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Hubris: Difference between revisions
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'''Hubris''' Exaggerated pride or self confidence."<ref name="Hubris">''Encyclopedia Britannica,research starters'',Ebscohost, viewed 13 April 2014</ref> This word has its origins from the Greek word ''hybris''. In modern times the word ''hubris'' is often used in a negative sense but that has not always been the case. In ancient Greece, especially during the classical period, hubris was an indictment against the accused person and was by definition an | |||
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''. | 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''. | ||