Essays on Hubris

There are many historical pieces of literature that continues to be read, studied and analyzed in order to understand the characters and events in, both, broader and focused, respects. Who are the heroes and who are the villains? What is the lesson to be learned? Is the ending happy and just or is it simply tragic. In the case of “Oedipus the King” the story has very taboo subject matter, dark foreshadowing and an entirely tragic ending. Oedipus’s choice to blind himself is not a selfish act and the story does not really have a just ending. It ...

According to Aristotle a tragic flaw is when the hero has a flaw in his/her judgment or personality that causes them to commit acts that will lead them to disaster (Froula). In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare the titular character of Hamlet has a number of tragic flaws. His biggest flaw is the fact that he thinks that he is cleverer than he actually is. Hamlet’s second tragic flaw is his indecisiveness and failure to act. Even though he has been told by the ghost of his dead father that "The serpent that did sting thy father's ...

It is believed by many scholars like Ellen Moers, who wrote Female Gothic: The Monster’s Mother that when Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly wrote Frankenstein, she wrote the story as a reflection of her own fears and issues with parenting. I also think that Shelley may have felt that her offspring were somehow against the laws of nature and that this is why most of them died at birth or in early infancy. Where Victor only had created life from the confines of death, she herself brought death from what should have been life. This of course was no fault ...

In Coriolanus, the titular character’s mother tells him “You are too absolute” (Shakespeare). Volumnia, in this case, is trying to convince her son to approach the common plebeians for their votes to the Senate. Coriolanus is a proud man and an excellent soldier, but he struggles throughout the text with problems associated with his pride and his unwillingness to engage in political maneuvering. His mother, who ostensibly wants to see her son elected and placed in power, tries her hardest to convince him that he should participate in the process of trying to woo the people (Shakespeare). By “ ...

Creation is defined as the act of bringing something into existence, and the creation of man itself is normally attributed to procreation or an act of some divine being. Humans have for a long time marveled over the act of creation and its many varying concepts, including the prospect of creating another in their own image. In Mary Shelley’s fictional exploration of this theme in her novel Frankenstein, the rise and fall of scientist Victor Frankenstein showcases both the wonder and the downfall of mankind in his endless quest for the creative power of the divine. Once Victor ...

Creation is defined as the act of bringing something into existence, and is normally attributed to procreation or an act of some divine being. Humans have for a long time marveled over the act of creation and its many varying concepts, not the least of which includes the prospect of creating another in their own image. Despite being fictional, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein showcases both the wonder and the downfall of creation. The fascination with creation leads only to revelation of the self. As illustrated by author Robert Horton the story of Frankenstein is a perfect example of how ...

When the film Titanic was released, it was released to an audience that was unsure about the potential success of the film. James Cameron, the director, had approached the film with such fastidiousness that caused the release of the film to be delayed significantly, and caused it to become one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that point (Maslin). There is no doubt that Titanic was a landmark piece for James Cameron, and Cameron’s ability and willingness to broach the hard subjects of death and class during the film made it even more powerful. While ...

Chapter 4

- The firms are pursuing cost leadership strategy and in this strategy advertising is essential. It is considered fixed cost because it is showing the people or shifting their focuses on the products with similar qualities as their competitors’ products but at a lesser price. On the other hand, product-differentiation strategy is based on advertising the unique qualities of the products and their reasonable costs.

- The actions the firms can take to ensure that economies of scale exist are 1- they make sure that the volume of production reach the optimal level where the average cost per unit ...

Medea is a play written by Euripides is an ancient Greek tragedy. It was first produced in 431BC and it is based upon the myth of Medea and Jason. Centered on the barbarian protagonist, Medea finds her position in two areas. One, the revenge she takes against Jason her husband. Jason is found to have betrayed Medea and their children for another woman. To make her revenge perfect, Medea is willing to sacrifice everything. Secondly, she finally finds her position in the Greek world. Medea is a woman of extreme emotion and extreme behavior. She sacrifices everything for the love of ...

Introduction

“Sailing the Wine Dark-Sea: why the Greeks Matter” is the fourth volume of exploration by the great author Thomas Cahill. The author uses his unfathomable skill in literature and historical experience to take his readers to another world of both entertainment and extreme coverage of historical knowledge. In this book, he tags a wide range of historical unassailable features of the Greek by clearly holding an in-depth narration of the journey covered through the landmarks of art and intense bloodshed that lay the Greek culture in a historical legacy in an estimated period of nearly three millennia ago.

It is ...

The epic poem Beowulf is one of the earliest long-form stories known to man, and it suitably deals with the themes of good versus evil in a very straightforward way. Heroes are virtuous, villains are villainous, and characters are less real people than they are forces of nature. The allure of good is even illustrated through the narrator's treatment of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes: "In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road had to yield to him and began to pay tribute. That was one good king" (pg. 1). At the same time, these ...

Abstract

Business environment is increasingly changing pushing firms to adapt strategies that seek to enhance not only their competiveness but also sustainability. One such strategy is the M&A that is becoming a crucial tool for growing in both local and international markets. In that respect, this literature review sought to identify the reasons for M&A, their advantages as well as disadvantages. To achieve the objective, the review used past studies and researches on the subject seeking various authors’ views on the reasons, benefits and disadvantages. In the review, it has been identified that M&As have various benefits for all participating firms. ...

When many people think of satire, they understand that it is a subversive approach to a certain social or political issue through the use of irony. Works like the Earl of Rochester’s “A Satire Against Reason and Mankind,” Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal or John Dryden’s MacFlecknoe all make fun of some perceived failing of its audience, whether it be the “Satire’s poking fun at rationalism and reason, Swift’s pointing out of the problems facing Ireland as a result of English ignorance, or Dryden’s ridiculing of his contemporaries’ inadequate literary criticism. However, to what end do ...

Sophocles was one of the most prescient and well-regarded playwrights of Greek drama, whose tragedies have established many literary and theatrical conventions that are still alive today. While Sophocles’ work is indicative of the culture in which it was created, it is also a trenchant critique of human nature as well. This comes across especially clearly in his Theban plays – Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus – in which he uses his stories and characters to reflect flaws and issues he sees with the human condition and its relationship with the gods. Exploring these critical aspects of Sophocles’ Theban ...

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex essentially bulges, pregnant with the themes of hubris and hamartia that the Greek playwright so frequently used. It is the play’s protagonist, King Oedipus, who is the unfortunate soul born unto a terrible prophecy that foretold that he would one day kill his very own father and marry his mother. In order to prevent such a horrendous nightmare from occurring, Oedipus’ father sent baby Oedipus to be murdered but he was instead given to the childless king and queen of Corinth to be raised as their own. Oedipus in later years hears rumors of the prophecy. In ...

Introduction

Myth, particularly in the Greek tradition, places a great significance on place and location – cities such as Thebes, Athens and Crete are given almost mythical importance of their own through their roles in the characters’ journeys. In the case of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Thebes is both the setting and the goal of the story – Oedipus’ loyalty to Thebes, a suffering city, provides a complex goal and metaphor for Oedipus’ own journey to the truth of his own existence and past with King Laius. Thebes is just as much of a character in Oedipus Rex as Oedipus himself or any other figure, solidifying place’ ...

Oedipus the King is one of the most eminent literary works in the history of literature. The work has stood the test of time, and has left an everlasting mark on the minds of the avid readers. The critics across the world have spoken in unison regarding the literary quintessence of the literary work. The character of the protagonist, Oedipus, is an immortalized literary character that embodies one of the most tragic fates in the history of literature. His characteristic traits set him apart, and the chronology of events in his life that shape him as an individual leaves a ...

The worlds of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey are often harsh, with mankind being essentially at the will of the gods and prone to failure. To that end, even the best among men in these works have their own flaws – Achilles and Odysseus respectively provide that sense of romantic antiheroism inherent to Homeric works. Whereas modern heroism values moral and ethical virtue as part of being a hero, the Homeric ideal of heroism is actually quite anti-heroic. Greek heroes do not have to be the most ethical or civilized; they just have to possess supreme bravery, strength, military ...

A critical analysis of the paintings of the Tower of Babel directly suggest the perspective of the both the translation and labor that refer to the utopian spirit of social critique as well as to the resistance to the authority. The art paintings appear to embody an expectation of a multiplicity of tongues as a result of the harsh judgment from the Supreme Being. The Tower of Babel may not be a realized vision. It can be understood in an angle where the Utopian ideal was to be discovered. The Utopian discourse was presented in a manner that allowed the 15th century society ...

Heroes in myth and literature are, in the Campbellian sense of the word, typically selfless, virtuous figures who sacrifice and go through many struggles in the name of the protection of others. In Greek mythology, however, this selflessness is somewhat subverted: one would be hard pressed to find many Greek heroes who did not have some sort of selfishness in their character. In the minds of the Greeks, true heroism came in achieving great, impressive deeds that elevated one’s own sense of reputation and ego; while there can be selfless, magnanimous motives behind these actions, the ultimate goal ...

11th book of the Odyssey and the Aeneid by Virgil

Katabasis can be defined as a descent of some type; like moving downhill, a military retreat, sinking of the sun and winds or a trip to the underground. There exist numerous related meanings in rhetoric, poetry and modern psychology. This essay seeks to compare two katabasis i.e. the eleventh book of the odyssey and Aeneid. In the two pieces, the heroes to the underworld are articulated exactly in the middle of the poems. They are extremely similar however the differences in the purposes as why the two are composed and the societies for which they have been created for means that ...

Introduction

The research paper is about Antigone, the play by Sophocles. The paper provides a complete overview of the play. Antigone’s love for her brother and obeying the commandments of God are reflected in the paper. The stubbornness and inhuman acts of King Creon are also clearly revealed. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the tragedies of Antigone and King Creon are followed by the story, and Creon is proved the real tragic hero of the story.

Background to the myth of Antigone

The circumstantial events that resulted in the tragedy of King Creon begin as Oedipus arrives at Thebes looking for his real parents. To Thebes has ...

"Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun [or son] of York".

Richard III is an important play in the Shakespeare canon since it depicts the dangers of hubris and nemesis by leaders who are crazed with power. My reading and interpretation of the play is focused on the American Presidency which will feature a particular President as Richard III who will do his utmost to usurp power and will use every single method in the book to get to his goal. It is an interpretation based on the utter ruthlessness of a dictator who brooks no qualms about destroying the social order of the country to achieve his own selfish gain. ...

‘History repeats itself” is a common phrase that has been used for years to mean that what happens in the past has a way of haunting the future. Individuals who do not remember history are most likely condemned to repeat it. The film clearly explains the fictional weapons and web of deceit constructed by President Bush and his allies to justify the invasion of Iraq. Secondly, the consequences suffered because of the war were thousands of civilian lives were lost and soldiers’ lives put on line because of a fraudulent case that the United States government was making against Iraq in 2002-2003. ...

As realists like Kenneth Waltz, Hans Morgenthau and George Kennan always insisted, the international system is dominated by great powers that act on their interests, For most of modern history, as Gordon A. Craig and Alexander L. George asserted, it has been a multi-polar system rather than one controlled by a single hegemon or superpower. Even the United Nations was created as a realist institution since it can raise no funds, create a peacekeeping force or take any other action in the international arena with the approval of the member states. Far from being a one-world government of a super-state, the five permanent members of ...

King Lear follows the story of the titular character Lear, an elderly king who wishes to give up his power, and attempts to divide his lands among his three daughters. However, a series of unfortunate and capricious events, brought on primarily by Lear's own vanity and anger, lead him to slowly descend into madness, pushing away his three daughters. The show turns into a bloodbath, with all three daughters and Lear dead at the end of it, with many deaths stemming from jealousy, capriciousness and futile competition among military leaders. The play, however, demonstrates Lear's journey as the end result of ...

Introduction:

Amy Tan’s book is intriguing and interesting as it offers us a new perspective on issues such as ethnicity and the assimilation of immigrants which is obviously not something to be taken lightly. Immigrants can come from various countries and in the texts discussed below one can observe what it is like for those who live in a foreign country and come to the US to find a land of opportunity. This is obviously not always the case but several times, immigration can be considered to have been a huge success although there have been times when this has been an abject ...

Pride is a very powerful theme in The Iliad - the first few lines mention the idea of pride, with the many injustices the gods inflict on men and each other due to petty quarrels. For example, Atreus' people are stricken with a plague because his son had insulted a priest of the son of Jove and Leto. In The Iliad, many of the characters suffer greatly as a result of their hubris, or pride. Many of the warriors and characters of the Iliad are very sure of themselves, and believe that their way is the best way. However, as the story progresses, ...

The societal idea of pride is a very mercurial and fascinating thing in modern culture. Pride, in and of itself, is an emotion one feels about themselves or anything they are affiliated with (Shariff & Tracy, 2009). In the context of individuals, pride comes as a result of interacting with other people, and is often indicative of people with higher social statuses or those who have received praise and fulfillment in their lives (Shariff & Tracy, 2009). Pride is "a complex emotion that is plainly expressed," and as such is an important visual method of interacting with others and informing our decision making (Tracy & ...

Discussion Post

Personally, my favorite story line is the troubled journey home, first undertaken by Gilgamesh but then made the most famous by Odysseus and, later, Aeneas. In more modern times, the Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which details the travails of Ulysses Everett McGill in the days of the Great Depression. The reason that this story line appeals to me is that while the main character is heroic, he is also flawed, which makes him more realistic. It is his own hubris that has landed him in this particular pickle, and he must learn to use his ...

Introduction:

This essay attempts to analyze the relationships of love, hubris and isolation in the novels American Born Chinese and No No Boy where we have contrasting tales and characters which have several different outcomes. The characters analyzed are those of Jim Wang in American Born Chinese and Ichiro Yamada in No No Boy who both have to grapple with different problems yet face the same sort of problems at the end of the day. Both novels are social commentaries which are important to the understanding and intrinsic reflection of the situation faced by Japanese Americans as well as Chinese ...

In literature, fame and suffering often go hand in hand. Hubris is the unseen hand, the subtle lever that sets in motion events that move the hero along the path to some cathartic moment. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, Gilgamesh and Odysseus are kings and great leaders of men, secure in their positions and supremely confident in their skill, strength and courage. In seeking to place themselves on par with the gods, Odysseus and Gilgamesh exhibit arrogance and a lack of reverence for those beings who can determine the course of their destinies. Through suffering and loss, ...

Abstract

In “To Build a Fire,” the man’s lack of imagination; his inability to reflect on and admit the reality of his situation; and to recognize his shortcomings represent mankind’s fatal hubris. Man stands apart from Nature, not understanding that he has a place in it – he does not hold sway. To deny Nature then is, in itself, an unnatural act.

An Unnatural Act: Man’s Fatal Capacity for Hubris

Jack London’s literary landscape is inhabited by characters pitted against the brutal forces of Nature, in which the aim is nothing more or less than survival itself. In this unforgiving world, man’s fundamental existence is stripped of ...