The Tragic Hero and the Process of Life’s Destruction of the Protagonists in Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan

In both the story Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe, and the series Breaking Bad, by Vince Gilligan, there is a tragic hero that is in the process of destroying his life. Even though they do not measure up to the same situations, both of the tragic heroes are on the line of what is good and what is bad. In the series Breaking Bad, the tragic hero and main character’s name is Walter White. He is a science teacher that eventually begins cooking crystal meth to make sure his family is set for if he were to ever die from his lung cancer. Throughout the seasons of the series he develops into more of an antagonist than a protagonist, which is just what he was within the first few seasons, because he wants to make sure his image is protected and his tracks are covered. He results to hiring a hit man to keep himself safe from getting caught.

Eventually, he feels bad for all of the things he has done to people just to cover his tracks so his redemption began after he admitted that he stayed in the meth business because he favored it. In the story Dr. Faustus, the tragic hero and main character is Doctor Faustus. He is a professor that eventually begins learning black magic because he thinks that it is fascinating and will give him a better life. He does not believe that heaven or hell exist but he wants to make a deal with the Devil because the evil angel told him to “think of honour and of wealth,” and that is what he wants.

After Lucifer (the Devil) accepted his offer of his soul, Faustus signed a contract with his blood, this made him a servant of the Devil and his soul was taken. After he signed the contract, he began praying to God to redeem him of his sins and to save his soul so that he would not be a servant of the Devil. After writing about these two works, it really helped me to understand the story of Dr. Faustus being a tragic hero better. They also helped me to realize that even though the works are centuries apart the tragic heroes both had a downfall, had some large limitations on being a better person, and in the end, they both changed and wanted redemption.