Amadeus by Peter Shaffer : The Conflict Between God and Man

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Amadeus: The conflict between God and man
The conflict between man and God has been in existence for the longest time if history is anything to go by. This conflict is still ongoing to date, seeing as the man is always craving attention from his maker. The source of this conflict in most cases is moral dilemmas, strain, and pain, unanswered prayers, the struggle between good and evil, etc. Such problems have been known to pit man against God, a losing battle for the former. Antonio Salieri’s case is no different. Born in the early eighteenth century, he struggles with the realization that he is not as talented as he thought he was. For this reason, he ends up picking a grudge with God and vows to frustrate him by going dark and through malicious acts against others.
In most cases, the character starts as good, sworn to acts of benevolence, trying their best to make themselves, God and the people around them happy and pleased. However, it does not always work out, since a trigger factor always comes into play. The trigger factor causes so much pain and strife that they begin to doubt the very rationale behind their good deeds and their loyalty to a deity that does not care about them but instead mocks them. The case is so for Antonio Salieri. He is pious and religious, and he promises to do good deeds and follow in the ways of the Lord should he be granted the musical gift he so yearns for. He rises quickly to the position of the royal court composer and director of Italian opera, and he keeps his promise. He takes several students under his wing and continues with the noble ways he promised to abide by. However, the bone of contention arises when Mozart, a more talented yet younger artist comes into the picture. The antagonist begins to question what he thought were the good intentions of God. He feels betrayed that such a “…spiteful, sniggering, conceited, infantine Mozart” would be given a gift of such magnitude and awe and him only the ability to perceive such talents given to others (Shaffer 26). He contemplates all the years he devoted to doing good and begins to dabble with the thought of turning against God for mocking him by allowing Mozart such a talent while he had to settle for mediocrity. Eventually, the evil in his triumphs over the good, and he begins to treat people, including Mozart, using every available opportunity he finds to spit...