Ahh... Dr. Faustus... What a guy.
For someone who seems to be quite intelligent and well-read, he tends to make things hard for himself in the first two Acts.
I think one of Faustus's main flaws is that he's incredibly selfish. After becoming a doctor, Faustus sought more knowledge on ways to become famous. He discredited logic, medicine, and even theology just because he didn't like something the Bible said. His quest for fame led him knocking on the Devil's door, and as we all know, that's not a great place to be. He had such grand ideas for what he felt he needed and that was definitely a contributing factor for his downfall. But instead of hard work and dedication to obtain the things he wanted, he turned to black magic. And we all know that magic is a cure all for life, right?
Even as he sets his terms with a demon, he comes off as very uppity and self-absorbed. All that spewed out of his mouth was "I want this...." or "I want that..." Dude, find another way to get what you want! This is not the way!
And I think what really killed me about this guy is that the Good Angel never backed down with him. Faustus worried a couple of times about if what he was doing was the right thing, so he obviously had an inkling that he wasn't doing something he should be doing. With the Evil Angel whispering in his ear that the demons would tear him to shreds, the Good Angel is there to reassure him that forgiveness will save him from any evil that would try to take him down. I don't know about everyone else, but if I feel like I'm doing something wrong and there's a way to get out of that situation free and clear, I'm going to grab onto that with two hands. The Good Angel clearly gives him an out and Faustus is just too overcome with his selfish quest for power and knowledge that he just blows that shining beacon of light off his shoulder.
This guy is killing me. In all the poems we have read thus far, this guy makes me want to shake him and wake him up. I mean, Beowulf was irritating but Dr. Faustus is taking the cake. I'm interested to see where the story goes but I've seen enough foreshadowing in the first two Acts to guess that it might not be a happy ending for the "good" doctor.
Doctor Faustus needs to re-evaluate his priorites. I get that he wants things, but who doesn't? Also if I start messing with the devil and someone is telling me I can have a free out, like you said I'm going to take it. I get it the devil can apparently be quite persuasive, but he's already messed with the devil he has nothing to lose. He's stared into the face of the devil, heard the stories of heaven and hell, and then blatantly exclaims that they're not real. While my idea of him is slightly improved since our class discussion, I agree that he is being selfish and making a huge mistake. It's crazy that he is willing to try and make terms with a devil. I just want him to wake up like you said, even though I know it isn't going to happen(or at least not soon enough to save him).
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