The infamous scene in Homer’s Odyssey in which Odysseus proudly boasts his name to the Cyclops is a didactic moment, preaching about the dangers of pride. At times, pride can become an impetus toward positivity, but in many cases, such as Odysseus’, an exorbitant amount can have the opposite effect. This trait is explored in numerous works of literature, including Lord of the Flies, “Harrison Bergeron”, and Anthem. It manifests itself in the leaders of these stories in distinctly different ways, yet in each character, his pride is a defining factor in the outcome of his life. Thus, individuals who are intrinsically inclined to be leaders lack the humility to show respect for those superior and inferior to them on the social hierarchy, as they hold a fixed belief that the ultimate beings worthy of reverence are themselves.
In Lord of the Flies, Jack struggles to surrender to the orders of Ralph, the elected chief, and ridicules the other boys who do not possess his natural prowess for commanding the group. For example, when Ralph reprimands the hunters for not tending to the signal fire and ignoring their responsibilities, Jack angrily replies, “‘and you shut up! Who are you anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing’” (Golding 123). Jack does not understand why Ralph was chosen over himself. Having always maintained the top position of the choirboys, he cannot accept ceding power to Ralph. Jack rationalizes his superiority over Ralph as being the boy who possesses singing and hunting abilities and a previous leadership role, therefore the rightful chief. Because Jack is obsessed with the thought that he deserves to rule, it never occurs to him that Ralph’s orders are logical, simple, and civ...
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...self, and he regards his individuality as the single lord he must venerate. This conviction that he is the one true owner of his soul shows how highly he holds himself; the respect and protectiveness he fosters for his own being is far above that of all other men.
People with a natural instinct toward leadership value themselves over all others regardless of social position. Their pride is a pair of glasses with the wrong prescription; their view on equality becomes skewed and blurred. Nevertheless, this same pride can be the one instrumental factor that leads humanity out of a collective darkness, as possessing an ego is essential to being an individual. As observed in the three works of literature, pride is a universal theme interwoven across a multitude of diverse characters. What each of these characters do with this double edged trait, however, defines them.
What are the key points you will want to emphasize in your online profile for Character 1 (3-4 sentences)?
In “Lord of the Flies” Ralph has the goal of getting himself and the rest of the tribe off the island. His plan to execute it is by making a signal fire that a passing ship or boat will see to rescue them. Ralph realizes that maintaining order within their tribe is crucial to their survival and chance of being saved. As chief of their group, he assigns Jack the leader of the hunters. He then puts them in charge of keeping the signal fire lit. During this process, Jack and his boys get distracted from keeping it lit as they attempt to kill a pig. After a couple of hunts, Jack and his boys finally kill a pig and return in cheers. As they get back, Ralph gets mad at Jack saying “You and your blood Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home” (70). Ralph is angry with Jack because he realizes as leader that he has to make sure everyone understands their main goal, and are able to focus on that by blocking out distractions. These actions that Ralph show display why he is successful as a leader and why they accomplish the goal of getting
In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus must face many obstacles on his journey. He is only able to conquer them because of his wonderful qualities. He meets, a Cyclopes, Sirens, a six-headed monster, a regurgitating whirlpool, and a group of greedy, lovesick men. Some Odysseus's more important qualities are, determination, cunning, and protecting.
Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it.
When telling a story, it is necessary for there to be a main character which is usually a hero. They try to find themselves or fulfill a task in order to be true to who they are. While they are trying to find who they are or fulfill a task to stay true they conquer obstacles that are standing in the way for them to succeed. Some heroes succeed some fail. Odysseus from the Odyssey is a good example of a hero who fulfills his tasks in order to be true to who he is by having a quest or a mission to get back home after the Trojan war to his dear wife and family. He has obstacles trying to return and reclaim his home, Ithaca. The obstacles are, being held hostage by a Cyclops, Poseidon making the ocean difficult for Odysseus and his men, being held hostage by two goddesses, and when he arrives home he is faced with the suitors who try to take Penelope as their wife and taking everything from their home.
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.
“Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given,” (1.32-34) is a simple quote reminding us the entities in charge of all characters in the poem The Odyssey – the gods. Hubris, or excessive human pride, is most detested by the gods and likewise is most punishable by them. The Odyssey is a story about Odysseus and Telemachus, two heroes who throughout their adventures meet new people and face death many times. Telemachus goes to find his father after he learns from Athena that he is still alive. The two meet, and Odysseus attempts to go back to Ithaca after he was lost at sea, and on his way there becomes one of the most heroic characters in literature as we know it. Like all heroic characters, Odysseus began to display hubris as he learned how true of a hero he was. James Wyatt Cook, a historian and an expert on The Odyssey, wrote about how hubris can affect the characters that display it. He says, “Because Homer’s Odyssey is essentially comic, that episode [opened wind bag destroys ship] is only one of a series of setbacks Odysseus experiences before reaching his home in Ithaca and recovering his former kingdom and his family. Such, however, is not the case for those who display hubris with tragic outcomes.” (Cook 1) Initially, Odysseus learns about Aias who died as a cause of the excessive pride he portrays. Proteus warns Odysseus when he says, “…and Aias would have escaped doom, though Athena hated him, had he not gone widely mad and tossed outa word of defiance; for he said that in despite of the gods he escaped the great gulf of the sea, and Poseidon heard him…...
The Character Odysseus in Odyssey "Odyssey" is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus. Odysseus was one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscles. Indeed he is a man with an inquiring mind, and he is also a man with outstanding prowess and bravery" (123helpme.com/assets/3603.html). "We also must not forget that he is a top-notch athlete which only adds more to this seemingly insuperable character.
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.
vanity, pride, and self - knowledge intervenes in the development of the virtue of the characters,
In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are a lot of traits displayed that are considered important in ancient Greek culture. These are shown by many different characters, but mostly by Odysseus (he is, after all, the main character in the epic poem). Odysseus is the epitome of a Greek ruler: he has a lot of admirable traits. His only fault is his hubris, but that is overcome and taken care of. Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus displays wisdom combined with strong loyalty and inspiring leadership through the evident trust of his men and the ability to conquer any challenges that he may face along his journey back to Ithaka.
When it comes to pride, when do we know that we have too much? A perfect example of having too much pride lies in the Greek tragedy, Antigone. In my opinion, it is the perfect example because the main character, Creon, is dealing with all the things that are happening because of Antigone’s decision to go against his law and many people are telling him that he is wrong, but he is too confident in his own choice that nothing bad will happen.
Homer’s The Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its primary character, Odysseus, back to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges in his journey home, from encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his household in Ithaca is being threatened by suitors of his wife, Penelope, all wanting to inherit Odysseus’ possessions in the belief that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Three good characteristics of Odysseus are—cleverness, bravery and strength—here are some supporting instances from the epic that demonstrates Odysseus possession of such characteristics.
Homer’s literature served as a moral messenger to the people of ancient Greece. The Odyssey by Homer demonstrates the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, and his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus was a great, wise, noble, and well respected war hero to his people. Odysseus had one tragic flaw that was demonstrated by his actions throughout the book. The author Homer continued to strip Odysseus of his arrogance throughout the story, by throwing challenges his way, making him pay for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus journey also to reach his home a more humble man. Reading Odysseus’ journey also served as a way to look at morals. The
Selfishness and conceit are negative, unhealthy attributes with obvious detriments on society. Notoriously conceited leaders tend to fail to consider the needs of their people and will sacrifice the well-being of their people and country for glory and increased power. Similarly, in tragedies, characters tend to be brought down by their tragic flaw, or hamartia; this hamartia is often pride or an overinflated ego. The harms of too much love of oneself have been thoroughly discussed