Swerve

So, remember how I said that I like Faustus before, yeah that no longer applies. I feel that I can understand why he plays pranks on the Pope, but that is only if his backstory is one of the ones that we came up with in class on Wednesday. If it’s not, then he seems like a complete jerk. In act 5, I just couldn’t get past his last long soliloquy and because of that I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel that he got what he deserved. I mean come on, it was an hour before he was supposed to die, and now he’s all sad.

The way that I am thinking about this is, in his last soliloquy, he talks a lot about wanting to be saved and wishing that he hadn’t made the deal with the devil, but it’s like dude you made your bed, now you have to lie in it.

It reminds me of a Sunday night when I have a paper due on Monday morning and I am hoping that maybe something will happen so that school is cancelled the next day and I won’t have to turn in my paper. But it’s completely my fault that I haven’t started my paper until then and while I was off doing other things, I wasn’t telling myself that I should be writing this paper. I was enjoying not doing my paper and now I have to accept that I have to stay up late to write this paper because I didn’t start it earlier.

 

Faustus has been given so many chances to repent. Even in the end, Scholar 2 says “Yet Faustus, call on God,” (5.2, 56) which I took to mean that he still had time to be saved, but in classic Faustus way he tells him that he can’t and that it’s too late. I liked Faustus in the beginning of the play because I thought that he wasn’t positive of the choices that he made, as evident by the good angel and the bad angel showing up a lot, but in scene three and four the good angel and the bad angel were gone, as to show that he was sure that he had chosen the right side. So, for him to be really sad in the end, I just have no sympathy for him.

Hell No

            We should just establish now that there is nothing worth making a deal with the devil. One because if you believe in the devil then you clearly believe in God and two because it has never turned out well for anyone. No good can come from a deal with the devil no matter how good it looks on the surface. Faustus clearly wasn’t thinking. He asked four twenty-four years and to get to know everything, but is that really worth eternity in hell. That’s literally asking to be tortured in hell for eternity. Eternity is forever and I’m just speaking for myself here, but forever isn’t a concept I can grasp. I can’t see that something could go on forever, it’s an amount of time no one can comprehend. There is no end to this eternity, it’s just endless, but hey twenty-four years and some knowledge seems like a fair trade.

            I’m just not quite sure there is anything worth eternal hell; actually I’m entirely sure there is nothing worth hell. On the religious side there is the view that if the devil exists God exists.  The same goes for heaven and hell. A correlation Faustus probably should have thought of, especially because they even feared God. That’s a give-away that he’s real and has some good influence going on. So personally if I stared into the eyes of Satan I probably wouldn’t be so quick to pass up eternity in heaven for a few good years here on earth. Faustus wants knowledge and life two things that would probably be easily attainable in heaven. While there is no clear picture of heaven I’m pretty sure it’s safe to assume it is nothing like the picture of hell Faustus is shown.

 

Then the other side says that the devil is bad and we shouldn’t do bad things. Whether you believe in God or not, it’s a general belief that people should be good. Many even believe that we are all born good and later corrupted by outside influences. Going along with these ideas we also learn our whole lives that those who do bad things never win. We are told that bad people get what they deserve. While this isn’t always true the idea is that bad people get caught and are forced to deal with the consequences. I don’t care how long ago this took place, I am sure baby Faustus’ parents told him to be a good person. I’m not saying Faustus is an entirely bad guy; he could have turned himself around. He just chooses to do so a little late. Twenty-four years later and countless horrible behaviors towards many people is probably past the point of return. He probably should have thought of repentance a little sooner. So while I don’t see him as an entirely horrible person, I do see him as stupid (I can’t find a better word). It doesn’t matter how bored you are with life or how much you want to know about the world or even that you want to make sure you live longer, there is nothing worth trading to spend eternity in hell.

Not Such a Bad Guy

I actually like Doctor Faustus as a character. I found him to be a very relatable character in certain aspects. He was relatable in how he knew what he wanted and went about different ways to get it. In the beginning he tried to get what he wanted with education and after he was finished with that, and still didn’t have what he wanted he turned to black magic. He is also relatable in the way that he would use his power first on himself and then on others, specifically students.

I don’t think that he is a selfish person or that he deserved what happens to him. I think this because, he seems so confused to me. The fact that he is not quick to use Mephostophilis power to get all of the riches that he wants, but instead asks questions about life shows that he still isn’t sure that he has made the right choice. Also it seems that he gives himself many pep talks before he signs the deal and is still not sure that he has made the right decision, as can be seen by the good and bad angel showing up.

I also don’t think that Faustus is taking the easy way out. He has accomplished so much and not found satisfaction in any of that, so to him this would seem like a logical jump. Black magic seems like the only thing left that can give him what he wants. It would also seem to me that Faustus just needs to figure out what he actually wants in life. I say this because, he talks about wanting riches and exotic fruits, but with all of his knowledge and curing the plague I would think that he has enough money and knowledge to go and acquire riches and travel so that he can have exotic fruits. Maybe he’s just lazy. I don’t know.

I think that he was mainly tricked, not by Mephostophilis, but by himself. I think that all he needed was someone to talk to. At least at this point in the book, I don’t think that he wants all of the riches he talks about, he just wants answers to his questions, answers that education couldn’t tell him. As we talked about in class, no one really talks about Faustus, so I assume that he doesn’t really have any friends. I think that had Faustus had friends he might not have ended up where he was.

The Lost Childhood of Dr. Faustus

I enjoyed reading this play. As I read it I find it difficult to sympathise with the good doctor. Is he really good? I see Faustus as a man that has accomplished so much in his life, that he has become bored with his life. As I read this play I pictured him not as a man but a young child. we know how children behave. They tend to start something then end up becoming bored with that activity, then move on to the next thing that they find interesting. This man is so unsatisfied with his life, that he calls upon demons and the devil himself. I think he took his loneliness too seriously. I can feel for the man in some ways. As a student, you will not have time for other things like, having relationships, clowning around and just having fun. Faustus was deprived of a childhood. He did not have a chance not worry about things like school and just have a natural curiosity in life. There is nothing in the play that speaks about his childhood, but we can guess that his schooling was serious enough to keep him occupied from the gifts childhood can give us. the natural curiosity of the world, experiencing love, and just relaxing.  While reading this play, I feel that Marlowe is trying to tell us that having our own mind and it is important to think things through. I can't sympathise with someone that chooses that wrong path because they feel like it. He knows that making a deal with the devil is not a right decision, but does it anyway. If I was Faustus I would have wished to become a child again because that is what he is acting like.

Am I supposed to cheer for this guy or...?

            So Faustus, Mr. High and Mighty, Mr. Hey You Get Off Of My Cloud. So far I am not the biggest fan of this novel to be honest. It is not that I cannot follow what is going on, it is the long speeches that are not dumbed down enough for ol' simpleton me that even re-reading, then re-reading again does not really help. I had the same problem with Shakespeare too, and I made it through that so I am giving it my best shot!

            One thing that I cannot get figured out in my own mind is whether or not I'm cheering for him or if I'm supposed to be like yelling into my book "No don't do it Faustus!!!" Maybe I will find out later? Either way this who Black Magic thing seems iffy to say the least. Me personally I would take a little more time to think when it comes to selling my soul for wealth and honor, however they define honor. Also in regards to that we found ourselves back to the greedy element that "wealth and honor" will bring someone like we read in the Canterbury Tales, which I found was interesting how we made another connection within this classroom. It was almost fun how they brought the two angels into this because I feel like we all do that kind of thinking to ourselves when we have to convince ourselves to do the more complicated thing.

I know Abby brought up Kronk in her post too, but I pictured it the exact same way! Too good to pass up.

I just found this story interesting that Magic was the sign of power, I thought that in this time magic would have been more feared than desired to grant one power. Clearly Faustus had his mind pretty much made up given how passionately he disagreed with the good angel.

What do you guys think? Because I am having a very rough time figuring out what to think of this guy. Is he simply greedy? Is he power mad? Will his beef with the Bible be his motive to act rashly? Me personally I cannot get my head around it if we are supposed to cheer this guy on or simply sit back and wait for an inevitable downfall because of his greed.  

Faustus The Selfish

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.

Is Perfection Attainable?

What really makes a perfect society? Would it be a small number of citizens? A perfect climate, depending upon preference?

I think the perfect society would be fairly small, where everyone knows each other. Homes would be somewhat modest, each family would, of course be free to do whatever they wanted. In my perfect world, there would be no harsh judgments made on strangers. But, then I have to ask myself if that is a realistic goal, even in a seemingly unflawed world.

The aspects I find most desirable in a utopian society would vary. Like, being able to consume a dozen donuts without fear of getting sick or the calories. I would want it to be fun, carefree, but not without consequences for the society’s actions. A series of checks and balances would have to be in place. Which could also lend to an undesirable aspect.

If a society is constantly fighting or is at what, then it is far from “perfect”. I think peace would be one of the most crucial things to implement. Peace brings a feeling of positive emotions, and happier might be less likely to wreck havoc.

Civil liberties would also be something that are worth taking into consideration. To live peacefully, people should be able to do as they wish. It would be the most beneficial if individuals from all backgrounds could come together and learn from one another. There are so many other aspects that are more than likely important, but these core values are what occupy my mind when I think about my perfect world.