On the Devil's Court

There are three men named Faust, or Faustus, in this book, all of whom struggle with power and its consequences. The first is Marlowe’s character Dr. Faustus, who is mentioned throughout On the Devil’s Court and discussed at length by Joe and his classmates. Marlowe took an old Germanic legend and developed it into The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus in 1592. Perhaps the main observation that Joe and his fellow students make about Faustus is that he never changes, meaning that he never seeks to undo his deal with Mephastophilis, the devil as Marlowe calls him, and take back his soul. As Joe remarks, “I don’t understand why Faustus doesn’t repent at the end. He doesn’t have to burn. If he repents, he gets the best of both worlds: he uses the devil’s power for twenty-four years and he goes to heaven anyway” (111). The students conclude that being in the thrall of the devil has a seductive, addictive quality and Faust is so seduced by it that he loses his ability to think for himself and change his decision.

The second Faust is Joe’s father,