Writing Assignment 4: Working with Secondary Sources

Goethe’s Faust I

Winter 2013

Introduction

A secondary source is a work of scholarly analysis that examines and offers arguments and interpretations about a primary source such as Goethe’s Faust I. Working with secondary sources not only provides you with information and ideas to spur your thinking, it also allows you to position your argument in relation to others who are thinking about similar questions. By responding to what has already been written about the problem you are investigating, your writing will begin to gain significance for a wider audience. In this assignment you will consult secondary sources in order to help you to make your argument.

 The secondary literature concerning Faust is divided on whether Faust is a positive or negative figure in Goethe’s Faust I. Astrida Orle Tantillo challenges critics who posit Faust as a negative character. She indicates that Goethe has a positive attitude toward Faust’s striving because of its similarity to an organic model of growth. By contrast, Alberto Destro presents a less positive view of Faust in arguing that he follows his own “immoral ‘morality’.” This question has been a frequent topic of discussion since the play’s creation because it determines our relation to the events of the drama.

Assignment

In this essay, you will respond either to Tantillo’s or to Destro’s claims in order to argue that Faust is either a positive or negative figure. The evidence for your arguments should come primarily from the scene, “Study,” up until Faust’s exit (lines 1530-1850). You must decide whether Faust’s words and actions indeed demonstrate an “immoral ‘morality’” or whether his focus on individual self-realization presents a positive vision of human development. Your essay should be roughly 5-6 pages and will count for 45% of your writing grade.

Tracking Down Secondary Sources

Working with secondary sources will require you to complete a variety of critical research steps. To assist you in locating and responding to the secondary literature on Faust I, the UCI Libraries have developed a Faust Library Research Assignment. When you have completed this task, you will have found and interpreted the secondary materials that you will need to write your paper. You may access the Faust Library Research Assignment at the following link:

http://libguides.lib.uci.edu/humcore

Working with Secondary Sources

When you have completed your Faust Library Research Task, you should develop your argument by returning to the primary text, Faust I. With Destro’s and Tantillo’s perspectives in mind, analyze Faust’s words and actions in the “Study” scene. You can consider some of the following questions: What kind of goals does Faust set for himself and how does he justify these goals? How does Faust’s relationship with Mephistopheles affect our judgment of Faust’s actions? How does Faust’s wager affect his relationship to Gretchen and the townspeople?

In answering these questions, you should think about how your analysis compares with Destro’s and Tantillo’s arguments. In working with these critics, your task is not simply to repeat secondary source arguments about Faust in place of your own. Rather, you should establish a dialogue with either Destro’s or Tantillo’s ideas by relating your own readings of Faust to their arguments. As a start, you will either disagree with the secondary source’s main argument or agree with it and build upon it. If you disagree, you will need to provide your reasons and evidence for doing so. If you agree, then you can build upon the secondary source’s argument, for instance, 1) by providing additional reasoning or evidence that supports the argument, 2) by pointing out limitations of the argument, 3) by demonstrating a new application of the argument, or 4) by drawing out consequences of the argument.

A successful essay will:

a) make a clear statement of whether Faust is a positive or negative figure and an argument that explains why that is the case.

b) include well-chosen examples and/or quotes from the play to support your arguments

c) write clear warrants that explain how your examples prove your claim

d) include a total of four secondary sources in your bibliography that relate to your topic (which is a part of your Library Research Task); and engage with either Destro’s or Tantillo’s essay on Faust in a way that makes clear your own reaction to the secondary source’s argument.