Pride can be a blessing, just as easily as it can be a curse. It can allow for great success or ultimately be the reason for failure. There is a very fine line between having the right amount of pride and having too much. As soon as we begin to have too much pride, it is also possible that we may start to surpass our limits as well. The times we stray from what we know, are the times we end up in trouble. American author, Ernest Hemingway, demonstrates this idea through the character Santiago in his work, The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago is a poor fisherman that lives in a very poor village in Cuba. He has gone 84 days without successfully bringing a fish back to shore, but everyday he goes back out to sea in an effort to prove to himself
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He quickly realizes that he is undermanned, as he is by himself and very unprepared to fight this fish, but he pursues the fish anyway. There is so much to learn from Santiago’s eventual failure to bring the fish back to shore, including that pride played a large role in his downfall. In Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago’s attempt to bring the fish back to shore illustrates that when limitations are exceeded due to pride, failure will be inevitable and the results can be costly.
When there is too much pride, there is a high chance that this will lead to the exceeding of established and well known limits. This idea was portrayed clearly through the character of Santiago, as he experienced this exact chain of events first hand. Santiago knew he was overpowered by the fish he had hooked at sea but still decided to pursue it anyways. Santiago states to himself while he is alone at sea, “You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman” (105). This quote articulates that Santiago knew he was killing this fish for his pride. He had previously gone 84 straight days without successfully bringing a fish back to shore, so he had something to prove to himself and the other fisherman living in his …show more content…
Unfortunately for Santiago, the main character in the work, the idea was shown through him and his struggles. When facing the toughest battle of his life alone at sea Santiago let his pride get the better of him and was put in a bad situation because of it. As he continued to make poor choices, his chances for success steadily declined until there was nothing left of the fish he worked so hard to catch. This is one of many examples of how pride directly affects the outcome of important tasks. Although we may not want to, most of the time it is more beneficial to put our pride aside and concentrate on making the right choices. Having pride is a great quality but it's when we have too much where we find ourselves in tough situations that do not have favorable
He quickly realizes that he is undermanned, as he is by himself and very unprepared to fight this fish, but he pursues the fish anyway. There is so much to learn from Santiago’s eventual failure to bring the fish back to shore, including that pride played a large role in his downfall. In Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago’s attempt to bring the fish back to shore illustrates that when limitations are exceeded due to pride, failure will be inevitable and the results can be costly.
When there is too much pride, there is a high chance that this will lead to the exceeding of established and well known limits. This idea was portrayed clearly through the character of Santiago, as he experienced this exact chain of events first hand. Santiago knew he was overpowered by the fish he had hooked at sea but still decided to pursue it anyways. Santiago states to himself while he is alone at sea, “You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman” (105). This quote articulates that Santiago knew he was killing this fish for his pride. He had previously gone 84 straight days without successfully bringing a fish back to shore, so he had something to prove to himself and the other fisherman living in his …show more content…
Unfortunately for Santiago, the main character in the work, the idea was shown through him and his struggles. When facing the toughest battle of his life alone at sea Santiago let his pride get the better of him and was put in a bad situation because of it. As he continued to make poor choices, his chances for success steadily declined until there was nothing left of the fish he worked so hard to catch. This is one of many examples of how pride directly affects the outcome of important tasks. Although we may not want to, most of the time it is more beneficial to put our pride aside and concentrate on making the right choices. Having pride is a great quality but it's when we have too much where we find ourselves in tough situations that do not have favorable