The Importance Of Pride In Oedipus The King

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.

By analyzing character motivations, choices, and actions in To Kill a Mockingbird, “The Scarlet Ibis,” and “I, Too,” it is clear that pride can drive characters to make life-changing decisions with long term consequences. In definition pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct 1. There are different types of pride superiority, arrogance and dignity 2. These are the main types of pride that you see the most in people.

Pride can be a good thing at times, but never have to much of it. It could get in the way of many things. Which is what happens in Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, when Brother's pride gets in the way of excepting his little brother Doodle. Doodle was born premature and can't do the things that Brother can do. Brother doesn't like the fact that Doodle is so slow at doing things. He threatens him, makes him feel bad for the way he is, pushes him to limits that could really hurt Doodle. Have pride but not so much to where it starts effecting the people around you. Reason #1

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.

Examples of the common phrase “Pride comes before a fall” is shown in all types of literature. Characters have moments where they peak and become prideful, before hitting a stumbling block and ending up worse than when they start. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is a wise man, until his pride gets the better of him.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author, James Hurst, uses the words, “a wonderful, terrible thing” to describe pride. The narrator learns that while pride motivates people to move past their limitations to do fascinating things, pride can also lead them to do horrible actions, or worse. Pride is a positive emotion that humans feel when they achieve a goal or accomplish a difficult task, or in other words, pride represents one’s dignity.

“I did not realize then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” The narrator of the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, showed very clearly that there are 2 different sides to pride.” The author s“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 is a quote from John C. Maxwell about good and bad pride. This topic of good and bad pride comes from the book “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. This book explains how having too much pride in one’s self can create a negative product, or a positive product, as shown by the character Doodle and his brother. This is a story that shows how two younger brothers both have a heap of pride in themselves and each other and eventually learn how it can affect a person. The author of “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, proclaims that “Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing” to own. He shows the reader this through the two main characters, Doodle and his

Pride demonstrates the idea that one can find happiness within their own achievement, allowing them to build up their personal ego before building up their trust in others. The books examined this year all display characters who embody excess pride, that the pride either sets them apart in society or pushes them to start separating society by themself. With evidence from The Great Gatsby, The Crucible, and The Grapes of Wrath it can be proven that pride can lead to separation within a society.

Pride is a dangerous trait to have for it can point toward the wrong path of life. To have pride in moderation is perfectly fine, but if pride engulfs one's being, then it can harmful. When one takes pride on a project that they worked hard on and earned a good grade, then the pride is controlled. However, /if that pride grows, it makes one arrogant to others and their opinions. Such as Creon’s pride did; throughout the play he ignored other people’s thoughts and opinions because he believed that he was always right.

Pride— the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired by others. Having pride however, does not always make a person seem admirable or desired. Within The Crucible, there are numerous accounts of pride underlined in the plays theme, as well as in the characters traits. John Proctors pride has a significant importance in his character development, as well as the theme of the overall play. Proctors change in behavior from the beginning of the play up until the end was clearly influenced from his pride For example, Proctors decision to tear up the document he signed confessing himself to witchcraft was a groundbreaking achievement in his character development.

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

Pride, observed Mary, . . . is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or another, real or imaginary.

Pride usually carries negative connotations. It is an arrogant, malicious trait which can lead to a person's ruin. Pride, however, can also be a source of positive motivation. It can encourage its host to perform great feats and thus obtain honor. This duality possessed by pride can be examined in two famous Medieval poems, The Song of Roland and Beowulf.

Oedipus the King is perhaps one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. It is a tragic play which focuses on the discovery by Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment.

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,