Both plays, regardless of their context, are simply about man's need to control intrinsically selfish, greedy and lustful instincts . They are not political satires. It is clear that both Pebble and Marlowe are concerned with man's inherent selfish, greedy, and lustful flaws, to portray the overall Marxist critical message that perhaps man is too flawed to deal with excess power. However, it seems that plays are multifaceted and aren't just about one thing. So they're both political satires as comedy puzzles? The Pope's "sevenfold power from heaven" and capitalism in Enron, but alternatively, due to their different socio-economic contexts, Enron is more of an apolitical satire than Doctor Faustus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There is no doubt that both playwrights portray their protagonists as flawed and governed by the seven deadly sins of selfishness, greed, and lust. Skilling's authoritative tone reinforces this idea in his statement. It doesn't matter how you win as long as you win. The repetition of the monosyllabic lexicon "win" creates emphasis by showing that this is Skilling's sole purpose regardless of its effects of making "people die." This conveys how his personal arrogance or greed creates an inherent selfishness. This is reflected in Marlowe's characterization of Faustus. Faustus' brain gets tired of becoming a demigod. The active verb "tires" shows Faustus's concern for this prison to match the power of God. This would have been partially shocking to a contemporary audience for whom God's role and power were indisputable. Therefore, Faust's attempts to despair of God and to usurp him would have aggravated the presence of his Greed. Structurally these sinful characteristics are further entrenched. From the beginning Enron Skilling's selfishness is conveyed as he exclaims that his company is "based on Darwinian principles" and his anguished monosyllabic statement that "money and sex motivate people" suggests that our lust and greed they are intrinsic. However, what strengthens the case that these sins are inherent is that in the final epilogue Skilling twists the standard Corinthian biblical quote to state that "the greatest of all is... money." It is structurally interesting and painful that Skilling's mindset has not changed regarding money despite the fact that "California electricity [has been] deregulated" as a result of his actions. Therefore, contextual knowledge of the far-reaching effects of Enron's collapse that would have resonated with contemporary audiences reinforces the idea that Prebble is concerned with man's inherent greed. For Marxist criticism would then infer that the moral message is that man is too imperfect to handle power. This moral message is compounded in Dr Faustus which would have contextually acted as a warning to the audience, as the 17th century was a time of emerging individualism. , where questions of “who made the world” were rampant. However, this Marxist warning is issued through the archetypal characterization of Faustus which mirrors Skilling's concern with the "selfish gene", in the line "I am wanton and lascivious". The combination of the first person pronoun, which shows his selfishness, combined with the adjective "lewd" and "lascivious" which connote lust, suggests that Faustus is not equipped with the instincts necessary to wield power equal to that of "a divinity"...