ABSTRACT
My father’s motto in life was “BE GOOD.” When he died, the family ordered a gravestone for him engraved with this motto. We wondered what people would think when they read this rather enigmatic message at a cemetery, and especially how they would interpret the term “good.” What does it mean to be good? What does it mean to be an ethical person? What does being good look like? And is there a difference between being a good person and acting as a good person? Many plays have dealt with these specifi c issues and offered audiences a variety of answers involving religion, ideology, and
ethical behavior. Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus is one of the more fantastic versions of this theme, presenting a scholar gone wrong. Marlowe’s Faustus is egotistical, concerned more about his own gain than aiding others. But Faustus has lingering doubts about his decision to sell his soul to the devil for self-gain. So the supernatural intervenes, sending a good angel and bad angel. Faustus asks them if it is too late to be good.
