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Excessive pride. A concept introduced in Greece, Holman and Harmon state that it is the "overweening pride or insolence that results in the misfortune of the [[protagonist]] of a [[tragedy]]."<ref name=Holman">Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman.'' A Handbook to Literature''. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. p. 250</ref> Humans who suffer from ''hubris'', or ''hybris'', often believe that they can accomplish more than the universe itself will allow. Roger Fowler defines ''hubris'' as "a man's denial of his own mortality" (198). Indeed it seems that the only way for a person to obtain such pride is to lose all sense of fear for his own wellbeing. After all, if a person has no fear at all, then he may have a perfect pride in himself, and in some ways, may even believe that he is perfect. Baldick asserts that "''hubris'' is the Greek word for 'insolence' or 'affront'," often times making it "the pride that comes before the fall" (260). Even though an overpowering sense of pride is healthy for one's self esteem, others might consider such pride insolence, or a negative trait. Greek [[tragedy]] is replete with examples of moral lessons to be learned from hubris. It must be understood however that the term ''hybris'' of the ancient Greek classical period did not have the same usage and application as our modern term ''hubris''. <ref name="Hubris">''Encyclopedia Britannica, research starters'', Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014 </ref>''' Rainer Friedrich,''' in his article ''The Hybris Of Odysseus'', provides a [[narrative]] of ''hybris'' in the ancient Greek sense, using the tragic [[hero]] Odysseus as the model. Rainer insists that the "epic character" Odysseus exhibits hubris against [[Zeus]] when he suspects the God disapproves of his sacrifice.<ref name="Rainer"> ''Friedrich, Rainer. "The Hybris Of Odysseus." Journal Of Hellenic Studies''pg. 111.(1991): 16. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 16 Apr. 2014 </ref>
'''Hubris''' Exaggerated pride or self confidence.[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris].This word has its origins from the Greek word ''hybris''.<ref name="Hybris">''Encyclopedia Britannica, research starters'',Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014 </ref> In modern times the word ''hubris'' is often used in a negative sense but that has not always been the case.<ref name="Hubris" />In ancient Greece, especially during the classical period, hubris was an indictment against the accused person and was by definition a violent criminal act against another person with the purpose of shaming them.<ref name="Hubris" />.
 


The error of judgment "through which the fortunes of the [[hero]] of a [[tragedy]] are reversed."<ref name=Holman">p. 217</ref> "Aristotle attributes [[hamartia]] (a tragic flaw or shortcoming) to the tragic [[hero]]" (Barnett-Berman-Burto 112). This "tragic [[hero]] ought to be a man whose misfortune comes to him, not through vice or depravity, but by some error" (Cudden 301). Most tragedies end in the downfall of the [[hero]] due to his ''hubris''. In the most famous examples, the Greek tragedies, a man who is overly confident or ambitious offends the gods. Therefore, they torture him with unfortunate events that eventually lead to his demise.  According to Holman, ''hubris'' is what "leads the [[protagonist]] to break a moral law or ignore a divine warning with calamitous results" (226). For example, in Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', Macbeth takes matters into his own hands after the first of the witches' three prophecies comes true. With the strong urging of his wife, he breaks a moral law when he decides to murder King Duncan in his quest to attain the crown. Little does he know, he is starting the chain of events, revealing his transition from good to evil, that ultimately leads to his downfall. In the case of "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, the man, believed to be a chechaquo, ignores the advice of others, including the "old-timer at Sulfur Creek," and relies on himself to reach a Yukon camp following a less-traveled path in temperatures significantly below freezing.  At the story's end, the man dies as a result of his ignorance and his ''hubris''.
Greek [[tragedy]] is replete with examples of moral lessons to be learned from hubris. It must be understood however that the term ''hybris'' of the ancient Greek classical period did not have the same usage and application as our modern term ''hubris''. <ref name="Hubris">''Encyclopedia Britannica, research starters'', Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014 </ref>''' Rainer Friedrich''' in his article ''The Hybris Of Odysseus'', provides a [[narrative]] of ''hybris'' in the ancient Greek sense, using the tragic [[hero]] Odysseus as the model. Rainer insists that the "epic character" Odysseus exhibits hubris against [[Zeus]] when he suspects the God disapproves of his sacrifice.<ref name="Rainer"> ''Friedrich, Rainer. "The Hybris Of Odysseus." Journal Of Hellenic Studies''pg. 111.(1991): 16. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 16 Apr. 2014 </ref>


==Hubris in more Modern Times==
In more modern times one of the most often cited examples of hubris and its unforgiving consequences has been '''Napoleon''', and his ill fated attempted Russian conquest of 1812 in which he not only suffered a humiliating defeat, but lost his empire and entire army as well.<ref name="Kroll"> ''Kroll, Mark J., Leslie A. Toombs, and Peter Wright. "Napoleon's Tragic March Home From Moscow: Lessons In Hubris." Academy Of Management Executive'' 14.1 (2000): 117-128. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014</ref> In his work '' Napoleon's Tragic March From Moscow: Lessons In Hubris'', '''Mark J. Kroll''' draws on the example of Napoleon and correlates his Imperial hubris with business executives that make unwise, risky, decisions fueled by hubris which eventually lead to their own corporate demise along with the company.<ref name="Kroll" />.
==References==
==References==
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==Works Cited==
==works cited==
*Baldick, Chris. from ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms''. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 260 p. [http://lionreference.chadwyck.com/searchFulltext.do?id=R00792748&divLevel=0&queryId=../session/1139527324_19169&trailId=108B6A61A91&area=ref&forward=critref_ft]
*Barnett,Sylvan, Morton Berman, and William Burto. ''A Dictionairy of Literary, Dramatic, and Cinematic Terms''. 2nd ed. Little, Brown and Company(Inc.) 1971.
*Cuddon, J. A. ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms''. Revised ed. Penguin Books, 1979.
*Fowler,Roger ed.''A Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms''. Rouletage & Kegan Paul Ltd. 1973.
*Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman.'' A Handbook to Literature''. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
*Holman, C. Hugh. ''A Handbook to Literature''. Ed. Addison Hibbard and William F. Thrall. Revised ed. New York: The Odyssey Press, 1960.
 
 
==External Reading==
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris definition of hubris
*http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hubris definition of hubris

Revision as of 10:32, 18 April 2014

Hubris Exaggerated pride or self confidence.[1].This word has its origins from the Greek word hybris.[1] In modern times the word hubris is often used in a negative sense but that has not always been the case.[2]In ancient Greece, especially during the classical period, hubris was an indictment against the accused person and was by definition a violent criminal act against another person with the purpose of shaming them.[2].


Greek tragedy is replete with examples of moral lessons to be learned from hubris. It must be understood however that the term hybris of the ancient Greek classical period did not have the same usage and application as our modern term hubris. [2] Rainer Friedrich in his article The Hybris Of Odysseus, provides a narrative of hybris in the ancient Greek sense, using the tragic hero Odysseus as the model. Rainer insists that the "epic character" Odysseus exhibits hubris against Zeus when he suspects the God disapproves of his sacrifice.[3]

Hubris in more Modern Times

In more modern times one of the most often cited examples of hubris and its unforgiving consequences has been Napoleon, and his ill fated attempted Russian conquest of 1812 in which he not only suffered a humiliating defeat, but lost his empire and entire army as well.[4] In his work Napoleon's Tragic March From Moscow: Lessons In Hubris, Mark J. Kroll draws on the example of Napoleon and correlates his Imperial hubris with business executives that make unwise, risky, decisions fueled by hubris which eventually lead to their own corporate demise along with the company.[4].

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica, research starters,Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Encyclopedia Britannica, research starters, Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014
  3. ↑ Friedrich, Rainer. "The Hybris Of Odysseus." Journal Of Hellenic Studiespg. 111.(1991): 16. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 16 Apr. 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kroll, Mark J., Leslie A. Toombs, and Peter Wright. "Napoleon's Tragic March Home From Moscow: Lessons In Hubris." Academy Of Management Executive 14.1 (2000): 117-128. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014

works cited

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