Hubris Leads to Failure
Bernard Malamud’s novel The Natural shows how arrogance can lead to the downfall of even the most talented people. As the novel progresses, the audience sees how characters that display arrogance eventually suffer for their conceited attitudes. Malamud relates his characters to Greek mythological characters by showing how arrogance ultimately causes one to suffer. In the novel, Malamud demonstrates how hubris overcomes Roy Hobbs, the Whammer, Judge Banner, and Gus Sands. As a result, these characters do not go unpunished, which shows Malamud’s message that displaying hubris, or extreme arrogance, does not improve self-image in the end. In other words, hubris defeats the characters instead of making them seem superior. …show more content…
On his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs, Hobbs demonstrates his hubris to Harriet, a girl that Hobbs falls in love with, by speaking egotistical. To make himself look good, Hobbs says, “‘You have to have the right stuff to play good ball and I have it. I bet some day I’ll break every record in the book for throwing and hitting’” (Malamud 30). This self-centered comment shows Harriet that Hobbs is conceited, but she goes along with it and pretends to be intrigued by his confidence. Later on in the conversation, Hobbs says that “‘sometimes when [he walks] down the street [he bets] people will say there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in the game’” (Malamud 31). Once again, Harriet pretends to be amazed by Hobbs and she invites him to her room in Chicago. Harriet is fed up with his arrogance and his goal of impressing her is not reached. Hobbs tells Harriet that he will be “the best there ever was in the game” (Malamud 39) and Harriet shoots him. Hobbs may have had all the talent in the world, but since he was egotistical, he paid the …show more content…
By doing this, it shows that he is conceited because as he pays Hobbs to lose, he bets against the team, which, in theory, would earn him more money. In a club, Sands displays hubris by boasting to Hobbs, saying, “‘I will bet I can guess by one buck either way how much you have got on you now’” (Malamud 118). After saying this, Sands indeed does win the bet, but it is the overall outcome of his character in the novel that hubris takes over. Another example of his arrogance is shortly after the bet made with Hobbs. He turns to a woman, named Memo, and boasts, “‘I have lots of luck, don’t I, babyface?’” (Malamud 119). Even though Sands has luck early in the book, his fate toward the end changes drastically. He ends up losing bets regarding Hobbs and the Knights, and he loses a huge amount of money. Also, Hobbs punches out his glass eye. As a result of his arrogance, Gus Sands becomes poorer and he suffers physically, as well, from Hobbs’s punch. Sands’s egotism defeats him, making him a victim to his own hubris. Just like Gus Sands, Phaethon, son of Apollo, was very arrogant. Phaethon boasted that he could drive the chariot of the sun across the sky by himself, and he actually started off pretty well. However, as the voyaged progressed, he burned and froze the Earth, caused a flood, and lost control of his horses. At this moment, Zeus
Bernard Malamud’s novel The Natural shows how arrogance can lead to the downfall of even the most talented people. As the novel progresses, the audience sees how characters that display arrogance eventually suffer for their conceited attitudes. Malamud relates his characters to Greek mythological characters by showing how arrogance ultimately causes one to suffer. In the novel, Malamud demonstrates how hubris overcomes Roy Hobbs, the Whammer, Judge Banner, and Gus Sands. As a result, these characters do not go unpunished, which shows Malamud’s message that displaying hubris, or extreme arrogance, does not improve self-image in the end. In other words, hubris defeats the characters instead of making them seem superior. …show more content…
On his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs, Hobbs demonstrates his hubris to Harriet, a girl that Hobbs falls in love with, by speaking egotistical. To make himself look good, Hobbs says, “‘You have to have the right stuff to play good ball and I have it. I bet some day I’ll break every record in the book for throwing and hitting’” (Malamud 30). This self-centered comment shows Harriet that Hobbs is conceited, but she goes along with it and pretends to be intrigued by his confidence. Later on in the conversation, Hobbs says that “‘sometimes when [he walks] down the street [he bets] people will say there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in the game’” (Malamud 31). Once again, Harriet pretends to be amazed by Hobbs and she invites him to her room in Chicago. Harriet is fed up with his arrogance and his goal of impressing her is not reached. Hobbs tells Harriet that he will be “the best there ever was in the game” (Malamud 39) and Harriet shoots him. Hobbs may have had all the talent in the world, but since he was egotistical, he paid the …show more content…
By doing this, it shows that he is conceited because as he pays Hobbs to lose, he bets against the team, which, in theory, would earn him more money. In a club, Sands displays hubris by boasting to Hobbs, saying, “‘I will bet I can guess by one buck either way how much you have got on you now’” (Malamud 118). After saying this, Sands indeed does win the bet, but it is the overall outcome of his character in the novel that hubris takes over. Another example of his arrogance is shortly after the bet made with Hobbs. He turns to a woman, named Memo, and boasts, “‘I have lots of luck, don’t I, babyface?’” (Malamud 119). Even though Sands has luck early in the book, his fate toward the end changes drastically. He ends up losing bets regarding Hobbs and the Knights, and he loses a huge amount of money. Also, Hobbs punches out his glass eye. As a result of his arrogance, Gus Sands becomes poorer and he suffers physically, as well, from Hobbs’s punch. Sands’s egotism defeats him, making him a victim to his own hubris. Just like Gus Sands, Phaethon, son of Apollo, was very arrogant. Phaethon boasted that he could drive the chariot of the sun across the sky by himself, and he actually started off pretty well. However, as the voyaged progressed, he burned and froze the Earth, caused a flood, and lost control of his horses. At this moment, Zeus