I feel that Essential Question number thirteen of “Monsters
and Ourselves” could be expanded upon. The question asks, “Does everyone have a
“price” for their “soul”?” The answer to this question is yes, but the prices
differ per person. The prices could be money or immortality or pretty much
anything. In Dr. Faustus, Faustus is
willing to sell his soul in order to obtain knowledge. He finds that he is not
satisfied with the learning he has done on his own and wishes to receive
knowledge from other sources. However, since obtaining the extent of knowledge
that he desires is only possible through Lucifer, Faustus has to sell his soul.
It seems to be a pretty easy sell since Faustus really wanted to know
everything and be an expert in all subjects. But throughout the years, Faustus
does often regret turning over his life to Lucifer. When he becomes afraid of Hell,
he questions whether it was really worth it to sell his soul and considers
repenting. In The Picture of Dorian Gray,
Dorian Gray sells his soul for beauty. This is a fairly low price for his soul
and I think knowledge is much more reasonable for selling your soul. However, Dorian
sells his soul in order to stay young and beautiful forever. His corruption is
very great and the novel alludes to him being horrible. Dorian murders Basil,
his friend, which is awful. All of his corruption stems from his desire to
remain beautiful forever. Today, I think people mostly sell their souls for
money. There is a lot of corruption in the world and some people will do anything
to make money or be rich. For example, selling drugs, selling people, or
selling stolen items all qualify as having sold your soul in order to make
money. Many people seem to be willing to hand over their soul or morals for
fame or power as well. I like to believe that my “price” is higher. I feel that
many people are very cheap in giving up their morals or integrity these days. I
do not believe that money, power, or fame could possibly be more valuable than
my soul and definitely not valuable enough to hand my soul over the devil. I
believe my price is probably family or loved ones. But I would like to think
that I do not have a price at all.
