Essay/Term paper: Faust

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Cliff Notes

The hero that never was In Faust,

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe builds a dramatic poem

around the strengths and weaknesses of a man who under a

personalized definition of a hero fails miserably. A hero is

someone that humanity models themselves and their actions

after, someone who can be revered by the masses as an

individual of great morality and strength, a man or woman

that never sacrifices his beliefs under adversity. Therefore,

through his immoral actions and his unwillingness to respect

others rights and privileges, Faust is determined to be a man

of un heroic proportions. It is seen early in the poem, that

Faust has very strong beliefs and a tight moral code that is

deeply rooted in his quest for knowledge. Sitting in his den,

Faust describes his areas of instruction, "I have, alas, studied

philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine, too, and, worst of

all, theology with keen endeavor, through and through..." It

is obvious that through his studies he has valued deep and

critical thinking, however with the help of Mephisto, he

would disregard his values and pursue the pleasures of the

flesh. Faust's impending downward spiral reveals the greed

that both Mephisto and Faust share. Mephisto's greed is

evident in the hope that he will overcome Faust's morality

and thus be victorious in his wager with God; also because

he is the devil and that is what he does. For Faust, greed

emerges because of his desire to attain physical pleasures

and therefore become whole in mind, body and spirit.

Faust's goal to become the Überminche is an understandable

desire, however, the means at which he strives for those

ends are irresponsible and unjust. It is through this greed that

Faust with the help of Mephisto exploit others in the pursuit

of Faust's earthly desires. Enter innocent Gretchen, a poor

lower class young woman who experiences the impossible,

love. Under Mephisto's magical potion, Faust becomes

intoxicated with passion and controlled by his hormones. It

is under this spell that he approaches the "beautiful"

Gretchen, however, the feeling of passion is not mutual

between the two. Faust realizes then, that his simple looks

and personality will not attract Gretchen, rather Faust must

deceive and manipulate this woman in order to possess her.

Thus, Faust turns to Mephisto for help in his quest for

Gretchen, "Get me that girl, and don't ask why?"(257)

Mephisto replies with a quote that establishes the nature at

which Faust will pursue Gretchen with, "We'd waste our

time storming and running; we have to have recourse to

cunning."(261) It is from this point in the story that Faust

declines into a state of immorality and irresponsibility; a level

he will remain at for the majority of the story. Faust's

immorality emerges from the idealization that despite harming

others, there are not any consequences to his actions. The

harm in combining Faust and Mephisto is that their actions

become dangerous and deadly. Faust becomes an

unstoppable, Napoleonic figure, when his irresponsibility is

mixed with Mephisto's lethal power. Gretchen is Faust's first

victim, before her death she was responsible for three

deaths; ultimately she is imprisoned because of Faust's

influence upon her. Faust's desire for progress and

reformation in society led to the deaths of his second set of

victims, an elderly couple. Thus, Mephisto burns them out, a

result that Faust had not asked for specifically, but an action

which served the purpose and was almost as detrimental as

what Faust had intended for them, to move them out of their

home. This action against the elderly is analogous to any

other parts of the story in which Faust commits an illegal or

immoral act to heighten himself in his own eyes. It is obvious

then that Faust is a criminal, a man who abuses the rights of

others to gain spiritual and financial freedom for himself. A

criminal is a personn that should neither be rewarded or

idealized for his actions against society. The only endeavor

that Faust does in order to save himself, is to feel apologetic

and remorseful for his immoral and self-serving actions, and

is therefore allowed into heaven, an ending to the story

which is unreal and unbelievable. Heaven should be a place

where men and women who are virtuous and contain traits

such as honesty, morality and decency should reside to.

Rather, Goethe poetically sends a man whose indirectly

murdered, is dishonest and greedy to such a wondrous and

magical location only because he admits that what he did

was wrong. Attaining passage into heaven is the only

accomplishment that Faust makes in order to attain a heroes

status. Even this final accomplishment is questionable,

because God would not allow a man so unworthy to

accompany people who have such a high moral standard

and irrefutable grace. Faust then, neither falls under the

classical definition of a hero except that he was, "...favored

by the gods" and he does not fit into my personal definition

of a hero. For Faust is not someone whose actions should

be followed, he sacrificed his beliefs under adversity and

most importantly; he destroyed anyone's life if it conflicted to

any aspect of his plan for superiority. Faust then, may be

considered the greatest un hero to have ever attain passage

into heaven.