On the Devil's Court

In Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, the doctor is already the wisest and most accomplished of men. He knows what he is getting into when bargaining with the devil. Joe Faust, on the other hand, is a sheltered 17-year-old. Would the devil enter into a contract with someone too innocent and young to strike a legal bargain? Why?

If Joe had not been reading Doctor Faustus in his English class, would the devil still have tried to do a deal with him? Did the devil somehow induce Miss Mitchell to have her class read the play just to inform, prime, and tempt Joe? What if Joe had not been named Faust—would the devil still have tried to tempt him?

Joe’s father, Joseph Faust Sr., is recognized for his work splicing genes, which implies rearranging the natural order of life. This changes the destiny and potential of an organism. How is that different from making a deal with the devil to change something? Or is it more the case that Joe’s father is playing God by rewriting the natural world?

The story has multiple positives at the end: Joe’s father survives; Joe gets a scholarship to play basketball; Eastside goes undefeated and wins the state championship; nobody gets dragged to eternal damnation. If in fact Joe did not achieve all this through making a deal with a supernatural malevolent force, then how did he accomplish all this?

Joe perceives that he and his father are polar opposites, but they share their intensity, passionate singleness of focus, and unwillingness to be sympathetic with each other. Are they more alike or different?

Ultimately, Joe decides that the power he experienced did not come from the devil and there was not any deal between them. If so, why did people have to get hurt for Joe to succeed? If no evil supernatural power was involved, why was Joe so afraid and miserable when he was not playing basketball? Is it possible the devil really was involved and Joe’s fear and misery was his punishment? If the devil was involved, why did good come out of it for everyone involved?

Basketball is Joe’s great passion. Sculpture is his mother’s. Gene splicing is his father’s. Do most people have all-consuming passions like they do? What is the biggest sacrifice you ever saw someone make for their passion?

The devil is consistently mentioned throughout the book. God is only mentioned twice, and both mentions involve God’s role as the creator of humanity. Why does Deuker only talk about one side of the theoretical damnation/salvation equation?