For my close reading, I have chosen the passage that begins at the start of Act II. This scene starts with Faustus and Mephistopheles sitting in Faustus' study. I find Act II, in it's entirety, to be the most interesting and most thought provoking part of the play. The Good Angel and Evil Angel appear before Faustus many times in this scene to give their individual spiels about repenting. Faustus says that he will not repent. This is a major turning point in the play where Faustus must decide once and for all to sell or keep his soul. The Evil Angel tells Faustus that he is too far-gone and should sell his soul to the devil. Faustus reasons that this must be true and that he cannot repent; especially after all of the pleasures he has seen. His reasoning seems shallow and easily influenced by the Evil Angels words. The Good Angel tells Faustus that he can still repent and be absolved of all these sins. Faustus does not seem to understand the nature of Christian redemption, which is a very central theme of the play. The audience can very easily understand the idea of redemption. Only Faustus cannot seem to grasp the concept that redemption is meant for salvation and absolution. .
In this scene, Faustus makes a claim that God does not love him. "He loves thee not. " He makes this claim, seemingly in vain because he gives no effort to fight beyond the Evil Angel's logic' of gaining wealth instead over repentance. I believe Faustus is obviously stuck in a moral dilemma, but choosing the easy way out by blaming God for his indecision. By using God as a scapegoat, saying He does not care for him, Faustus can choose to sell his soul guilt free. Later in the scene Faustus' blood begins to congeal and he cannot make the pact without thinning the blood. He takes a moment to consider that his blood may be telling him to reconsider. Additionally, a Latin phrase appears on Faustus' arm telling him to fly away.
