Goethe's Faust

6 Pages 1501 Words

The Redemption of Faust
In Faust, Goethe depicts the main character Faust as the embodiment of all things human. Faust is a common man who sets unrealistic goals and is depressed because of his unfufillment in them. The story is simply a fairy tale about this common conflict. It illustrates the path that one may follow at a universal point where we feel we do not know our purpose and feel pinned down by the sadness of the seemingly impossible satisfaction of life. This story can appeal to anyone who reads it, for we are all lacking knowledge that is crucial to our existence. Faust succumbs to his sadness and attempts to obtain this unattainable knowledge by coinciding with Mephisto: the devil. Under Mephisto’s wings Faust deceives many people and commits many heinous sins. However, despite these actions and his pact with the Devil, Faust is saved from the fires of Hell and his deal with Mephisto. One may find it ludicrous that someone who coincided with the Devil is granted the Almighty salvation. However, Faust is deserving of redemption because of the valor he shows by remaining ambitious and not internalizing Mephisto’s evil, despite the overwhelming temptation of it.
Faust is clearly an ambitious man who sets high goals and strives for excellence. Despite his stature as a successful and knowledgeable scholar, Faust suffers from a type of mid-life crisis. He reflects on all of the work he had done and all of the knowledge he had gained, only to say “And here I am, for all my lore, The wretched fool I was before” (93). Faust feels no pride for his knowledge and criticizes the foolishness he displayed in his studies. He does not even want credit for his father’s well-known works with medicine: “How little father and son Deserve such fame for their poor art. My father was obscure, if quite genteel, And pondered over nature and every sacred sphere In his own cranky way, though quite sincere, With ardent,...