I just wanted to thank you for teaching such a great class this semester. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories that we read, and I really think that you picked a great selection for us. I am glad to have been exposed to the Asian and Middle Eastern literature. I have never gotten the opportunity to read work from those far reaches, and I really loved reading them.
I really thoroughly enjoyed your class. Thank you for a great semester.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow...
Themes in Faust (Essay 4)
The Christian religion is based on the idea that man was made specifically to have a relationship with God, and that sin is the only aspect that separates them. Because of this ideal, Christians view the world through the outlook of sin. Sin can be seen in two views; the idea of eternal damnation or the idea of salvation. Sin can both mean the road to damnation and a permanent existence in Hell, or it could mean forgiveness through repentance. In Goethe’s Faust, the main character commits the most severe, unpardonable sin in Christian religion. Faust turns away from God and ultimately sells his soul to the Devil. The story’s Christian theme of “good versus evil” emerges through the decision Faust must make between damnation and salvation. Throughout the story he is presented with many situations in which he is faced with the choice of repenting or continuing on his path of sin towards damnation.
In the Prologue of Faust, the reader is first introduced to the story with dialogue between God and the Devil himself, Mephistopheles. The two begin to challenge one another, each convinced in their control over Faust’s fate. God says, "He serves me, these days, in bewilderment. But soon I shall lead him into the light." (Faust, 16) Where then Mephistopheles follows with, "What will you bet? You'll lose him yet, If only you will let me have the chance to usher him discreetly down my street." (Faust, 16) This scene sets the stage for the Faust theme. As the two highest embodiments of good and evil fight over the fate of a human, the reader is reminded of the Christian idea of sin. The imperfection of a human life personifies the “good versus evil” motif and illustrates the conflict created within Faust.
The setting then switches to earth where we first meet the main character, Faust. The reader follows Faust back to his study where he is reading the Bible, referencing the fact that Goethe parallels the Biblical story of Job. It is shown to us at first that Faust is a God-fearing man who is in search of knowledge but is unhappy with his life. As he reads from the Bible In the beginning was the Word (from the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, Verse 1), the black dog following him barks and howls. The dog reveals himself as Mephistopheles who offers Faust knowledge and power in return for his soul. Faust, thirsting for knowledge and not truly believing in Hell, takes Mephistopheles’ offer. Mephistopheles first takes Faust to the Auerbach’s Cellar where he means to influence Faust into sin. Mephistopheles plays tricks on the drunks and tries to encourage Faust to participate. Faust, however, resists this sin and is disgusted. Although Faust chooses not to participate in harassing the drunks, he urges Mephistopheles to show him more. This scene depicts the first time Faust is presented with the choice of repenting or sticking with Mephistopheles, but because his hunger for knowledge is so great, Faust continues on the path with the Devil.
Mephistopheles then tries to shock Faust with something he would consider extremely extraordinary. Mephistopheles takes Faust to see a witch where he will be given back his youth. During his visit with the witch, Faust sees a beautiful woman through the looking-glass. The witch, eager to do Mephistopheles’ bidding, gives Faust an elixir that takes thirty years off of his life. Then as Goethe parallel’s Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Mephistopheles also promises Faust that every woman that he comes in contact with will look like Helen of Troy. Goethe also alludes at the tragedy to take place by mentioning Helen of Troy who was the fabled beautiful woman that is credited with starting the Trojan War. Faust then sees Gretchen (Margaret) on the street and tries to win her over. Gretchen denies him at first, and Faust, consumed by the sin of lust, vows to win her over with any means possible. Faust uses the evil magic of Mephistopheles to create jewels for her and seduce her. Gretchen’s mother, who sees the jewels and donates them to the church, symbolizes the idea of evil and sin surrounding the gifts and Faust. Faust asks for more jewels, and this time, Gretchen hides them from her mother and falls in love with Faust. This shows Gretchen following Faust down the path of sin and damnation. Faust, however, is torn between the sin of lust and love. Mephistopheles ensures that lust wins out over love. Once Faust disappears, Gretchen begins to regret the error of her sins, and unlike Faust, begs to God for forgiveness.
Faust, however, continues down his corrupted path and soon lusts again for Gretchen’s body. Mephistopheles returns with Faust and makes it possible for him to have some alone time with Gretchen. When Valentine, Gretchen’s brother, finds out that Faust stole his sister’s virginity, he challenges him to a sword fight. Faust again commits a sin when he kills Gretchen’s brother. Faust and Mephistopheles flee the city.
Faust is again presented with another situation where he must choose between good and evil one year later. Driven still by his thirst for knowledge, Faust attends Walpurgis-nacht, a nocturnal gathering of sorcerers and evil spirits. Faust becomes so lost and enthralled by his search for knowledge that he forgets about Gretchen. During his time, however, Faust has a realization of Gretchen in a vision and sees that she has been imprisoned. Faust becomes so over-come with guilt that he asks Mephistopheles to help him rescue her. Faust is again struggling between doing what is good and what is evil. Although he does decide to rescue Gretchen, it is only out of guilt and not out of his own love.
The final prison scene is the ultimate representation of the Christian theme of sin and good versus evil. Faust and Mephistopheles ride on black magic horses to the prison to rescue Gretchen from prison. At first Gretchen is so over-come with grief that she does not even recognize Faust. This personifies the idea that Faust is no longer the same person, but was distorted by sin and the devil. Then when Mephistopheles appears, the juxtaposition of good versus evil is illuminated. Gretchen, fearing Mephistopheles, calls out to God for salvation and rescue, “Father, I'm thine! Do thou deliver me. Ye angels! Ye angelic hosts! descend, Encamp around to guard me and defend !-- Henry! I shudder now to look on thee!” (Faust) At this point Gretchen becomes a living representation of the Christian ideal of repentance. Gretchen confesses to her sin and calls out for forgiveness before being welcomed into heaven.
Throughout the story, the characters of Faust and Gretchen come to symbolize the two Christian ideas of sin. Faust, driven so deeply by the thirst for knowledge, sells his soul to the devil in order to get what he wants. Throughout the story Faust listens to Mephistopheles and chooses to go down the path of sin. Gretchen, although she is tricked and seduced into sin, sees the error of her ways at the conclusion of the story. Gretchen begs forgiveness for her sins and is allowed into heaven.
Even as the story concludes, it is still unclear to the reader whether or not Faust is deserving of damnation. Although Faust consciously chooses to sin, the reader is reminded that he is driven by his innocent zeal for knowledge. This conflict within the reader personifies the “good versus evil” theme within Faust and further illustrates the dual idea of sin.
Faust - Interesting Tidbits Courtesy of the Internet
An English Rhyme:
"Dr. Faustus was a good man,
He whipped his scholars now and then,
When he whipped them he made them dance,
Out of Scotland into France,
Out of France into Spain,
And then he whipped them back again"
Henry Bett, Nursery Rhymes and Tales: Their Origin and History, 2nd edition (London: Methuen and Company, 1924), p. 72.
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Franz Liszt. A Faust Symphony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4L8zV5uQAE
Absolutely beautiful music that works great when reading Faust!
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Interesting Quotes:
- Dear friend, all theory is gray,
- And green the golden tree of life.
- Mephistopheles
- Youth, my good friend, you certainly require
- When foes in battle round you press,
- When a fair maid, her heart on fire,
- Hangs on your neck with fond caress,
- When from afar, the victor's crown,
- Allures you in the race to run;
- Or when in revelry you drown
- Your sense, the whirling dance being done.
- Merryman
- Now spring's reviving glance has freed
- the ice from stream and river.
- The valley turns green with joy of hope.
- Old winter, growing impotent, crawls back
- to the rough mountains; as he flees, he hurls
- fitful gusts of icy-kerneled sleet
- in streaks on the green meadows.
- But the sun allows no whiteness;
- growth and creation stir and strive
- to cover everything with color.
- Faust
- O full-orb'd moon, did but thy rays
- Their last upon mine anguish gaze!
- Beside this desk, at dead of night,
- Oft have I watched to hail thy light:
- Then, pensive friend! o'er book and scroll,
- With soothing power, thy radiance stole!
- In thy dear light, ah, might I climb,
- Freely, some mountain height sublime,
- Round mountain caves with spirits ride,
- In thy mild haze o'er meadows glide,
- And, purged from knowledge-fumes, renew
- My spirit, in thy healing dew!
- Faust
- When in his study pent the whole year through,
- Man views the world, as through an optic glass,
- On a chance holiday, and scarcely then,
- How by persuasion can he govern men?
- Wagner
- That which issues from the heart alone,
- Will bend the hearts of others to your own.
- Faust
- Ay! what 'mong men as knowledge doth obtain!
- Who on the child its true name dares bestow?
- The few who somewhat of these things have known,
- Who their full hearts unguardedly reveal'd,
- Nor thoughts, nor feelings, from the mob conceal'd,
- Have died on crosses, or in flames been thrown!
- Faust
- What a man knows not, he to use requires,
- And what he knows, he cannot use for good.
- Faust
- E'en hell hath its peculiar laws.
- Faust
- Methinks, by most, 'twill be confess'd
- That Death is never quite a welcome guest.
- Mephistopheles
- Forbear to trifle longer with thy grief,
- Which, vulture-like, consumes thee in this den.
- Mephistopheles
- What lies beyond doesn't worry me.
- Suppose you break this world to bits, another may arise.
- My joy springs from this earth,
- this sun shines on my sorrows.
- When I leave here, let come what must.
- What do I care about it now, if hereafter
- men hate or love, or if in those other spheres
- there be an Above or a Below?
- Faust
- Happy is he who has the pure truth in him.
- He will regret no sacrifice that keeps it.
- Faust
- In the end, you are exactly--what you are.
- Put on a wig with a million curls,
- put the highest heeled boots on your feet,
- yet you remain in the end just what you are.
Mephistopheles
Caribbean Poetry (Essay 3)
Sea Canes - Derek Walcott
Time steals the life of all people, leaving us alone, without friends. In Derek Walcott’s “Sea Canes” the narrator weeps for his lost companions. He describes how much he wants to have them back, but “earth” can only offer new ones in their place. As we read in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” and with a lot of other Caribbean poetry, “Sea Canes” continues to illustrate the theme of life, death, and the ultimate change that falls between them.
An emotional connection is created through the imagery and narrator’s descriptions that make the reader become extremely enthralled in his feelings. Walcott describes the ocean, the embodiment of change, as carrying the memories of the past toward the shore. Emotion flows from the author as he continues throughout the poem and relives these precious moments with old friends. Experiences from these lost friends remind people of the things they shared while together, but are gone, and all that’s left are memories that will be carried forever by those who were there. Although they are fresh in mind, they will never be relived as nothing will ever live up to the standards set by the people who impact us so deeply. Walcott describes his struggle with this change, and how much he wants to cling on to his old friends, but can’t. Even though the world offers him new friends in return, he would rather have no friends at all then replace his old friends. In his mind, his companions are irreplaceable.
Walcott’s use of imagery brings his words to life so easily that he paints a picture in the reader’s mind of the shores of this lonely place. The sand is calm while the moon reflects off the ocean, alone in the world with nowhere to turn. The thoughts of friends-past causes time to pass un-noticed, floating in an abyss of dreams and happiness. The minds of people are carried through an endless sea of time living in the memories once shared by those now lost.
The memories still carried by the waves beat against the cliffs in a distance. They were a very important part of his life, but by losing them something better formed. It brought a sense so strong, forever bright and unwinding, which broke through the memories. They seem so realistic having brought the people we miss and love back to us just as they were.
Change is a very hard aspect of life to deal with. Caribbean poets such as Achebe and Walcott center their pieces around the ideals of life, death, and the struggle of the change between them. It could easily be said that their race, history and geographical location are the fuels that drove these emotional works. “Sea Canes” is the perfect example of the emotional human turmoil that comes associated with struggling to deal with change.
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Derek Walcott
Sea Canes
Half my friends are dead.
I will make you new ones, said earth
No, give me them back, as they were, instead,
with faults and all, I cried.Tonight I can snatch their talk
from the faint surf's drone
through the canes, but I cannot walkon the moonlit leaves of ocean
down that white road alone,
or float with the dreaming motionof owls leaving earth's load.
O earth, the number of friends you keep
exceeds those left to be loved.The sea-canes by the cliff flash green and silver;
they were the seraph lances of my faith,
but out of what is lost grows something strongerthat has the rational radiance of stone,
enduring moonlight, further than despair,
strong as the wind, that through dividing canesbrings those we love before us, as they were,
with faults and all, not nobler, just there.from Sea Grapes, 1971
Things Fall Apart - Change
This story reminded me of some lyrics to a few of my favorite, well-known songs:
"Just Hold On Loosely, but don't let go
If you cling to tightly,
you're gonna lose control"
- Hold On Loosely, 38 Special
"And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets and
Every time I thought Id got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But Ive never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
Im much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I cant trace time
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But stil the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
Theyre quite aware of what theyre going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Wheres your shame
Youve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you cant trace time
Strange fascination, fascinating me
Ah changes are taking the pace Im going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Oh, look out you rock n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I cant trace time
I said that time may change me
But I cant trace time"
- Changes, David Bowie
If you could summarize the whole theme for this story, it is easy to come up with one word: Change. When I first read "Things Fall Apart" in High School, I never really got too into the story or put much thought into it. Sometimes it takes rereading something to really find meaning in it. Reading it for the second time, this story really spoke to me and I could easily identify with Okonkwo. Things Fall Apart caused me to examine my own self and see how much I have changed since I started college. Just as Okonkwo came in contact with white Christians, I have met many new people here at college. Although I have learned from my new experiences and grabbed any chance to learn more, I understand how it could have been difficult for Okonkwo.
Before I really thought about it, change never seemed bothered me. As I take a step back and look at my life, I see a story full of change. Just in my two short years at UNCW, I have changed so quickly into my own person. I am more cultured and aware of diversity than I ever have been, and more welcomed to this change. In High School, I didn't enjoy the thought of changing. I was scared of it and I rarely reached out to other different things.
I think that I was mostly opposed to change because of my family. We've moved so much during the 19 years of my life, that I've never really felt like I've had a real home. I'm very jealous of all of those kids who have gotten to live in a house long enough to have real memories in them. I've always wanted to live in a house with an old dusty attic full of old family heirlooms and old treasures from my past. You could say my parents are minimalists in that way. They are very unsentimental when it comes to old things that used to hold memories. To them they are just junk that takes up space, and as a result my family has been known for our garage sales.
Things Fall Apart - Important Quotes
“It was this man Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights” (3).
“He [Okonkwo] had a slight stammer and whenever he got angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists” (4).
“Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (13).
“Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under the shade” (46).
“Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of handling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors” (52).
“Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you father” (57).
“A man’s life was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer to his ancestors” (122).
“They [the white people] must have used powerful medicines to make themselves invisible until the market was full” (139).
“The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God. And he told them about this new God, the creator of all the world and all the men and women. He told them they worshipped false gods, gods of wood and stone” (145).
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