Dr. Faustus vs. Roy Hobbs

The juxtaposition of Dr. Faustus and Roy Hobbs shows similarities and differences in their characteristics. Dr. Faustus, from the novel Dr. Faustus, and Roy Hobbs, from the movie The Natural, both have divine powers that their cultures see as heroic. Both Faustus and Hobbs yearn to be the best there ever was in their field of excellence; For Hobbs it’s baseball and for Faustus it’s learning. With all the similarities come the differences. Though Faustus and Hobbs want to the best, Faustus uses questionable means to achieve his goal, whereas Hobbs does not. In their cultures, Faustus and Hobbs are considered heroes, but both very different types of heroes. Though Faustus and Hobbs are different types of heroes they share several similar characteristics. Faustus and Hobbs acquire heroic and divine attributes that cause them to seek to be the best. Dr. Faustus has an incredible capability to obtain knowledge and learn everything. Due to this characteristic, he turned to the Dark Arts because he had studied every other subject. Roy Hobbs’ divine attribute is his ability to play baseball extraordinarily. Both Faustus and Hobbs have helpers in their journey. Faustus’ helper is Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles does everything Faustus asks of him for twenty-four years. He helped Faustus achieve power and luxury. Roy Hobbs’ helper was his baseball bat, Wonderboy. Hobbs made Wonderboy when he was young and the bat gave him the power to become the best player in the baseball league. As Dr. Faustus’ and Roy Hobbs’ success grew, both were tempted by women. Faustus’ temptress was Helen of Troy and Hobbs’ temptress was Memo Paris. The temptresses created obstacles for the characters. The women temporarily stopped them from achieving their goals. Both Faustus and Hobbs main concern was to become the best, but both chose different paths to achieve their goal. The means used to achieve both Faustus and Hobbs goals were drastically different. Faustus chose