The German legend, Das Wagnerbuch, begins with a scholar named Faust who reaches severe boredom due to his frustrations at the limit of knowledge and power of which he is capable of possessing. Mephistopheles, a demon, offers Faust magic to achieve previously unattainable pleasures for twenty-four years and when time is up, Faust will lose his soul. Faust agrees and carries out unscrupulous acts such as seducing the innocent Gretchen and manipulating the entire world. In the end, Faust is corrupt beyond forgiveness and is eternally damned. This folk tale is found in many other artistic works with the same message that to gain power requires a “deal with the devil” which only results in the destruction of lives and ethics. This concept can be discovered through history and literary works including Antigone by Sophocles, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The painful repercussions of immoral decisions made by power-hungry men, Creon, Macbeth, and Okwonko, reveal the harsh fate that awaits all who pursue power. Creon's once adamant decision to cruelly punish Antigone turns into a realization too late to stop the wheels of tragedy. rolling due to his stubborn authoritarian rule. Antigone's determination to bury her brother is discovered by Creon who banishes her to a tomb. A prophet shortly afterwards tells Creon: “You have plunged a son of light into darkness; buried the living with the dead; the dead… Do not be surprised that heaven – yea, and hell – have released the Furies to await you, ready with the punishments you have devised for others” (Sophocles 239). The reason Creon is struck with this terrifying foresight is his determination to maintain control. His desire to solidify his sense of justice through m...... middle of paper ......d lives in the minds of many. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a famous interpretation of the story Faust in which he is saved by Mephistopheles thanks to Gretchen's forgiveness and Faust's commitment which becomes positive in the eyes of God. Although the devastation due to the poison of power is inevitable, there is no there is no reason why reconstruction is impossible. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Square, New York. Print.Sophocles and Paul Roche. Sophocles' Oedipus Comedies. New York: Mentor, 1991. Print."Maximilien Robespierre." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011. Fredriksen, John C. “Adolf Hitler.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. December 20, 2011."Soviet coup." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 20 December. 2011.