Facing the Devil in Antigone, Macbeth and Things... power of which he is capable. possess. Mephistopheles, a demon, offers Faust magic to achieve pleasures previously inaccessible for twenty-four years and when time is up, Faust will lose his soul. Faust agrees and performs unscrupulous acts, such as seducing the innocent Gretchen and manipulating the entire world. Ultimately, Faust is corrupt beyond forgiveness and is eternally damned. This folk tale is found in many other artistic works with the same message that obtaining power requires a "deal with the devil" that only results in the destruction of lives and ethics. This concept can be discovered through historical and literary works, including Antigone by Sophocles, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The painful repercussions of the immoral decisions made by power-hungry men, Creon, Macbeth, and Okwonko, reveal the difficult fate that awaits any quest for power. Creon's once categorical decision to cruelly punish Antigone turns into a realization too late to stop the wheels of tragedy. ride because of his stubborn authoritarian rule. Antigone's determination to bury her brother is discovered by Creon who banishes her to a tomb. Soon after, a prophet said to Creon: “You have plunged a child of light into darkness; buried the living with the dead; the dead… Do not be surprised that heaven – yes, and hell – have released the Furies to lie in wait for you, ready for the punishments you have designed for others” (Sophocles 239). The reason this terrifying foresight is brought to Creon is because of his own determination to take control. His desire to solidify his sense of justice in m...... middle of paper ......d lives in the minds of many. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a famous rendition of the tale Faust in which he is saved from Mephistopheles through Gretchen's forgiveness and Faust's efforts becoming positive in the eyes of God. Even if the devastation caused by the poison of power is inevitable, there is no reason why reconstruction should be impossible. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things are falling apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Square, New York. Print. Sophocles and Paul Roche. Sophocles' Oedipus Plays. New York: Mentor, 1991. Print. “Maximilien Robespierre”. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011. Fredriksen, John C. “Adolf Hitler.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011. “Soviet Coup.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20. 2011.

Essay / Facing the Devil in Antigone, Macbeth and Things... power of which he is capable. possess. Mephistopheles, a demon, offers Faust magic to achieve pleasures previously inaccessible for twenty-four years and when time is up, Faust will lose his soul. Faust agrees and performs unscrupulous acts, such as seducing the innocent Gretchen and manipulating the entire world. Ultimately, Faust is corrupt beyond forgiveness and is eternally damned. This folk tale is found in many other artistic works with the same message that obtaining power requires a "deal with the devil" that only results in the destruction of lives and ethics. This concept can be discovered through historical and literary works, including Antigone by Sophocles, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The painful repercussions of the immoral decisions made by power-hungry men, Creon, Macbeth, and Okwonko, reveal the difficult fate that awaits any quest for power. Creon's once categorical decision to cruelly punish Antigone turns into a realization too late to stop the wheels of tragedy. ride because of his stubborn authoritarian rule. Antigone's determination to bury her brother is discovered by Creon who banishes her to a tomb. Soon after, a prophet said to Creon: “You have plunged a child of light into darkness; buried the living with the dead; the dead… Do not be surprised that heaven – yes, and hell – have released the Furies to lie in wait for you, ready for the punishments you have designed for others” (Sophocles 239). The reason this terrifying foresight is brought to Creon is because of his own determination to take control. His desire to solidify his sense of justice in m...... middle of paper ......d lives in the minds of many. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a famous rendition of the tale Faust in which he is saved from Mephistopheles through Gretchen's forgiveness and Faust's efforts becoming positive in the eyes of God. Even if the devastation caused by the poison of power is inevitable, there is no reason why reconstruction should be impossible. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things are falling apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Square, New York. Print. Sophocles and Paul Roche. Sophocles' Oedipus Plays. New York: Mentor, 1991. Print. “Maximilien Robespierre”. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011. Fredriksen, John C. “Adolf Hitler.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011. “Soviet Coup.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20. 2011.

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