Faustian Bargain Comparison

Doctor Faustus follows a variety of cultural changes during the Renaissance, especially the newfound stress laid on the power and ability of the individual. This age of discovery for both ideas and the wider world opened the possibilities of new experiences to be enjoyed.                                          Doctor Faustus raised much controversy due to its explicit interaction with the demonic realm. Before Marlowe, few authors ventured into this area, but following this text other authors began to explore man’s possible mastery over the universe. This sparked many ‘Faustian bargain’ texts throughout the centuries,*which has highlighted the role of contextual factors has on the text. *                                                                                                                                                                                  Centuries after the writing of ‘Faustus’, the upper-class British world of the 19th century aesthetic movement, held youth and beauty in highest esteem, as exhibited in Oscar Wilde's novel: ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. In pursuit of pleasure and aestheticism, Dorian desires to achieve a goal that is unattainable in real life: “eternal youth”. Like Faust, he bargains his future for immediate gratification.                                                                                                                                                    Wall Street, the 1987 American film, directed by Oliver Stone, tells a parallel story. Bud Fox, a young New York stockbroker becomes involved with Gordon Gekko, a wealthy, unscrupulous corporate raider, abandoning his basic moral principles in the pursuit of wealth.                                                                                                                                                     Wall Street defines itself through a number of morality conflicts putting wealth and power against morals and honesty, key aspects of the Faustian Bargain. Stone made the film as a tribute to his father, a stockbroker during the Great Depression, who had observed the effects of insider trading.