Everyone is capable of committing evil acts and some people take full advantage of this. In the tragedies Macbeth, Dr. Faustus, and The Picture of Dorian Gray the three protagonists make decisions which lead them down the path of wickedness. The supporting characters also act as evil beings by encouraging the protagonists to make bad decisions. With evil acts on their minds, the protagonists have many symbols that represent their conscience in different ways. Though obvious to the readers, the protagonists had to commit many evil acts to realize the errors of their ways. The protagonists of these stories commit many acts of wickedness which all lead to their final damnation in hell. As the age old question goes; Are people born evil or do …show more content…
A reoccurring symbolic meaning in these stories is the conscience of the protagonists. In Dorian Gray's life, the symbolic figure of his conscience is the portrait painted by Basil:
It had kept him awake at night. When he had been away, he had been filled with terror lest other eyes should look upon it. It had brought melancholy across his passions. Its mere memory had marred many moments of joy. It had been like conscience to him. Yes, it had been conscience. He would destroy it (Wilde 164).
As it becomes more gruesome throughout the story, the portrait represents the evil and guilt in Dorian's soul. In the tale of Faustus, the good angel and bad angel act as Faustus’ conscience. This is first proven early in the story when Faustus decides to take up …show more content…
Faustus acts in a similar way by choosing hell over heaven out of fear of Lucifer.
FAUSTUS: No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer
That hath depriv'd thee of the joys of heaven.
[The clock strikes twelve.]
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell!
[Thunder and lightning.]
O soul, be chang'd into little water-drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found (Marlowe 56)!
Faustus wants to go to heaven but is too afraid of Lucifer to repent and go to heaven. On the other hand, Macbeth does recognize his wrong doings but doesn't even consider repenting:
MACBETH: Accursèd be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cowed my better part of man!
And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee (5.8.18-22).
After being accused of being a coward for not fighting, Macbeth eventually accepts the challenge by saying,
MACBETH: Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,
And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough”