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A Comparitive Study Of The Work Of The Devil

It is true that the study of the devil or evil in general as a part of the world hasintrigued man for centuries. This is mostly because it is something people don't

have concrete proof of and is also considered taboo in our society. Yet, studies

and/or story telling on the devil and his evil forces seems to have been apart ofall societies since the begining of time. Such as, Christpher Marlowe's play, The

Tragical History of Dr. Faustas, written in the 16th century and the modern day

film, The Devil's Advocate, starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves.

The devil in Marlowe's play doesnt come to Dr. Faustas as himself , instead hesends one of his disciples named Mephistophilis. When Mephistophilis first

comes to Dr. Faustas he comes as himself, a demon like creature that is not quite

appealing to the eye and seems to frighten or sicken Dr.Faustas. Dr. Faustasimmediatley asks Mephistophilis to come back as something more pleasant,

such as a fransiscan friar. The devil immediatly does so. I assume he does this to

please Dr. Faustas and to show him that with the type of power he possesses hecan appear to be or even change into whom ever he wants. This being something

that the doctor can also achieve by giving up his soul. He also offers Dr. Faustas

many things such as, knowledge (something the Doctor can't get enough of) and

tells the Doctor that he can basically have everything he desires in exchange forhis soul. Something very similar to this instance also occurs in The Devils

Advocate. In the beginning of the film Keanu Reeves is approached by a

man( also a messenger of the devil's) in a bar offering him a job opportunity inManhattan and to persuade him to come he offers him a very large sum of

money. When Keanu arrives he is surrounded by all the materialistic things he

could desire in addition to the power and acknowledgment he so strongly

desires. This is all once again there to tempt him towards evil and persuade himto sell his soul. Another pertinant similarity between the 16th century play and

the modern day film is the chance that both characters were given to give it all

up, leave the devil and regain their souls, yet the outcome is far different.

In Marlowe's play, Dr. Faustas is approached by an old man who tries to

convince Faustas to leave the devil and regain his soul. Faustas declines this plea

and continues on the path he already was on, despite the fact that he wasbeginning to doubt the actual rewards of his endeavor. In opposition to the play's

character, during the film when Keanu Reeves is offered even more rewards to

procreate with his sister and birth an anti-christ ,thus ending his life as he knows

it and completely giving his soul to evil, he declines in the only way he thinkspossible, commiting suicide. The major difference in the play and the film is the

way the devil presents himself. In the play, Dr. Faustas calls the devil and is

looking for another source of knowledge and power. The devil comes to him nottrying to hide his persona or his pursuit of evil, but rather promoting the cause

from the beginning. Knowing the outcome of his acceptance of the devil, Dr.

Faustus knowingly accepted the devil and all of his gifts.

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On the other hand, in the film, Al Pacino (the devil) presents himself as a

friendly successful lawyer who can offer Keanu Reeves everything he ever

wanted such as, money, power, and most importantly a successful carrer. Yet inan honest fashion and without knowingly giving up his soul.On these terms

Keanu Reeves accepts. That is where I feel the major differnce in the portrayalof the devil between the play and the film exists.The fact that Dr. Faustas

willingly accepts all gifts and willingly gives up his soul, while Keanu Reevesonly accepts all this on the merit that Al Pacino is a legitimate laywer. Yet,

overall the modern day outlook on the devil isn't much different than the outlook

of many years ago. In both portrayls the devil had to physically show himself ina disguise, he had to lie in one way or another to gain the soul of his concubines,

and in both the film and the play the devil is there only to promote evil and only

offers things to people that wil eventually benefit himself.