Treasure Trove of World Literature Masterpieces -- Faust (Youth Edition): Youth Edition

Author: Goethe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Faust is a book that can never be fully told. To rewrite it as a novel is actually a risky endeavor, for no one dares to claim they have truly understood it. However, the poetic drama Faust is quite difficult for ordinary readers to accept, not only because of the language but also because it employs numerous symbols and metaphors. This book tells the story of a debate between God and the devil Mephistopheles. The devil argues that Faust, representing humanity, is ambitious, overly aspirational, and insatiably greedy, suggesting he will have a bad ending. God, on the other hand, believes that even if Faust occasionally strays from the right path in his pursuit, he will ultimately return to it. Thus, they make a bet: Mephistopheles descends to the mortal world and makes a wager with the elderly scholar Faust, who has grown weary and disappointed with the pursuit of knowledge, that he can satisfy Faust's restless inner desires. The condition is that Faust must pledge his blood, and if he ever says, "That is beautiful! Stay!" Mephistopheles will take his soul. Faust agrees. With the devil's help, he regains his youth, roams the human and divine worlds, and successively experiences love between men and women, power and wealth in the court, and the pursuit and enjoyment of beauty represented by ancient Greek art. Yet, in the end, he fails to find spiritual fulfillment. Finally, in the endeavor of land reclamation from the sea, a man of advanced years and blind finds his spiritual home, utters the words that determine the outcome of the bet, and dies contentedly. However, his soul is not seized by Mephistopheles and sent to hell. Instead, he is escorted to heaven by angels, because he has finally devoted himself to the noble cause of bringing happiness to the people.