The Faust Legend
Cultural Applicability
The Crossroads
• Crossroad Blues
(Robert Johnson)
• The Road Not Taken
(Robert Frost)
•What do the speakers in each of the pieces have in
common?
•Summarize the main idea of each work in one line (cite key
words from the text of each to support).
•If you were to interview both Robert Johnson and Robert
Frost, what would you ask them about their respective
dilemmas?
•What conclusions can you draw about the different “paths”
that each ends up taking?
•What choice would you have made given the same
experience with “crossroads” decisions? Describe a decision
you’ve had to make that was like standing at a crossroads.
Faust Legend
• A tale about a man who sells his soul to
the devil for earthly benefits. Each
retelling involves a person who trades
his soul for experience, knowledge, or
treasure. Endings vary with the
protagonist either,
– Doomed to failure
– Redeemed by virtues
Distinctly American
• Faust was a German Setting:
protagonist. Irving
Characters:
makes his
protagonist
his
• Marked
the and
beginning
of a distinctly
Plot:
story distinctly
American
literary
American. What
are heritage.
some ways he might Symbols:
do that?
Devil:
• Create a chart and
fill it in asking
Deal:
yourself—how did
he make it
American?
The Devil Went Down to
Georgia
The Charlie Daniel’s Band
Packet page 4
Compare/Contrast
The Devil and Tom
Walker
Similarities
Characters
Conflict
Plot
Resolution
“The Devil went
Down to Georgia
Modernity and The Faust
Legend
Bedazzled
How can it apply to all cultures
and all humans?
1. Chinese/Eastern culture
2. African cultures
3. Indian cultures
4. South American cultures
5. “Southern” culture
6. Hip Hop culture
7. Upper class culture
8. Political culture
9. High School culture
10. Business culture
Choose one of these
cultures and BREIFLY
describe how you
COULD create a Faust
Legend that reflected the
cultural values.
Ex. Hollywood: An actress (let’s
say…Lindsay Lohan)…might sell
her soul to acquire better acting
skills thereby proving her worthy
to be in Hollywood.
“Faust”
Literal
Figurative
Michael Vick
• Sold out morality
• Paid the price
• Redeemed or Doomed?
Your Turn 
Step 1
• Create your own example of the Faust
legend. You may:
– Complete art work
• Not just a stick figure on a piece of notebook paper
ART work
– Collect news articles
• Organize into a poster or PowerPoint
– Create a poem or song lyrics
• Have a rough draft and a final copy
– Write a contemporary short story
Your Turn 
Step 2 Present
Create a presentation outline to present Monday
•
Introduce yourself (be unique; grab attention;
don’t bore us to death)
•
Introduce your project
–
–
–
•
Project you chose
Why you chose that one (and because it took less
time is not a good thing to say)
What your inspiration was
Explain your project in detail (put details in
logical order
»
•
Ask if anyone has questions (Wait and then answer)
Thank your audience (be unique)
Questions?
Good Luck! You’ll do great!