To begin, Beowulf’s tragic flaw, personal pride, caused him to fight solely for himself, not for others. When he challenged the dragon in his last battle towards the end of the epic poem, he believed only he deserves its impressive treasure. Confidently, he stood ready to confront the monster, utterly arrogant to those ready to help him. As Beowulf strutted into the beast’s lair he exclaimed:
No one else could do
What I mean to, here, no man but me
Could hope to defeat this monster. No one
Could try. And this dragon’s treasure, his gold
And everything hidden in that tower, will be mine
Or war will sweep me to a bitter death!”
Then Beowulf rose, still brave, still strong,
And with his shield at his side, and a mail shirt on his …show more content…
Furthermore, “no coward” strode along the rocky cliffs which the beast lived, thus only heros, such as Beowulf, travelled on such a diverse and frightening area. Consequently, when the monster demonstrated his true power, Beowulf shockingly lost after flaunting his nobility, thus Beowulf’s flaw in judgement caused his ultimate death, not fate. Likewise, in Jane Austen’s fictional novel, Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy possessed narcissistic qualities when he patronized Elizabeth, the way that Beowulf felt superior to everyone else due to his heroic acts; both of the characters vanity ultimately lead to their own tragedies, caused by their previous actions. By calling Elizabeth ugly in the beginning of the novel as well as debating his potential relationship with her due to her lack of wealth, Darcy portrayed his egotistical self. When Darcy proposed to Elizabeth, she clearly saw his superficial qualities which lead to her immediate rejection. Elizabeth witnessed Darcy’s insincerity during the proposal and felt as if “his sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always …show more content…
Oedipus’ conscience knew that he killed the king, yet, his hubris envoked him to not trust the Oracle. Therefore, his fate played no part in his downfall, since he failed to follow the prophecy completely. Teiresias attempted to convince him that he murdered the king, however, denial consumed Oedipus. Likewise, he possessed tremendous hubris, especially accentuated in a simple argument between him and Teiresias, during which, Oedipus vainly responds to Teiresias’ words, “Do you think you can talk like this and live to laugh at it hereafter? You are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes” (Shakespeare 5). Even after Teiresias reveals the truth, Oedipus wondered why Teiresias lied to him. Due to not having any concept of his actions and the prophecy, he knew that he murdered someone of royalty just not the king. In particular, confused Teiresias failed to comprehend Oedipus’ disapproval while Teiresias’ blindness to Oedipus’ claims caused Oedipus to question him. Awaiting his punishment for his wrongful actions, Oedipus begged him to confess the truth and to stop deceiving him. Additionally, in The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby possessed an immense ego by throwing lavish parties at his home to highlight his wealth and class. Both Jay’s and Oedipus’ personal hubris caused their downfall, not their destiny or their fate. Only the
No one else could do
What I mean to, here, no man but me
Could hope to defeat this monster. No one
Could try. And this dragon’s treasure, his gold
And everything hidden in that tower, will be mine
Or war will sweep me to a bitter death!”
Then Beowulf rose, still brave, still strong,
And with his shield at his side, and a mail shirt on his …show more content…
Furthermore, “no coward” strode along the rocky cliffs which the beast lived, thus only heros, such as Beowulf, travelled on such a diverse and frightening area. Consequently, when the monster demonstrated his true power, Beowulf shockingly lost after flaunting his nobility, thus Beowulf’s flaw in judgement caused his ultimate death, not fate. Likewise, in Jane Austen’s fictional novel, Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy possessed narcissistic qualities when he patronized Elizabeth, the way that Beowulf felt superior to everyone else due to his heroic acts; both of the characters vanity ultimately lead to their own tragedies, caused by their previous actions. By calling Elizabeth ugly in the beginning of the novel as well as debating his potential relationship with her due to her lack of wealth, Darcy portrayed his egotistical self. When Darcy proposed to Elizabeth, she clearly saw his superficial qualities which lead to her immediate rejection. Elizabeth witnessed Darcy’s insincerity during the proposal and felt as if “his sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always …show more content…
Oedipus’ conscience knew that he killed the king, yet, his hubris envoked him to not trust the Oracle. Therefore, his fate played no part in his downfall, since he failed to follow the prophecy completely. Teiresias attempted to convince him that he murdered the king, however, denial consumed Oedipus. Likewise, he possessed tremendous hubris, especially accentuated in a simple argument between him and Teiresias, during which, Oedipus vainly responds to Teiresias’ words, “Do you think you can talk like this and live to laugh at it hereafter? You are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes” (Shakespeare 5). Even after Teiresias reveals the truth, Oedipus wondered why Teiresias lied to him. Due to not having any concept of his actions and the prophecy, he knew that he murdered someone of royalty just not the king. In particular, confused Teiresias failed to comprehend Oedipus’ disapproval while Teiresias’ blindness to Oedipus’ claims caused Oedipus to question him. Awaiting his punishment for his wrongful actions, Oedipus begged him to confess the truth and to stop deceiving him. Additionally, in The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby possessed an immense ego by throwing lavish parties at his home to highlight his wealth and class. Both Jay’s and Oedipus’ personal hubris caused their downfall, not their destiny or their fate. Only the