Character of Mephistopheles in Goethes Faust :: Faust Essays

The Character of Mephistopheles in Faust   Mephistopheles, from the epic poem Faust, by Goethe, is superstar of the close interesting characters if examined carefully. Much like todays crude interpretations of the d wretched, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- positive(p), witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, devilish. 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 powerful the Lord was, the devil would ever so have an impact on a persons life and decisions.             Mephistopheles was very much(prenominal) of a skeptic and a gambler. In the Prologue in Heaven, Mephistopheles wait the Lord that he could turn Faust against him and make him do evil. This was ironic because most people would never dream of speaking to the Lord in this way. This sh owed that Mephistopheles was self- confident and witty. He was very set in his ways and beliefs and found it tricky 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 many things such(prenominal) 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 said 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 saying 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.        &nb sp    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 bob and followed Faust home. Faust knew this computer-aided design was evil. He said the dog was circling around him and a light of fires streaming behind him (lines 1175-1179). Every time Faust would begin reading the Bible, the dog would bark as a sign of disbelief and wrongs about it. The abutting day, in Fausts study, the devil showed up again, but this time in the radiation pattern of a nobleman tempting Faust to a life of limitless riches and pleasure in return for his soul for eternity.