Character of Mephistopheles in Goethes Faust :: Faust Essays

The Character of Mephistopheles in Faust   Mephistopheles, from the epic poem Faust, by Goethe, is one of the most interesting characters if examined carefully. Much like todays crude interpretations of the devil, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- confident, witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, evil. There were very ironic things about him. Though he was evil, he was a force of goodness. The evil in him was portrayed in the negative aspects of Fausts personality, which showed that no matter how brawny the Lord was, the devil would al slipway have an impact on a persons invigoration and decisions.             Mephistopheles was very much of a skeptic and a gambler. In the Prologue in Heaven, Mephistopheles bet the Lord that he could turn Faust against him and stag him do evil. This was ironic because most people would never dream of speaking to the Lord in this way. This showed that Mephistopheles w as self- confident and witty. He was very set in his ways and beliefs and found it difficult to believe that God could keep total control over Faust, or any one else for that matter.             Though Mephistopheles was a skeptic when it came to more things such as natural phenomenon of life, he did believe the Lord when he told Mephistopheles that he had power. Mephistopheles even preached this word to people. After speaking to one of Fausts students, he wrote in his yearbook. It utter Eritis sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malorum , meaning You shall be like God, knowing good and evil. (line 2075) This is a quote from the book of Genesis 35 of the Bible. By Mephistopheles utter this quote, he was admitting that God had power and did know what good and evil were. He also believed that he could overcome God, therefore saying that he was more powerful than the Lord.             Mephistopheles was very smart and creative when it came to luring in his victims of evil. In Outside the City Gate, Mephistopheles disguised himself as a dog and followed Faust home. Faust knew this dog was evil. He said the dog was circling around him and a wake of fires streaming behind him (lines 1175-1179). Every time Faust would begin reading the Bible, the dog would bark as a mug of disbelief and wrongs about it. The next day, in Fausts study, the devil showed up again, but this time in the form of a nobleman tempting Faust to a life of limitless wealth and pleasure in return for his soul for eternity.