Faust as a Tragic Hero Essay -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe essays pape

Faust as a Tragic HeroIn the bilgewater of Faust, written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust is whirled into an adventure of sin and deceit. The further Faust follows the devil the closer he comes to his own demise, taking down with him the innocent Gretchen. As Faust goes on he embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero in a intelligence that he is borderline good and evil, constantly battling his conscience. The one major speck that initiates his self-destruction is the fact that he feels he is extremely intelligent and thunder mug not be out witted. Faust is a man of privilege, his father having been a doctor and himself a respected scholar but he is essenti everyy a desperate character, continuously yearning for more than this world has to offer. He is an extremely well educated man as well as wise in the ways of the world. As a result of his majestic knowledge he becomes grossly cynical in his old age. His sideline for greater knowledge and power leads him into the realm of sorcery and witch craft.Fausts dealings with darkness eventually lead him to deal with the ruler of all that is wicked and deceitful, the devil himself. Naturally Faust, longing for more than earthly pleasures, is compelled to train Mephistopheles promises of complete contentment and satisfaction. Fausts ego is such that he feels he can not be out witted even by the to the highest degree skillful and cunning deceiver to ever walk the face of the earth. in short Faust is on a journey leading to more misery and t...