Faust and Monkey

The most interesting and note worthy set of binary opposites from the reading list in my opinion was in “Faust” and “Monkey.” In the text Faust by Goethe there are many example of the struggles between good and evil. At the beginning Faust is introduced as an exemplary servant of God. Mephistopheles and the Lord have a disagreement of his character and the Lord grants him the test Faust. Through out the story Faust begins a downward spiral into the temptations of the devil. The progression through the story leads him deeper into his transformation from almost an angel like state to a demon. Faust starts off as a well respected doctor who saved many lives during the plague, to a murderer. Along the way there are various angels trying to lead him back to the path that he continues to stray from.
In Monkey by Wu Cheng-en the primary binary opposite that was evident to me was that of the student /teacher relationship. The most importa...