Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus features a protagonist who sells his soul to the devil for divine knowledge and power. The tension in Faustus emerges from the protagonist's self-damnation, as he is constantly reminded and aware of his many paths to salvation. His fundamental tragedy is that he rejects his humanity. He convinces himself that by refuting his personality and selling his soul to the devil, he can become omniscient. Although he gains the magic promised to him by the devil, he slowly realizes that he is now completely devoid of identity. Faustus does not become less human because he has become a god; rather, he becomes less human only because he denies his place in humanity. He turns away from the community of men in favor of a soulless and dissolute community. In fact, if presumption and foolishness are what causes Faustus' tragic fall, it is the abandonment of the human soul given to him by God that allows the enjoyment of such presumption and foolishness in the first place. Without his humanity and his faith to give meaning to his life, Faustus remains aimless in existence, turning to the pleasures of magic and art as substitutes for his lost personality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the prologue, the chorus explains that pride leads Faustus to ignore his theology and turn to magic. Faust's life of fruitful learning enriched him with knowledge: “Excelling all whose sweet pleasure disputes / In heavenly questions of theology.” Yet Faustus finds no satisfaction in his studies. While he might “lay up gold, / And be eternalized for some wondrous cure” as a physician, such prospects do not appeal to him (1.1.14-5). He says: Yet you are none other than Faustus, and a man. If you made man live forever, or, being dead, raised him to life again, then this profession would be to be esteemed. His discontent is that he is only "a man," bound by the laws of the Earth and limited by his finite existence. His mistake, of course, is that he ignores his theology, which tells him that man's deepest spiritual needs are answered only in communion with God, be it the knowledge of man's origins or the miracle of, as Faustus says, "raising the dead to life again." There is therefore a division in Faust. On the one hand there are the desires for knowledge present in all men. On the other side of the divide lie the means by which he could gratify those desires: acceptance of his humanity and participation in God's plan. The wall that separates these parts is built with his pride and foolishness. This dissection becomes more evident when Faust continues to express his restlessness and desire: Yes, we must die an eternal death. What doctrine do you call this Ch ser, ser, "What shall be?" it will be, it will be” Divinity, goodbye! This metaphysics of magicians and books of necromancy are celestial,[…] Oh, what a world of profit and pleasure, of power, of honor, of omnipotence is promised to the studious craftsman! All things that move between the silent poles will be at my command. This can be seen as the exact moment when Faust refutes his faith and turns to the false promises of magic. He comes to the conclusion that all men are destined to die while ignoring the most important principle of his previous faith: that the gift of communion with God is eternal life. Furthermore, he speaks of commanding all things “that move between the silent poles,” a hope born of his belief that “the metaphysics of magicians / And necromantic books are celestial.” If the books of the magicians are "celestial", it is still impossible that those textsare more celestial than the gospels of which Faustus is aware. Furthermore, if Faust had not denied his rightful place among men, he would already be in possession of everything "that moves between the peaceful poles", since God has granted man dominion over those earthly things. Once again, it is a denial of his personality, of his place in relation to other men and to God, which precedes his fall. Once he denies God's charity and instead chooses alliance with Mephistopheles, Faustus' hunger for knowledge is not satiated, as Faustus hoped. He asks Mephistopheles a series of questions about hell and the universe, until finally, frustrated by the half-answers, he sighs, "Well, I answered." Faust's frustration becomes evident: Faust: "[...] Tell me who created the world." Mephistopheles: "I won't." "Sweet Mephistopheles, tell me." "Don't move me, because I won't tell you." Villain, didn't I force you to tell me something?" "Yes, this is not against our kingdom, but this is. Think of hell, Faust, for you are damned." "Think, Faust, of God, who created the world." The reason, of course, that Mephistopheles cannot answer the most important questions of the universe is that the answers have a meaning only with reference to and respect for the human condition, as well as respect for the competence of God. The true answers to Faustus' questions require that Mephistopheles admit that truth lies in God, not in black magic informs of this fact, as he laments, "Think of Faustus, about God, who created the world. Once again, it is pride that tames his instinctive faith, preventing him from giving up his diabolical pact and restoring his." place among men.However, this is not to say that Faustus does not have moments of doubt.On the contrary, Faustus's instinctive faith emerges many times throughout the play. He hungers for something to compensate for the loss of his spirit, and in moments more doubtful than Faustus (moments of hope for the audience), Mephistopheles is there, offering banal distractions and a momentary solution. As Faustus considers the Good Angel's promise that "it is never too late, if Faustus can repent", Lucifer intercedes with an imaginative display of the seven deadly sins. Although intended as a satirical distraction, their words are significant in understanding the importance of Faustus' denunciation of his humanity: I am pride. I disdain having parents. […]I am greed, begotten by an old boor in an old leather bag. […]I am Wrath. I had neither father nor mother. […]I am envy, born of a chimney sweep and an oyster wife. […]I'm greedy. My parents are all dead. […]I am Sloth. I was born on a sunny shore. While each sin displays its own individual characteristics, all sins share one critical attribute: each sin either has no parents or is illegitimate. They are all like Faust in that they have been disinherited; they were cut off or rebelled against their patronage. If Faustus is guilty of each of these sins at some point during the duration of his twenty-four year pact with the devil, then this passage suggests the cause of that sin. Faustus, in trying to be alone among men as a god, found himself simply alone. Without faith in the human condition, Faustus is truly lost. Indeed, the scene with the seven deadly sins marks a significant transition point in Faustus. Sins represent the end result of the loss of personality and now we must see Faustus' journey through such a hell. Deprived of spiritual sustenance, he turns to sin to satisfy his hunger pangs. Each event demonstrates the extent of Faustus' loss. At the beginning of the third act, Wagner says: Learn Fausto, to know the secrets of astronomy,., 2002. 250-85.