Pride: A Virtue or a Curse? Anonymous 10th Grade

Though pride can have a negative connotation and is often thought of as a synonym for being full of one’s self, it can also be an honest and healthy feeling of genuine satisfaction with one’s own achievements. In other instances, pride can also keep an individual grounded and can give them a sense of worthiness, even if the circumstances surrounding them are less than favorable. In order to avoid living a life full of constant self-doubt and unhappiness, it is necessary for a person to have some measure of pride in their lives. However, once an individual has become so blinded by pride that it has started to negatively affect their choices and those around them, the pride that was once a positive value turns into arrogance. Pride can be seen in many characters throughout literature, including Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer, and Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Though both exhibit the value, the epic hero Odysseus’ pride is portrayed as arrogance, while Santiago shows his pride in a humble manner more fitting for a code hero. Pride can mean different things to different people, and it can be seen in Odysseus and Santiago, who both possess pride but show it in a different way.

Due to his role as an...