various signals to escape his deal, the countless chances he is given to seek redemption and the opportunity as a Christian to seek redemption.

The play is a human tragedy for not only is Faustus tragically constituted in his boundless ambitions but, at the same time, the play questions the effectiveness of the cultural aspirations that shape his ambitions. Consequently, the play provides a complex interaction between the human dimensions of the dramatic character and the ambiguities and ambivalences of the cultural situation the character is placed in.