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Emotions make people who they are, and pride is one of the most common and powerful human emotions that has the power to change a person completely for the better or worse. Many writers use pride to cause the rise and fall of heroes in epics such as Beowulf, Macbeth, and Everyman. Therefore pride can be characterized throughout British literature as one of the biggest conflicts heroes struggle with. Pride can be arguably one of the greatest flaws in human nature according to Christians and one of the most valued strengths of the pagan culture. Many Literary authors from both sides use pride as a weapon against the heroes in epics in order to give a significant conflict that could change the character and even kill him. Christians say that …show more content…
“the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride” and that pride will in fact be the downfall of us all (Tarrant, Pride and Humility). In fact, pride is seen as an insult and sin to God in the Christian culture, unlike how it is valued in the pagan culture. Pagan culture believes that pride is a significant advantage that people possess and that pride also works together with bravery and honor. Some pagan stories support how pride is a good emotion to have and that it is even required in certain circumstances in order to overcome obstacles. This is the complete opposite of the Christian beliefs in pride and yet both cultures share the fact that pride is an important feature in every hero. In fact, both cultures use pride in the majority of epics as a conflict. The famous pagan epic Beowulf uses pride all throughout the story and actually helps the character rise to fame and power due to his pride. The famous Christian epic Macbeth uses pride as the turning points of the story and each time pride is shown the character drifts farther away from humanity. It is well known that many epics written by pagan and Christian authors contain pride and that it is a significant feature in stories such as Macbeth, Beowulf, and even The Pardoner's Tale. In Geoffrey Chaucer's short story of The Pardoner’s Tale he gives examples of awful sins that common people have that people come across on a daily basis. Of the seven sins that were described the one that caused the downfall of the pardoner was his outgoing pride. As the Pardoner boasts about his work and how rich he is there comes a point when his pride overcomes his mind and he speaks without thinking. While the pardoner was telling tales of how despicable greed is and how easy it is to succumb to it, he is actually “preaching a sermon against the more fundamental sin of pride” (The Sin of Pride 1). However there is another story about pride that the pardoner tells in order to demonstrate how evil pride can be. In the story there were three men who had enough pride to go hunt down death and get revenge on their friend. In doing so, they were tricked by death and ended up killing each other for gold, and is the same pride that “Lumiansky and Sedgewick identify in the prologue” (The Sin of Pride 6). These two examples of the evilness in pride follow the guidelines of Christian culture and their beliefs in prides corruption. Chaucer followed the Christian opinion of pride by making it have sinful consequences on the characters of the pardoner and the three young men. It was also very similar when the pardoner was talking about how pride is the downfall of every man, just how Christian authors say that “it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began” (Tarrant, Pride and Humility). Overall Chaucer gave resemblances to pride throughout his short story of The Pardoner’s Tale that followed the Christian’s views on pride and the downfall of characters who have it. Shakespeare’s very famous short story of Macbeth is most likely one of the largest instances that pride causes the rise and fall of a great hero while changing the characters dramatically all throughout the story. The short story Macbeth follows the Christian beliefs in pride by making pride itself the main conflict that the hero must face. The first sign of pride that the reader will come across is when the witches meet Macbeth in the woods and tell him that he will become a great ruler of a fortress and then eventually the kingdom itself. Macbeth had a sense of Pride before this, but it was more of a warrior type of pride, however after the witches met with Macbeth he gained a sense of powerful pride and wanted to rule and have positions of power (Where Does Macbeth Show Pride?). Another instance that the epic hero Macbeth shows a large sense of pride is when he talks to the witches yet again about his future. The witches tell Macbeth that “none of woman born” can hurt him, which gives Macbeth “his immortal nature with pure hubris, which Aristotle considered a god-defying pride”(Where Does Macbeth Show Pride?). Macbeth’s sense of immortality and overpowering pride caused the character of Macbeth to change completely into a new character who was destined for doom. Since nobody could defeat Macbeth he had nothing to worry about until the next shift in pride when he began to fight Macduff. During their fight Macduff confesses that he was not of woman born and he was “untimely ripped from his mother’s womb”, which led Macbeth to lose his god like immortality pride and regain his older pride. Macbeth regained his pride in both being a man and a great warrior as he declares to Macduff that he will not surrender no matter what the cost and that he will “fight in the face of despair and takes away any chance of shame and surrender” (Where Does Macbeth Show Pride?). In this short story of Macbeth Shakespeare showed many alternate styles of pride and how every pride has its downfall in the end, meaning that the story of Macbeth also follows the Christian beliefs of pride being the ruin of epic heroes. The epic story of Beowulf is one of the most well known stories of the pagan culture that contains the great hero of Beowulf and shows how his pride leads to getting him power and wealth.
Pride is often recognised as a selfish and sinful act by Christian culture however Beowulf was written by the pagan culture authors which makes his pride an extraordinarily good thing. Beowulf seeks fame and glory with his pride but unlike the usual “selfish fame, the story often associates honorable fame with generosity” (Pride & Beowulf). Therefore Beowulf’s lust for glory with his pride is an honorable deed and is classified as more of a strong positive self-esteem passion that aids Beowulf on his quests. For example, when Beowulf went to slaughter the monster Grendel, he went because of his pride telling him that he had to be the biggest and baddest thing feared and not some monster. The fact that Beowulf went because of this matter gives his character a sense of dominance but not to the point of gaining immortality pride like Macbeth did. The way that Beowulf gained the proper pride was “his acceptance of such a possibility as being under the control of God shows that he is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of a person under a king that is not even his own” (Pride & Beowulf). Since Beowulf was claimed to have the proper pride instead of corrupting evil pride like Macbeth previewed, he proved to people that not all power dominant prides are classified as evil. The author of Beowulf even said “Beowulf has communicated that while improper pride may always be more dominant, and certainly easier to obtain, there is a place and function for proper pride” (Pride & Beowulf) Having the proper pride sets an example for all future pagan culture authors who want to use pride in stories by showing that sometimes, pride can lead an epic character into becoming a classical heroic picture such as Beowulf. Furthermore, they did not have to follow Christian culture beliefs and could
begin using pride as a type of attribute that helps epic heroes gain power and success in pagan stories such as the great Beowulf.
Pride is something that is essential in human life. Due to pride, we are able to see the joys
Even from an early age, Beowulf took every opportunity he could to show off his strength and fearlessness. When he first introduces himself to King Hrothgar, a Danish warrior by the name Unferth recognizes Beowulf and brings up a story from his youth. He explains to the entire hall how Beowulf had challenged another young man, named Brecca, to a swimming match and lost. Unferth says to him, ¨both of you daring and young and proud… risking your lives for no reason? All older and wiser heads warned you not to, but no one could check such pride¨ (Raffel 23). It is clear that in this story, that Beowulf´s pride consumes him and fuels his reckless actions. He goes on to tell Unferth about how he had stayed behind to fight 9 monsters, while Brecca
Pride frequently has terrible results. For example, as a result of Brothers pride, he left Doodle in the storm. Brother did this because he is angry that Doodle failed, and that his dream of having an “ordinary brother” is over. Doodle realizes that he failed his brother, and feels useless. In addition, after being left in the downpour, Doodle dies. At the point when Brother discovers Doodle dead, he thinks it’s his fault that Doodle dies because he pushed him too hard. After this happens, their family feels like they should’ve been more protective and love Doodle more. In conclusion, while pride can have devastating effects, it can also result in fulfillment.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than Kings and Governments.” The same can be said about the pride of the major characters in the epic story “The Saga of the Volsungs” (translated by Jesse L. Byock). Every prominent figure, from Sigi, to the last sons of Gudrun, suffers from his/her own pride. Pride causes a rippling effect that leads to jealousy, betrayal, and revenge throughout the epic. A hero’s own excessive pride leads to his own jealousy if challenged, or leads to the jealousy of others who do not have as much wealth and power.
In the anglo saxon society in which Beowulf took place, there was a warrior code which resulted in everyone trying to gain power over one another. Everyone lived by a heroic code that encouraged battles, feuds, and murders and rewarded the victor with treasure. By showing your insecurities or weaknesses in this age you will be taken advantage of. Beowulf understands the heroic code and uses his pride to get the upper hand on everyone else, Beowulf boasts himself as an invincible hero and goes in battle with out an ounce of fear. Beowulf’s justifies his excessive pride through his . Lastly, Beowulf’s pride made him a leader and led by example to defeat the dragon and ultimately sacrifice himself in the process. Beowulf’s desire for pride
What is the effect of having too much pride? Can different forms of pride such as familial and social have different consequences? Pride is usually considered to be a positive aspect in one’s life, but too much of it can have adverse results. By observing today’s society, as well as Shakespearean society, it is clear that too much pride in any form can inhibit the ability to accept differences in people and oneself.
Even though pride can be a good thing at times, it is hurtful, it is an emotion that can make or break someone.
The choices people make lead them to where they end up, which may be interpreted as the opposite of fate. However, when some people believe something is meant to be, they are determined not to stray from where they think they should end up, even if it means throwing away their principles and values in the process. Through Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s original character and values are destroyed because of the influence from the witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth's greed, and his own hidden ambition.
In summation, the magnificent work of Beowulf is full of a different pattern of speech than that of which is commonly used today. The reading of Beowulf must be done with the consciousness that the prideful speeches of the characters are truly factual but may include some hyperbole, the listings of accomplishment are integral to Beowulf, that the value these speeches have in the society of Beowulf is immense and, that today’s culture still uses many parts of this speech pattern. Overall the use of pride in Beowulf causes this to be a timeless classic uniquely its own.
Many people take much pride in numerous things some being: their job, family, political views, even as much as in their favorite sport. People make mistakes big and small, but it is how one deals with the situation and the mistake, that shows the morality in a person, and shows who he or she may be. “The only crime is pride,” Sophocles, is still held to be true; for instance, pride itself can cloud a persons’ mind and caused him or her to commit the crimes he or she did. Pride is thought to be a good thing but in many cases it is proven otherwise. Even though there is some truth in “the only crime is pride” the crimes/mistakes caused by pride are not forgivable, and “yielding” does not help at all; pride is not just to prove oneself right, but also not to look “weak” in the eyes of others.
Webster defines pride as a “proud behavior or treatment; insolence; arrogance; distain” (Webster’s, 1939). Being proud is acceptable, even good, to a certain extent. Having pride in the way you look, your handwriting, or something you take seriously. People take pride in the little things that are personal and loved individually. Being a little prideful can lead to confidence; however people often mistake arrogance (an exaggerated pride) for confidence. Prideful people seek to prove their superiority in every aspect of their lives Roth provides the reader with a vivid illustration of this exaggerated pride. The initiates in her novel are supplied with multiple opportunities to st...
A character is a person in a story that plays a particular role. Stories require characters so that it forms conflicts, tensions and resolutions. Characters also carry certain traits to make the story interesting and unique. Each character might have different attributes. Others could have similar and different qualities. Those who read many novels might notice that characters from various books are similar to each other to an extent, but are not completely the same. The old English poem, Beowulf, and Shakespeare's Macbeth contain characters with similar characteristics. Beowulf and Macbeth share similar traits, but do not have the same objective. Comparing and contrasting determine the similarities and differences of things. Comparing and contrasting is an excellent tool to determine what is right and wrong. When choosing the best car to drive, comparing and contrasting helps in the choice of the best vehicle. Macbeth and Beowulf demonstrate that a warrior's motivations matter for both soldiers and the people.
Beowulf was a highly skilled and great fighter, but because of his over-confidence in himself the fire-breathing dragon kills him. Beowulf’s excessive pride is evident from the very beginning of the epic. He is almost always boasting about himself to one person or the other. In the first part of the epic, when Beowulf first travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom to rid him of Grendel, he talks about the mighty deeds he has done in his life. “Hail, Hrothgar, health ever keep you! I am Hyglelac’s thane and kinsman; mighty deeds I have done in my youth…they saw themselves how I came from combat bloodied by enemies where I crushed down five, killed a tribe of giants, and on the waves at night slew water-beasts; no easy task, but I dove out trouble from Geatland-they asked for it, the enemies I killed.”(Beowulf p73) One can easily picture him standing proud and tall in front of a multitude of fellow warriors, proclaiming all the deeds he has accomplished in his lifetime.
Pride. Something that all of humanity struggles with and those who think they do not struggle with it, struggle the most. Both, C.S. Lewis and Flannery O’Connor describe their views of pride through their writings, Mere Christianity and Everything That Rises Must Converge. Both authors view pride as a negative quality, but they reveal this in different ways. I agree with both authors in their explanations and views of pride. Pride is a great sin, but I also believe that our acknowledgement of pride can produce the great virtue of humility.
In 1297AD, pride was described as “A consciousness or feeling of what is befitting or due to oneself or one's position, which prevents a person from doing what he considers to be beneath him or unworthy of him; esp. as a good quality, legitimate, ‘honest’, or ‘proper pride’, self-respect; also as a mistaken or misapplied feeling, ‘false pride’” (OED 4). This type of pride is personal pride and the image a person must maintain to keep it. A person cannot allow them self to act in such a way that would be demeaning. An example of this would be a drill sergeant getting down with his recruits and performing the same demeaning drills as they are. The sergeant’s years of hard work and service would not be taken seriously if he were to lower himself to the level of their recruits therefore lowering his sense of pride.