Hubris

of materialism, the tug of superficial values, and the urge to indulge in expenditures. Roy Bradbury satirizes this consumer culture in “The Veldt” using exaggeration and irony as the Hadleys become victims of materialist desires. Bradley targets hubris, ego, and materialism as hindering social interaction. In "The Veldt", the Hadleys are especially guilty of such traits, purchasing the Happylife Home, not for the need, but for the prestige. The Happylife Home is equipped with advanced but…

Book Review one: Embers of War, Fredrik Logevall Logevall’s book, Embers of War looks at the two and a half decades preceding Americas war in Vietnam. The book discusses the political motivations that ended Frances attempt to re-colonize the country, and Americas political and later military involvement in Indochina. Logevall’s major argument throughout the book is based around the idea that America could have avoided involvement in the Vietnam war. This repeated theme is clearly represented…

Oedipus as the perfect tragic hero is based on sarcasm because he wasn’t perfect, but he was great. In his scuffle against the malevolent of his life, written by fate, he brings doom to himself which is sad. Oedipus, which means "swell foot" in Greek, derives from his engorged feet. Oedipus is unfortunate since, his own parents had to throw him away on the 3rd day of his birth because he would kill his father and marry his mother. “I have no desire to suffer twice, and then in retrospect.” This…

At first, he tells the cyclops that his name was “Nobody”, which was a highly strategic move. However, Odysseus fell prey to his hubris, and told the Cyclops his actual name. The Cyclops prayed for Odysseus to return home a “broken man…” (228). Even though Odysseus is unparalleled from a human standpoint (like Lancelot), he is mortal. He cannot fight against Poseidon, a major Greek…

To what extent does tragedy impose on our knowledge of suffering? First it is important to realize, not everyone follows the path of righteousness; most of mankind hold values that conflict with opinions on how to live. Susan Sipple relays, " No single voice is sufficient. Women 's voices will convey a different experience of suffering than the voices of men; black voices speak differently than white voices; martyrs ' voices will not match the voices of inquisitors[…]." and so forth. When…

Gilgamesh is one of the oldest pieces of literature that society currently possesses. One concept this book features – even though it is from a society that has long disappeared – is the concept of gender roles, or at least a rather noticeable difference between men and women. Most of the women in this epic, with the exception of Ishtar, are sympathetic towards Gilgamesh or Enkidu and attempt to assist either one or both of them. The women in this epic all exhibit at least one stereotype that…

What would happen if the average Joe got a hold of immense power? What first comes to mind is the superhero genre, where most often, the ordinary protagonist uses their newfound abilities to overcome tragedy and evil, paving themselves a path of redemption and heroism. According to philosopher Jeffery Kripal, “it was . . . Superman that gave the superhero comics its archetypal form.” Indeed, we see Superman’s moral righteousness in many classical superheroes, from our friendly neighbourhood…

Any well-crafted work of literature is multi-faceted. Paired with a good plot, complex characters add to the depth of a story and draw a reader in. In Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the characters of Matthew Harrison Brady and Henry Drummond—despite their initial impressions—have more to them than meets the eye. In the beginning of Inherit the Wind, Brady is portrayed as a good Christian man—which he uses to his advantage. Upon Brady’s arrival to Hillsboro, he receives a…

fights the dragon unarmed and he is too proud to assemble an army. This leads to his downfall. The dragon inflicts a serious wound on Beowulf, but he does so right before Beowulf’s friend helps him kill the dragon. This fight symbolizes fate. Beowulf’s hubris leads to his downfall. The first battle Beowulf defeats the monster with the least amount of struggle, and they each progressively get harder from there. Beowulf’s confidence also increases throughout each fight, leading up to the final…

Polyneices, and she didn’t quite agree with them. Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations. These conflicting motivations cause the characteristics of hubris, insensitive, mercenary to be highlighted within Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by showing his true colors toward people and thebes. These character…