The Iliad Pride

In his 1952 novella The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway uses his protagonist to convey the idea that, although it may lead to hardships, pride is a positive trait that can be a source of perseverance and determination. Throughout the ages, the theme of pride has taken many forms, perhaps reflecting the ideologies of different authors. Consider how Homer depicted pride in The Iliad. We have the hero Achilles; the best of all the Greeks, too proud to fight after Agamemnon strips away his prize. Without him, the Greeks begin to dwindle, and his most beloved Patroclus bears Achilles’ armor in battle to give the men strength. And of course, Patroclus gets slain by Hector, and Achilles goes on a bloody rampage, mad with grief and guilt, eventually
One passage reads, “'Thank you,' the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride” (13-14). The old man doesn’t see pride and humility as two mutually exclusive characteristics. He does not see humility as something shameful, even if others may. The two attributes end up complementing each other many times throughout the novella. Along with this, Hemingway also shows that the old man never feels a need to prove things to others, as long as he is aware of his own capabilities. One example of this is, “He decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that it was bad for his right hand for fishing. He had tried a few practice matches with his left hand. But his left hand had always been a traitor and would not do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it” (70-71). Here, the pride he carries in himself prevents him from needlessly damaging his right hand. Pride is also what pushes along the plot, considering it is the driving force behind the old man’s unrelenting battle with the great