The Complexities Of Mephostophilis Essays - Fiction, Literature

The Complexities of Mephostophilis In Medieval cycle plays, devils were portrayed as comic characters that triumphed over their adversaries in spite of their crudeness and ineptitude. With the advent of Renaissance drama, came new ideas and characters, as playwrights took a new stance in their portrayals of evil and devils. The devils and Mephostophilis in particular, in Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus are much more complex than those in preceding medieval drama are. Mephostophilis's only goal in the play is to acquire Faustus's damned soul for Lucifer. As straightforward a goal as this might appear, its execution becomes fascinating for the audience because of Marlowe's characterization. Mephostophilis is both friend and archenemy of Faustus. He is the teller of truths and the manipulator of lies; he is a reflection of Faustus's own character and an instrument of Lucifer's diabolical quest. Mephostophilis's diversity of characteristics makes him a most interesting Renaissance character because h! e is not flat, all good or all bad, but rather a multifaceted character, which wins over Faustus and draws the audience in with his intrigue. The play opens in Faustus's study, where Faustus is contemplating his many scholastic accomplishments. Having succeeded in his studies in both the academic and theological fields, Faustus has become bored and wishes to pursue further knowledge in necromancy. He conjures up the image of a devil and so begins the relationship between Dr. Faustus and Mephostophilis. Dissatisfied with Mephostophilis's demonic appearance, Faustus commands him, "I charge thee to return and change thy shape, /Thou art too ugly to attend on me"(I.iii.25-6). Faustus is uncomfortable with the devil's original appearance; he foolishly believes that, "by fiddling with surface matters,"(ix) the basic morality of the character can be changed. "Go and return an old Franciscan friar,"(I.iii. 27) says Faustus; this form not only makes Faustus more comfortable with the devil, but a Renaissance audience would have found this transformation more attractive and palatable as well. Without a word, Mephostophi! lis leaves to obey Faustus, and Faustus takes this as a sign of the devil's submissiveness. Faustus is falsely convinced that he is in control of the situation and that Mephostophilis has appeared only to fulfill his whims and to serve as his servant. He muses to himself, "How pliant is this Mephostophilis, /Full of obedience and humility, /Such is the force of magic and my spells"(I.iii.31-3). When Mephostophilis enters as a friar, Faustus is seeing what he wishes to see. The character of Mephostophilis remains as amoral as ever, but in the guise of a harmless friar, he appears more amiable. Our initial glimpse of Mephostophilis shows the audience and Faustus his true, horrifying nature. Along with this horrifying appearance early in the play, we see his only purpose is the capture of Faustus's soul. Despite Mephostophilis's transformed outward appearance, his purpose remains as malevolent as ever. As Mephostophilis quickly gains Faustus's confidence, the audience is able to peer further into his character. Virtually elated with his magical success, Faustus is oblivious to the ominous reason Mephostophilis gives for appearing. Contrary to what Faustus believes, the incantations he performed did not conjure up a devil; Mephostophilis explains, "when we hear one rack the name of God, /Abjure the Scriptures and his saviour Christ, /We fly in hope to get his glorious soul"(I.iii.46-8). Faustus scoffs at Mephostophilis and explains that he is not afraid of the ideas of hell and damnation, for he does not believe that they exist. The notion of hell is not so meaningless to Mephostophilis, who knows the torment of hell only too well. "Think'st thou that I who saw the face of God /And tasted the eternal joys of heaven /Am not tormented with ten thousand hells /In being depr! ived of everlasting bliss?"(I.iii.76-9) he demands of Faustus. Though he desperately seeks Faustus's soul, Mephostophilis cannot hold himself back from expressing the absolute truth of hell and its agonies. Faustus has already convinced himself that he wants what Mephostophilis can offer him and he refuses to listen to this important and solitary warning. He sends him off to tell Lucifer of his proposition to give his soul in exchange for twenty-four years of power and Mephostophilis's services. As Faustus sits waiting

Search Warrants vs Arrest Warr essays

Search Warrants vs Arrest Warr essays How do we decide what is intrusion on an individuals life? Is it when physical or emotional harm is done to that person? But also what needs to be under consideration, is what limitations and what guidelines the official must be aware of when considering what actions to take upon that person. There are precedents and agreements that have been made before today, and these are what we must make the basis of our decision upon. The reality of the situation is that even though, the defendant has the rights to privacy and silence, the F.B.I. had not only probable cause that there were forged stamps and actual proof of the distribution of forged stamps, but also the ability to search for any object that could have caused a danger to the agents. We know the details about this particular case and we also know what the defendant feels was an intrusion upon his rights. For the record, the court feels it necessary to state the defendants rights, but also explain the process of searches and arrests. Protected by the constitution, each individual has the right to privacy, which is explained in the fourth amendment. This right is stated but not defined by a few solid principles, they follow; the individual has the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects. This allows for illegal or unreasonable searches, and excludes any evidence, which could incriminate that person; the second principle is a principle which clings to all rights guaranteed by the constitution and a rule of thumb that this court bases many of its judgments by, and it is the fact that one persons rights begin within oneself, but end at the beginning of the next persons nose. Since when the arrest was being made by the agents, they have the right over their own safety over the defendants right to defend himself physically, especially when the agents never inflicted any physical harm or never put the defendant into ph...

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT - Assignment Example The activists are people who are open minded and are passionate towards their work as they gain their learning from the practical understanding. On the contrary, the attitude to take risk of the activists might not be suitable for the establishment in few scenarios (Huang and Busby 92-100). Theorists are the people who acquire their knowledge and learning with the assistance of the relevant theories. The people following the theorists’ perspective get their assistance from the varied theoretical underpinning when they are trained systematically. Thus, it can be stated that the training and development must be associated with the theoretical approach to get a better understanding. However, the key issue faced by the theorists is that they might be hesitant towards gaining the practical knowledge as learning (Huang and Busby 92-100). Pragmatists are the people who seek their learning from the theoretical as well as the practical activities in order to develop their skills. It is observed that these people are innovative and use their theoretical knowledge and understanding when conducting practical tasks. These people are more efficient and hence the companies provide learning opportunities to them at large. However, these people require continuous training and development for better understanding (Huang and Busby 92-100). Reflectors are the people who acquire their leanings by observing various activities of themselves along with others. Employees favouring this learning style will be more considerate and cautious while obtaining proper learning of skills and abilities. Correspondingly, businesses might face issues while offering training to these individuals as they are seemed to be a bit time-taking in their learning approach. However, their considerate nature will ensure that they improve themselves in a comprehensive manner overall. These groups of people are supposed to be less participative in comparison