Argument Essay Scarlet “There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. “Good pride” represents our dignity and self respect.”Bad pride” is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance” This quote was written by John C. Maxwell, an internationally recognized speaker and author that has sold 18 million books. Putting it another way, Maxwell is saying, pride can be both good and bad depending on the individual. Pride can drive us to greatness or damn us into humiliation and shame. Most instances of pride are negative and take on the less desired path of arrogance, superiority and greed. Pride is an unattractive quality to possess and leads to destruction of relationships, causes arrogance and can lead to someone …show more content…
Pride can motivate a person to reach personal goals. For example, in the short story The Scarlet Ibis, the Narrator said, “They didn't know I did it for myself… and that Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother”(173). They Narrator pushed and pushed Doodle, not stopping until he got the results he wanted: Doodle walking. Another way that pride can be an attractive quality is the way pride can drive a person to help others. For instance in the short story the Narrator said, “finally one day after many weeks of practicing he stood alone for a few seconds, I grabbed him in my arms and hugged him, our laughter peeling through the swamp like a ringing bell”(176). The narrator had gone out of his way to help Doodle to be able to walk alone. He spent a lot of time and energy helping doodle to walk and eventually doodle could run, swim and a variety of other things no one thought …show more content…
For example, pride can cause a person to become arrogant, and overestimate themselves and others. For instance, in the short story the narrator said, “I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldnt let me” (173). The Narrator was clearly proud of himself and his brother, but when Doodle couldn’t go any further, the Narrator believes he had failed and ran away, leaving Doodle to push himself too far and for his heart to give out. Another example of how pride is an unattractive quality, is the way pride can cause the destruction of relationships between friends and family. For example, in the short story the Narrator said, “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter and the streak of cruelty within me was awakened. I ran as fast as i could leaving him (Doodle) far behind”(176). The Narrator of the story knew he should have already admitted defeat, but, his pride wouldn't let him so he left Doodle begging and pleading for him to come back. Yet another example of pride being an unattractive quality is, if an individual has too much pride, it can lead them to hurt others. C. S. Lewis said,” pride gets no pleasure in having something, only out of having more than the next man”. The Narrator believed he was better than Doodle so he pushed Doodle, believing his own feelings and thoughts to be superior to Doodle’s. Therefore, pride is an unattractive quality, pride causes bonds to break and
James says,” I did not know that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. Through The Scarlet Ibis, the brother stresses the two versions of pride. Pride pushes us to overcome goals that we have set for ourselves, but can also be very destructive when we put together other pieces of the theme puzzle even though the narrator uses his pride to push Doodle so much to his early death. Later on the narrator says,” I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn't let me.” This is a bad moment for the narrator/brother.
One way the theme, it’s not good to let pride influence decisions and actions, is portrayed, is through flashbacks. Doodle got sick after the brother worked him so hard. “I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldn’t let me.” The older brother thought. -Hurst 4. In this flashback, the brother knew that he was probably making a mistake at the time, but he chose to push Doodle anyway. He let his
Pride carries two branches, life and death. In the short story, "The Scarlet Ibis", by James Hurst, the reader gets a front row seat as Brother, the narrator, learns the dangers of pride the hard way. Doodle quickly became Brother's source of pride from the minute Brother realized Doodle had a shot at being normal. Faced with the fear of being tantalized for having an invalid brother, Brother doggedly pushed Doodle far from his capacity going as far as to abandoning him. In the same way the scarlet ibis was pushed by the need to survive to continue to fight for its goal.
Pride is a feeling or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated. The older brother in James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis” tries to teach his younger brother Doodle, who has a weak heart and cannot do much of what other children his age can do, to be “normal” and later regrets it. Hurst uses flashback, symbolism and foreshadowing to establish the theme; Pride can cause us to do terrible things to the people we love.
Pride is defined as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction form ones own achievements. Pride has plagued individuals for centuries whether it is Napoleon trying to invade Russia at Waterloo or Hitler refusing to admit defeat in World War 2. Pride is the downfall of the normal man as well as the downfall of great leaders of history. One example of pride being the downfall of an individual was the case of DC Stephenson in the 1920’s. DC Stephenson was charged with a murder he thought that he could get away with. What made him think that he could get away with it and how did it affect society of the 1920’s?
A father smiling down at his son; a teacher learning from his pupil; a soldier gazing up to his country’s flag. Or a woman masking her face with makeup; a man boasting endlessly of a talent; a child mocking another’s impediment. All textbook illustrations of pride. Nevertheless, the first trio is of outward pride—pride not of one’s own accomplishment, but the achievements of something or someone else. Moreover, the second trio consists of an inner pride—a vain, arrogant, conceited, egotistic, narcissistic feeling. Another crucial aspect of different prides is Jane Austen’s Pride vs. Vanity. She says, “A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” Although “pride goeth before the fall”, pride, being outward or being competent to ourselves, is a healthy feeling unless provoked into vanity and narcissism.
Another example of pride would be with John Proctor. John Proctor was your everyday man. He was a farmer, he claimed to be Godly though he was said to never attend church. Not attending church then was very frowned upon and even considered a horrible sin. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams. Abigail did this to get revenge because Elizabeth fired her. Elizabeth did this because Abigail had an affair with John. He would not confess to being associated with the Devil because it was not true and he did not want shame brought to his name. Though his wife talked him into confessing, he would not sign his name to the paper. Not only did he not sign his name; he also ripped up the papers. This shows a great deal of pride as well, being that he would not confess because of the way society would look at him thinking that he was associated with the Devil.
Letting pride take command can cause more harm than good, and have unexpected consequences. It starts by giving him a feeling of satisfaction that he had done what most had deemed impossible. He says, “They did not know that I did it for myself… that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (215), showing he does not care about what it means for his brother, only that he is the reason Doodle walks. Doodle is content being able to walk finally, but his brother wants more. He believes in his own, “infallibility” (215), and does not care about his brother’s health condition.
What is pride? The Oxford Dictionary says that pride is, “A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.” Pride can consume people and change them for the worst. Pride leads to destruction when used against others. Being prideful is a good characteristic to have, but there comes a point when being ¨prideful¨ turns into being shameful for someone else.
Any great accomplishment can make someone feel proud about their work. It makes one feel good; it raises a person's spirits. "No question, pride has its good points." (The Toronto Star, Nov 1999) Then again, there are also the bad points of pride one must consider, before being proud. Pride can deceive a person into being ambitious, and make them strive for something that is not rightfully theirs. Both Macbeth and Willy encountered this problem. Pride can also cause a bad relationship with the people one loves most. For Macbeth and Willy, their relationships with their families were burdened as a consequence of this pride. Pride can lead to much worse things; it can put a person in a
When we take pride in someone or something, then we take pride in ourselves. Some people abuse their pride. Take Dance Moms for an example. Abby Lee is the owner and founder of Dance Moms. She works the girls hard and takes pride in her work.
Pride generally means the pleasure or a feeling of deep satisfaction that we get because of our achievements or our skills or some kind of rare quality that we possess. Often times, having pride is considered unhealthy for an individual as it is believed that having pride can lead to internal blindness and finally downfall. This is evitable from “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, by William Shakespeare. Although, we can’t neglect a fact that everything has two sides, a bad one and a good one, just like a two sided coin.
Mexican Americans (Spanish: mexico-americanos or estadounidenses de origen mexicano) are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. As of July 2013, Mexican Americans made up 10.9% of the United States' population, as 34.6 million U.S. residents identified as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry.[1] As of July 2013, Mexican Americans comprised 64.1% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.[1]
(C.S. Lewis). Pride can take over the lives of people who have it within them. It is ok to feel proud but if the sense of pride is exaggerated it will lead to arrogance and therefore to problems. In the book Antigone, by Sophocles, pride is displayed as good and bad. Pride can have a big impact on people when it is taken for granted. Sophocles uses such powerful language and gives such great imagery with his words that it is apparent pride is greatly implied in his book. The conflicts and morals being taught to us in his book states that pride is something that
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,