President Faustus

If Faustus were to come to life in 2009, I think Faustus would sell hid soul to become president for 8 years. During his first 4 years of presidency, he would feel great amounts of regret and try and help out the poor to justify his greedy actions taken to acquire his position in office. As president Faustus will start off helping the poor by creating universal healthcare for everyone, and shifting the wealth from the rich to the poor. However, after his first term, he will realize that he is doomed to die, and change his reign to a total tyranny. Everything will become governments owned President Faustus will do anything in his power to keep his name alive while he is burning in hell.
Mephestophilis would appear as the president’s life coach, helping Faustus make all of hjis decision, and teaching him how to get through the rough times of his presidency. The life coach will be invisible to others, and will be by Faustus’ side all the time telling him what to say during speeches and what plans to make for the country.

Modern Faustus: Mephistopheles will be Madoff!!

It has been almost 4 centuries and a decade since Christopher Marlowe wrote Dr. Faustus. Therefore, if there was to be a modern day Faustus, a lot would be different from the original version. In my modern version of Faustus, he can be anybody, really. More particularly, he should be a person with a dream chasing for success, like a college student. Because Dr. Faustus is a true renaissance man, he pursues knowledge and more knowledge. As essential as knowledge is still nowadays, there are modern day people who have mininal knowledge but are still successful just because some things go their way. Therefore, a modern day Faustus would wish for unlimited access of good luck- there isn't a time when good luck harms a person. As mentioned in Eugene's blog title, Roark mentioned that selling the soul is the easiest thing to do. That shows how far, possibly negatively, we have come from the renaissance period. So instead of selling his soul, the modern day faustus would probably make a trade for luck by giving up all his possessions and belonglings such as money, house, etc.

Instead of as a monk, modern day Mephistopheles could appear as someone who has gained success but in a corrupt and immoral way. It could be a rich, corrupt businessman- like Bernard Madoff. He would appear that way to symbolize moral corruption and dark magic because chasing for success by wishing for luck is exactly those. After Faustus gave all his money and possessions to Madoff/Mephistopheles, Mephi would simply just break the deal just as the real Madoff did in the real world and leave Faustus empty handed without either good luck or returning what he gave up. 

The modern-day Faustus

Many people agree that the moder-day Faustus would most likely be a powerless human being, who desires to be an outcast and stand up as someone important and wise in society. Personally, I think about the modern Faustus as somebody that already possesses power and wants more, or at least wants to maintain his power until his/her last days. Being that the case, I believe the best representation of Marlowe's Faustus in the modern world is a president. This figure has the most important role in a nation's government, which is decision making. But, how to know these decisions would indeed be beneficial and productive? How to know it would bring downfall to the nation? This is why I think a president would sell his soul, in exchange for psychic and mind-reading powers. What other best quality than knowing what other people -like political leaders-think, and doing moves at the right time and place? This, would certainly make the president somewhat "perfect", since he anticipates and knows the outcome of every step he takes. As Marlowe's Faustus desires knowledge and power, in a similar way, a president would desire unlimited information about the world's treasures, the strengths and weaknesses of other countries, and then of course, how to make his country the most powerful in the world.

However, Faustus' deal only lasts for 24 years; once that time is completed, his soul would be in Lucifer's hand. In the president's case, I portray Mephy as the "people", meaning all the population living under the president's rule; not multiple individuals, but a huge devil made up of all the people. It would be a life-time deal, yet with restrictions. The president sells his soul in order to maintain his authority for life and make what is best for the nation. Nevertheless, if the president abuses of his power and uses it for his individual benefit, this gift and his soul would be removed. Faustus believes that he has outsmarted the devil; yet, in the end, it is Mephy who obtains the best of the deal, Faustus' soul. The president-people deal is an allusion to the contract Faustus signs. The president obtains permanent power and authority, but in the end, is the people who get the best of it, transforming their country as they want and making it the best of all.

No Doctor in Faustus

Times have changed substantially since the time Faustus was written. Today, generally, people no longer quest knowledge or intelligence. People now would rather have something such as money or fame. For this reason I think that someone would sell his soul to be a superstar athlete. Although it is sad, it is so true. For example, no one knows who invented the internet but I bet a lot of people know that A-Rod is surprisingly performing in the playoffs. Even though the internet has been groundbreaking in modern society, it is nothing compared to a walk off home run. Right now I'm watching Monday night football and there is probably about 50,000 people in the stadium watching it and probably millions more at home. There is most likely not even 10% of this number at the releasing of the new Ipod. If Faustus were to exist now he would not be a doctor. He would probably skip college and go pro.
For this reason I think Mephy would appear as a sports agent. I sports agent is a tough negotiator who can promise the world (much like Mephy) when in reality he knows he can't. Just like when Faustus is awed when he gets the book, the athlete might be awed when his agent gets him a big time contract. Although the athlete might think that he is getting paid, so is the agent. Faustus is the same thinking he is getting the most out of the situation, but he is losing his soul. Another similarity is that Faustus' deal lasts only 24 years while an athletes career will probably last a lot shorter.

Don't ask a woman her age! You'll die! -Beauty and Youth: The Modern Day Faustussa

Since the history of mankind, people have been preoccupied with beauty and youth. Faustus lived during a time of the Renaissance focusing mainly on knowledge of the classics and humanistic values. However, in the twenty-first century, we are a more materialistic society focusing primarily on money, wealth, and beauty. We live in a world obsessed with beauty and youth and the modern day Faustus would most likely mirror this cultural obsession. Americans, on average, spend billions of dollars on beauty products to keep themselves looking young. They go through great lengths in order to maintain youth by opting for plastic surgery, Botox, and weight loss diets.
The modern-day Faustus would be a young a women in this case. I am not saying that men are not interested in staying fit and “beautiful” ,but it is more likely for a woman to sell her soul for eternal beauty and youth. She would be a true Renaissance woman succeeding in art, music, medicine, and intelligence. Because beauty is worshipped today, the modern-day Faustus would be part of that mass culture. Like Faustus, she would be unsatisfied with her capabilities, knowledge and talents. She would want more than what she already has and would try to move up the "social ladder" with her looks .The modern day Faustus would trade her soul to become the most beautiful girl in the world falling victim to envy and having the attention of all modeling agencies. She would also, of course, have the attention of all the men. Obviously with this much beauty, she would commit some, if not all, of the seven deadly sins like Envy, Sloth, Greed and Wrath. Commiting the sins and increasing her pride will ultimately lead to her downfall.
In Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Mephistopheles appears as a monk. However, in today’s society Mephistopheles would probably appear as an "over processed", rich woman that has had every single plastic surgery known in the book. This “Mephistopheles” would represent the preoccupation of beauty in today’s society. People go to great lengths in order to obtain beauty and are obsessed with looking younger than they are. Our society is preoccupied with buying into the hype of beauty and youth and I think the modern day Faustus and Mephistopheles would be no different than the rest of society. There are commercials, ad-campaigns, and magazines that target women of all ages to look a certain way. Examples of products that target this are Proactiv for acne, OLAY, Neutrogena, and Cover girl for youth and beauty and Bally Total Fitness, and Nutrisystem for weight loss.
I would not trade my soul in for beauty unlike the modern day Faustus. However, I would love to know how the universe formed. Is the Big Bang Theory correct? Or is it something else? I love learning about space and the universe. It’s something I have always questioned and was interested in since I was seven years old. There is so much we do not know about the world around us and I think that knowing what happened in the beginning will help us discover mysteries like how life began on Earth. I've even considered being an astrophysicist like Michiro Kaku or Carl Sagan because I love learning about space. Money and wealth would be nice, but I would love to gain the knowledge of the universe. I would also love to know if there are other “humans” or any other type of life out there. I would love to know if we really are alone.

Modern-Day Faustus = Us

In this day and age, modern-day Faustus could be any one of us. If we all back track for just a second and look at Faustus’s goals, we can see that he wants to be wealthy, obtain knowledge, be powerful and but of course, have fun while doing all this. From my perspective, I think everyone all over the world is like this. We know from experience that we all in some sort of way have related to the things that Faustus’s dreams and strives for.
As we grow, we often dream for more. Yes, we may appreciate the things we already have but I feel that everyone at some point in their life, wanted more than what they had. Speaking on my behalf, I know that I dream about being wealthy and obtaining knowledge, I mean who doesn’t? We go to school for this reason: so we can learn as we go to school and then use that knowledge to later find a job that we not only love but that can also help bring home the bread. As for the fun part, we have fun a day-to-day basis; hanging out with our friends, family, loved ones, laughing, and enjoying life as we move forward.
Something that I thought I would bring up is how Faustus sells his soul to achieve his goal. I think we can all relate in some way where we would do the same to achieve something we thought was worth our life. Whether this means selling your soul to have the college you want to go to accept you or to save someone close to you. I can say from one of my personal experiences, I would’ve sold my soul in a heartbeat to save one of my best friends from the claws of death. As we talked in class, this notion was also shown in the movie Ghostrider where the protagonist sells his soul to the devil in order to save his father from drying.
Now as for Mephostophilis, I feel that in today’s world money would represent him. Not only does money cause greed in the world, it also blinds people of reality. Yes we need money to survive in this world but it’s not the only necessity we require. Money can also lure people to do things they usually wouldn’t. Just as Faustus uses Mephostophilis to help him with these greedy and evil biddings, we use money to buy what we desire and what we want, both good and bad.

"To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world."

I'm sure many of you from comp/lit recognize the quote above from the Ayn Rand essay contest from last year. I found it to be quite appropriate for this particular post.

To me, the soul is the metaphysical embodiment of one's values, ego, and capacity of judgment. To sell this is quite an act and voids oneself of nearly all that makes a human a human!
Yet, as Faustus proves and Roark goes on to say, people do it nearly every day.

Today's world is no exception. Yet today, one who would sell their soul would probably not take the form of a man of knowledge like Faustus, nor would the one who bought the soul take the form of a devil. Instead, they both might the form of a door to door salesman.

Every day, the salesman goes out and travels from door to door to peoples' houses that he doesn't know and tries to sell things that will somehow make their lives better or easier. In this action, he not only attempts sell useless items to unsuspecting suburban dwellers, he offers up his soul. Like I said before, I believe the soul to be an amalgam of a number of essential human characteristics. In the case of the salesman, the one that might be forfeited first is one's values. The primary goal of a salesman is to get the potential customer to buy the product. Sometimes, by any means necessary. These practices may include exaggerating the effectiveness or abilities of a product, in which the salesman lies to the customer. Not only does the salesman lie to the customer in this act, he lies to himself. This is a destruction of any honest man's values. He is selling a product on false pretenses and destroying the honesty of the company that allowed him to sell it. Another salesman practice is to "sell" the product. This practice includes entertaining the buyer or charming them while telling them how wonderful the product is. A prime example of this is in the "Shamwow" commercials seen on TV and nearly all of Billy Mays' commercials. In such commercials the salesperson is seen jumping from place to place showing how effective the product is, or simply screaming about how wonderful it is. Though these commercials are entertaining, it is important to realize how much work these people are putting into selling towels or cleaning products. It is almost like these people are placing the products in front of themselves, desperately trying to sell them while silently losing parts of their souls as they pour bits of them into selling these products with such fervor.

At the same time, a salesman could be the Mephistopheles of this world. When the salesman sells his product, he must first convince the potential customer to purchase it. As said before, a salesman will do nearly anything to sell his product. Even an uninterested customer might eventually be charmed into buying a product. Yet, there is something more in this than simply being "charmed" into buying something. By buying a product they were originally uninterested in, they have forfeited their chief interest: remaining true to what they want. This is something incredibly important in keeping one's soul. By submitting to the words and charms of another, they have sold their soul by submitting to the will of another (the will of the salesman to buy the product)

As others have stated, a modern Faustus would be different, but definitely not improved.

The Modern Day Faustus

As we see in the play, Faustus' ultimate goals are to be wealthy, powerful, and above all, have fun. If he was to be anyone in the world today, I believe he would be a figure exactly like Donald Trump. Trump is wealthy, powerful, and he has his own fun on his show The Apprentice. He would also stay the same gender because he probably would feel that Men have more power than woman. (same ideas as his time period) He could also be a political figure as someone else pointed out in their blog. But I believe that a man similar to Donald Trump is what Faustus would be. In this day and age, a doctor or lawyer would not satisfy Faustus because it would not give him all the knowledge he wants. He would probably sell his soul to be the richest and most renown man in the world. In the world today, everyone wants to be known or be rich. As many can see, people are trying to be the next big rapper, win the mega millions, or always trying to invest in something. Why would Faustus be any different in this modern day world? The seven deadly sins are more alive today than any other time in the world I believe and i think Faustus would fit in this world perfectly because many people sell their souls to material items.

In the world today, Mephistopheles would appear as a lottery ticket or money. I believe he would appear this way because of every ones greed for money. Nowadays people are preoccupied with their money and the amount they have. Everyone wants money and feels as if they cannot live without an excess of it. I know money is necessary for living but so many people want an excess and truly, more than they can handle. Many of us are guilty of this including myself, which is why i think Mephistopheles would appear this way. Money can tempt many people in todays world into giving up their souls. Mephistopheles could also appear as fame, because many people want to be famous. Overall there are many things Mephistopheles could appear as because in this day and age, everyone is preoccupied with one thing or another.

Modern Faustus - father of time

People in today's world seem to not have the time to finish any aspect of their lives. The modern Faustus could be man or women; However, personally I think that it would be a business man in the stock industry. The stocks have become overly important over the past couple of years. The stocks decide which business will grow and which business will come to an end. As a result, business men spend their time watching the stocks and deciding how to spend their money. Consequently, they tend to not have enough time to finish other aspects of their lives. The notion of having enough time in this day of age cannot be fathomed. Even though the "father of time" is well known throughout novels and plays, the idea of a real human having the ability to manage time, is something everyone wishes for. It is evident that man has struggled to make enough time in his day to finish everything.
If the devil came up to a business man with the idea of selling his soul for time, he would happily do it. The idea of a business man having unlimited amount of time seems unbelievable. "Father of Time" would have the ability to stop or to even go back in time. He has the ability to do what every man wished to have the power to do.
In this day, Mephistopheles would appear as the stock with the highest value. Generally people are hesitant to buy a stock which is of a low value. Those stocks do not go up as quickly as the stocks with the greater value. The business men want to make money as quickly as possible; consequently, they turn to putting their money into the stocks which are of more value. Mephistopheles always gave Faustus the short end of the bargain. Faustus failed to recognize that the choices he was making were only going to have a positive effect in the beginning; The long term effect was often negative. Many of the stocks with the greater monetary value go downhill after a while; Consequently, the business men would lose money. The business men would want the ability to go back in time in order to put his money into the smaller stocks.
What people fail realize is that there is a reason why time cannot be stopped. Going back in time gives the person the chance to change the decisions the person made. This would change how the world would function. People would never learn from their mistakes. This is the biggest downfall to having the ability to go back in time.

The Faustus of Modern Times: The Paparazzi

From the beginning of history, people have always had some goal or wish in mind. In the case of Faustus, he wished for eternal power and knowledge and sold his soul for it. In modern times, I do not know if anyone would necessarily sell their soul for something that they wanted so desperately; however, I was thinking about people who try very hard to accomplish a task and go to the extremes to do so, and paparazzi came to mind. I was probably singing the song Paparazzi by Lady Gaga but that is beside the point. They do fit this topic. They are always going to great lengths to get any celebrity “dirt” even if it means following stars, chasing after them, or even making stories up. They line up outside celebrity homes and restaurants to get the best shot or story. I can imagine them selling their soul because the job of paparazzi is to get a shot that no one else will get, so with the powers of the Devil, they could always know what celebrities are doing and can get the best pictures of them doing their personal business or something controversial. It is similar to the character, Peter Parker in the movie “Spiderman” in which he took the best photos of Spiderman because he knew where he was at all times. The paparazzi would make a lot of money because they would sell off their photographs to magazines which want the hottest gossip before any other source gets it!
The modern shape that Mephostophilis would take on is a dollar bill. It would mock the constant desire for money and that overrides everyone’s common sense. Sound decision making turns into greed. All the paparazzi want is money for taking the best shot or getting the most interesting-not always truthful-story. Money is made of paper and paper has no feelings nor does it care about the feelings of others. The paparazzi do not care about how bothersome or intrusive they are of celebrities; all they want is the money they get for doing their work.

Modern day Faustus and Meffy.....

Okay so who would be modern day Faustus?…..well to tell you the truth, I think that anyone can be Faustus. What I think is that many human beings try to focus on and try to benefit from the things that life offers them, and Faustus did the same. I am not trying to say that everyone in the world has “a Faustus” in them, but that a myriad of people do.
The nature of human beings have been depicted as “Faustian” from the very beginning. A quintessential example of this is the story of Adam and Eve in the first chapter of the bible. God had warned them not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; however, they had disregarded his warning and ate it. The reason that they ate the apple was because Satan tempted them and made them believe that if they ate it, they would become just like God. Faustus’ story and the story of Adam and Eve have many parallels. They wanted to become “God-like” and advance to a higher status. Satan is analogous to mephastophilis because they play the role of tempting and provoking people to do what they really desire.
People are diverse in many ways and have different opinions and desires. Hence, modern day Faustus would probably sell his soul for what he/she desires. It is wont that he/she might wish for power just like Faustus, but that only depends on the person and if they are fond of being above others. Another thing in the world that a copious amount of people in this world would wish for is money. Several people are crazy about money and they have a desire to want more, no matter how much they have. Loads of people in this world would do anything for money. For example, many actresses and actors are willing to strip in front of the camera for a scene that many people watch; and I find it sad that they do all of this just for money. It is like they have absolutely no pride. Fame and popularity is also something that many people desire. It is human nature to want attention and be loved. If I were to sell my soul (not that I actually would), it would probably be for the ability to see the future. I have always thought that the power to see the future was sooo awesome. Therefore, what people would sell their souls for really depends on the person.
Meffy plays a peremptory role in the play. Although he warns Faustus first, he later on tempts him to do what Faustus desires and distracts him away from God. As mentioned before, human beings are unique in their own ways and possess different characteristics; therefore, meffy could really be whatever motivates them. The good and bad angels in Doctor Faustus are imperative and in many ways they can be Faustus’ conscience. The bad angel tries to tempt him to do what benefits him, while the good angel tries to make him do what is right. I believe everyone has a good and bad angel beside them in every decision that they make. The ‘bad angel’ within our conscience can be meffy because (he/she/it) tempts us to do what is beneficial for us, but also what is wrong. Meffy can really show up in any form in the modern world. In the present, there are many rumors about the antichrist. It is a controversial issue and many people believe that the antichrist is going to show up very soon. One of the many rumors about this is that the antichrist is going to win everyone’s heart by his actions. Just like the protestant reformation during the Middle Ages, the antichrist is a topic which is being discussed by many people today. Therefore, modern day mephostophilis could show up as the antichrist. Meffy showed up as a monk in order to ridicule the Catholic Church during the time of the protestant reformation. Therefore, it is possible that modern day meffy could show up as the antichrist to mock religion just like the old meffy.

Seth Try's to accomplish a good blog take 2

Faustus has changed through out history many times. For example, the story of Faustus has been portrayed in the modern movie, The Pirates of the Caribbean. It was precedent in the second movie, that Captain Jack Sparrow made a deal with the devil of the sea, Davey Jones, and it actually may have been that he sold his soul to be captain of the Black Pearl for 24 years, relating very closely to the story of Doctor Faustus. This interpretations of the story was portrayed in a movie, and showed the story if Doctor Faustus was a pirate in the 1700's. To bring it updated to today's society, I would say that the most common place to find a story such as Doctor Faustus would be on Wall Street. The person of Doctor Faustus pursuits would be a businessperson, from AIG. This businessperson probably sold his soul a long time ago, and was finally taken last year in October, the jump-start for a recession. This businessperson sold his soul for a successful business as many would to pursue a career that can grantee wealth, power, and fame.

Mephistopheles would be an American Icon, such as Michael Jordon. He would present himself in this manner to demonstrate to him that there are better roads to take. For instance, Michael Jordan pursued and achieved his status in life. Also, the way he never presented himself to succumb to short cuts or corruption. That through his example, there should be no reason to take short cuts to achieve a goal, which selling your soul is not a good reason because you will never be able to enjoy your accomplishments, since you sold your soul to the devil.

In today’s modern world, people are always looking to take a short cut, but it is most precedent in the career of a businessperson. Our society is starting to lack spiritual feelings. That we are given this gift of life, but choose to aspire a goal that is never reached.

Also to note, I noticed the picture on the blog, to remind everyone about Homer Simpson and how he sold his soul for a donut. Luckly, he did not end up giving his sould to the devil because he had already sold his soul to his wife. (Isn't that so sweet)

In today's world, the modern version of Faustus would most likely be a man. This is because many people would find it easier to believe that a man would be stupid enough to do such a thing. The past is evidence that men have made many mistakes for power, and possible happiness. Also, women usually thoroughly think things through before making such stupid decisions. Modern Faustus would be a man. It seems that someone young would do something stupid with selling their soul, but I don't think that Modern-day Faustus has an age limit. I actually think it would be ridiculous to give him an age limit because that would imply that after, or before, a certain age people are less likely to make irresponsible decisions based upon the possible benefit.
Modern-day Faustus(MD Faustus) would most likely sell his soul for money. He would enjoy the lavishes that would result from the possibilities that his money could buy, and to never have to work. Most of what would be brought would be materialistic. There would be cars, mansions, butlers, etc. But what else would there be? I think that MD Faustus would expect happiness to come out of wealth, but be extremely disappointed. I think sometimes people need to worry about money, or worry about something. People who live an apparently stress less life usually find something to stress about. MD Faustus would end up bored and unhappy, which would result in the corruption of himself.

MD Faustus would be very similar to the old version of Faustus. I think that both would commit the Seven Deadly Sins. MD Faustus would commit sloth, because he would most likely have a butler and end up lazy. He would also commit greed because he would have everything that he thought he wanted, but would still want more. MD Faustus would be selfish; never once would he donate a part of his money to charities or any nonprofit organizations. In many ways, MD Faustus would be similar to many other people today who are rich and millionaires. Many of them have so much money that they don't need, but won't do anything production with it, and still want more.

I think it would be interesting if Faustus was a female. Although I do believe that a women would be more thoughtful in what she traded her soul for, she would still have the same result. I think that a woman is just as likely to slowly lose her life values just as a man would, but I think it would take more time.

If I could ask for one thing, I would not ask for much because I believe that all humans are capable of losing our moral values. We all are likely to forget what we need most with excess materials and success; to never forget who we were, where we came from, the people we love, and who we truly are. I would probably ask for the ability to do all achieve all that I want. That with I work hard, I will get what I want the most. Of course, similar to Faustus, I would ask one question; why do innocent people suffer?
~Mitchell Mirtil

“Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.” -John Quinton

    In this day and age Faustus would appear to me as a married male politician. He would trade his soul for the highest possible position in government, and he would succumb to power, money, and worldly knowledge. He would most likely become increasingly greedy, just as Marlowe's Faustus had. He would strive to become the ultimate power of the world, making himself the head of all governments.
    I think that Mephistopheles would appear today in the form of a prostitute. This is because prostitutes seem to be the current temptresses of those in power, and the leading cause of many ultimate downfalls. The modern day Faustus' chosen prostitute, would be in many ways what Mephistopheles is to Marlowe's Faustus. For example, Mephistopheles tempts Faustus and offers him goods that he can not obtain on his own, also Faustus is aware of the consequences. He has heard the story of what had happened to Lucifer, and is not entering the agreement between him and the devil blindsided. Modern day Faustus' prostitute would tempt him with adventure and power as well. Maybe not the power that he had originally desired, but the power of having what he is not allowed to have. This is not only because he is married, but also because it would be socially unacceptable to be obtaining the services of a prostitute. Going into the affair, the politician is aware of what may happen. He has heard the stories of the affairs of others, and has seen similar situations in various forms of news, and is undoubtedly mindful of the repercussions. He could lose his position where ever he is employed.
    No matter how much he may repent, there is no guarantee that his wife, and the public will forgive him. Just as no matter how much Faustus repents, there is no guarantee that God will be understanding and let him enter heaven. Mephistopheles appears to be loyal to Faustus and seems to have a real interest in him, though the only thing that has any meaning to Mephistopheles is ultimately acquiring Faustus' soul. Of course, the prostitute in this scenario does not depart empty handed as well, she often leaves with publicity, money, and fame. Which was most likely her initial motive in continuing the relationship. The twenty first century Faustus may be a new version, but he is in no way improved.

The Modern Day Faustus

Good Evening AP Friends-

This week's blog assignment requires you to consider how a certain archetype can weave its way into modern day. As you can see from your readings, our friend Doctor Faustus is a true Renaissance man, trading away his soul for knowledge, knowledge and more knowledge (and some crazy fun too).

As we discussed, this legend has taken many forms throughout history, and the story of people selling their soul for personal gain has been translated many times.

For this blog assignment, consider how this tale might be updated for today's world. Who would Faustus be? Would he still be a doctor of divinity, law and medicine? Would "he" still be a "he" or might "he" be a "she"? For what would he/she trade his soul? As you read in this past assignment, Marlowe's Mephistopheles appears to Faustus as a Monk in order to reflect the preoccupation with religion and its impurities of the day. In what form might Mephistopheles appear today? Why would he appear this way?

As you answer this question, consider how your new and improved Faustus will reflect the desires, interests, and deepest wishes of our current society.

Also: Please check your work for spelling and grammar before you post to avoid being laughed at by other readers.

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

“But the world itself, that which exists around us and inside us, is never unilateral. Never is a man or a deed wholly samsara or wholly nirvana, never is a person entirely saintly or entire sinful… And if time is not real, then the span that seems to lie between world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between evil and good, also is an illusion.” (pg. 112)

This quote is a very essential part of the book because it focuses on the main idea of the book: Enlightenment. The books message is basically that if you let go of all the suffering in the world, you are able to achieve Nirvana. Siddhartha, the protagonist in the book, goes out on a journey to achieve Nirvana. When Siddhartha’s childhood friend, Govinda came to visit him, he asked Siddhartha several questions. He no longer understood how a person could possible obtain Enlightenment. He questions whether a person would ever be able to let go of all of the suffering in the world. Govinda had failed to reach Nirvana after several years of hard meditation and sacrifice. Siddhartha explained to Govinda that life cannot be completely perfect, it is impossible to become free of the illusion.

I chose this particular passage from the book because I felt I related to this message. From my interpretation of the quote, Siddhartha tries to tell Govinda that people aren’t always innocent and they’re not always bad as well. From my point of view, its saying that you can’t lose your faith in people due to the way other acts. Siddhartha also mentions that certain things take time just as there is “between world and eternity.” Everything has its time and place and if it didn’t then everything existing would all be an illusion. The quote also informs the reader to keep a sense of alert of the people around you because a person that you think you know and trust well may not be that kind of person at all. I also think this passage also refers to the Ying-Yang symbol which represents that good and evil go hand-in-hand. Like the Ying-Yang symbol, no person on Earth is “entirely saintly or entire sinful.”

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged- Eugene's Response

"He saw an evening when he sat slumped across his desk in the office. It was late and his staff had left; so he could lie there alone., unwitnessed. He was tired. It was as if he had run a race against his own body, and all the exhaustion of years, which he had refused to acknowledge, had caught him at once and flattened him against the desk top. He felt nothing, except the desire not to move. He did not have the strength to feel, not even to suffer. He had burned everything there was to burn within him; he had scattered so many sparks to start so many things, and he wondered whether someone could give him now the spark he needed, now when he felt unable ever to rise again. He asked himself who had started him and kept him going. Then he raised his head. Slowly, with the greatest effort of his life, he made his body rise until he was able to sit upright with only one hand pressed to the desk and a trembling arm to support him. He never asked that question again."-Rand 36

This single passage contributes greatly to the message of the book as well as the development of the character of Hank Rearden. Those of you who are familiar with Rand's works of literature are most likely knowledgeable of her philosophy of objectivism. For those of you who are not, it is based on the principle that beings exist in contact with reality by perceiving it, and proper morals include the persuing of ones individual joy and not living off others. An objectivist view: "If something I do contributes to your well being, so be it. But I do not do it for your benefit. I do it for mine and mine alone." This particular passage is centered mainly around the issue of an individual acting alone in order to perform an act. In this case it is Rearden's act of lifting himself off a desk, and furthermore, acting as an individual to exist. Rand describes Rearden's exhaustion as being the result of years of ignored fatigue. She goes on to say Rearden wonders if anyone else could give him the impetus to sit up and revitalize himself. At this, Rearden gathers all his strength and picks himself up from the table. This act of overcoming a moment of extreme weakness marks a change in Rearden's past that has greatly affected his character in the present. He acted alone in order overcome this moment and further asserted himself as an individual: one who does not need the help of another to help one continue. We see in the last line of this passage that he decided at that moment, to move on from that question and never pose it to himself again. He answered it, and never needed to think of it again as a moment of weakness.

I think this passage greatly contributes to the work as a whole. It's assertion of the importance of an individual spirit is extremely important to the message of the novel as a whole. Beyond that, it is a passage that is beautifully descriptive of Hank Rearden. The imagery used in the passage "he had scattered so many sparks to start so many things" is beautiful. The author's choice of diction is also interesting. Her choice of the word "spark" to describe Rearden's various acts instead of the more popular "scattering of seeds." "Spark" was probably used to reference the millions of sparks at Rearden's metal plants. As stated before, it also gives the reader a brief insight into Rearden's past, which allows one to see how he became who he is in the present.

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

"...Niendo thought that, by giving presents of much food, he would induce the strangers to pass on without harming us. And so it proved...soon after the sun rose over the hill, a large band of soldiers came into the village, and we all went into the houses and sat down. We were not long seated when the soldiers came rushing in shouting, and threatening Niendo with their guns. They rushed into the houses and dragged the people out. Three or four came to our house and caught hold of me, also my husband were tied together with cords about our necks, so that we could not escape. We were all crying, for now we knew that we were to be taken away to be slaves. The soldiers beat us with the iron sticks from their guns, and compelled us to march to the camp of Kibalanga, who ordered the women to be tied up separately, then to each cord, and the men in the same way. When we were all collected--the soldiers brought baskets of food for us to carry , in some of which was smoked human flesh..." (pg. 133)

The story described in the quote is that of an African woman named Ilanga. The importance of this quote is not only the content but also the rarity of it. During the Belgian colonization of the Congo many Africans went through the same atrocities as Ilanga did. Most of the accounts of this era are from European soldiers that administered the tortures. Because of this many of the stories are biased by either downplaying the acts violence or by not even mentioning them. Illanga shows us a first hand depiction of the brutalities. She, like many Africans, was living peacefully in her village but was taken hostage to be used as a slave. As a slave she would have to do an assortment of both laborious and shameful jobs such as working the fields or as mistresses to their white owners. The men would have to become soldiers or carriers, which were people who would have to carry about 60 pounds worth of tools or resources. Many of the slaves would die of beatings or of exhaustion. There would be other horrific stories like a captain decorating his house with the heads of Africans of the beating of all the kids in a town because two of them laughed in the presence of a white man. This passage is essential in the book. The author is successfully attempts to shed light on the holocaust that has occurred in the Congo. This history of the Congo is not known to many. Many consider King Leopold as one of the world's greatest humanitarians but Hochschild strongly shows the reality of the circumstances.

Personally, the passage is extremely powerful. As a reader one cannot help but feel bad for Ilanga. She is an innocent victim to the merciless greed of King Leopold. To King Leopold, and his subjects in the Congo, the life of an African was literally worthless. I compare this account to those of victims during the holocaust. Although, King Leopold did not want to eliminate every African in the world, the end result was the same: the extermination of a huge amount of the population. The passage shows us exactly how horrifying the colonization of the Congo was.

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

"Running is many things to me: survival, calmness, euphoria, solitude. It is proof of my corporeal existence, my ability to control my movement through space if not time, and the obedience, however temporary, of my body to my will." -Henry DeTamble
-The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Page 154)

This quotation is essential to the novel because the protagonist, Henry DeTamble, a time traveler, is always running: running from himself, running to save himself, and most often running to the love of his life, Clare. By reading this thought, we enter Henry's mind and are able to understand the importance that running holds for him. Henry's need, as well as his love of running, is what keeps him alive. Henry's ability to time travel is more of a curse than a gift; the only promise it has given him was meeting Clare Abshire. Since he is unable to control when he time travels, where he goes, and for how long, he must quickly adjust to any situation. Henry can only bring himself when he time travels; therefore he appears in a different time and place, naked and vulnerable. Running is the basis of his survival; he needs to run in order to remain alive. When he instantaneously appears somewhere in his past or future, he depends on his ability to run.

I chose this passage because I can relate to his profound need to run. To me, running is my survival, calmness, euphoria, and solitude as well. Running keeps me sane when things are unsettling, and stressful. It's an escape for me to let go of my anger, sadness, and frustrations. When I get anxious, running is a way for me to be me without words; no explanations are needed while running. I can express my feelings with each movement against the ground. Even when I am in a good mood, running helps to bring those feelings to the surface. When I run, I feel a sense of promise and productiveness. As my pace quickens, everything else around me slows down, I am the one leading, I am the one in control at that very moment. For the time that I am running, I am in command of myself and the world around me; there are no surprises, just me, and the ground beneath my feet. With each stride, I change a part of myself: physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Running keeps me in shape and my body healthy; mentally I am able to be alone with my thoughts, I can reflect on feelings without interference. Running has taken a spiritual form for me as well. I have depended on running to help me find answers, answers to questions involving the world around me, and answers to questions involving myself. Although I sometimes feel as though I'm running to escape my life, and everything uneasy around me, I'm actually running towards the person I'm becoming, just as Henry was always running to the person that he loved.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

"BIFF: No! Nobody’s hanging himself, Willy! I ran down eleven flights with a pen in my hand today. And suddenly I stopped, you hear me? And in the middle of that office building, do you hear this? I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw – the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! Why can’t I say that Willy?

WILLY: The door of your life is wide open!

BIFF: Pop! I’m a dime a dozen and so are you!" - Page 132, Act 2, Death of a Salesman (Miller)

This piece of conversation between Biff and Willy seems very much like the turning point of the book to me.  It is fair to say that Willy Loman has been chasing the American Dream his whole life and he himself tries to be a typically "well-liked" personality to achieve that. It is also fair to say that Willy has failed to achieve his goal but he has been in denial about it throughout the whole play. Even though he does not admit his failures, he desperately wants his sons, especially Biff, to succeed in life and fulfill his personal dream. However, that did not come true for him either as his sons are nothing spectcular but only mediocre. Biff especially has failed miserably in the business world as he has been making money through plantation and farming. Willy could not accept that fact either as he keeps on encouraging himself wrongly that Biff would eventually succeed and achieve the American Dream. Basically he has been out of touch with reality the whole play. Approaching the end of the play, Willy and Biff have an argument and the conversation above is part of it. This piece of the play is ever so important because it brought Willy right back down to earth and back in touch with reality. It was made clear that he has achieved nothing in his life and contrary to his hope neither has BIff and nor will he ever. In a way, the argument also freed Biff from his father's unrealistic hopes because he has been tied down by the targets his father set out for him to achieve. Dramatic turning points like this often lead to even more striking conclusions and in this case it certainly did. 

I picked this part of the play because it stands out. The rage, anger, fury and drama are all at its highest point by this stage- even higher than the scene when BIff caught Willy with the Woman in boston. The author's use of language is fitting to the scene- such as biff calling his father by the name. Biff's tone is almost of desperation begging Willy to let him free. This definitely is the high point of the book because all the actions, daydreamings, mutterings, and conversations prior to the argument have lead the play there- to the fight. After the fight, it was all downhill and left with very little to be exited about. The argument does get me thinking because Willy never seemed to recover from his denial process even though Willy could not have made his feelings clear in a more foreward manner. What got me thinking is the reason behind Willy's suicide. Did he crash the car because of all the emotion that Biff expressed such as crying that made Willy feel the love. Or is it a way to plead for forgiveness to his son who was the only one to find out about his affair? Or is he still in denial thinking that Biff can invest the insurance money in business and succeed?