Definition of Pride

Any great accomplishment can make someone feel proud about their work. It makes one feel good; it raises a person’s spirits. There are also the bad points of pride one must consider, before being proud. Pride can deceive a person into being ambitious, and make them strive for something that is not rightfully theirs. Pride can also cause a bad relationship with the people one loves most. Pride can lead to much worse things; it can put a person in a position to be their ultimate cause of their death. A real pride is also allegiance.

Pride is not a bad attribute to have, it is actually very important. One definition for pride is: A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect. Self respect is a very good quality to have, however, there's such thing as too much of a good thing. This is especially the case if you are a hero in a Greek play that has too much pride. Pride is the most central flaw in Greek tragedy, even in heroes. In the plays, "The Odyssey", Odysseus' pride causes them unnecessary problems that could have been easily avoided if they had just kept their pride in check.

In "The Odyssey", Odysseus is the hero with excessive pride. Excessive pride was such a common theme in tales about heroes it got its own name, hubris. These heroes are very concerned with making sure others will hear of their fantastic deeds and this is exactly what gets Odysseus into trouble. He disregards the safety of his crew because his pride blinds him from thinking of the consequences. This causes many hardships during his voyage home which could have been easily avoided, but he let his pride get him and his crew into trouble when he shouts at the Cyclopes. "Cyclopes, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes' son, whose home's on Ithaca!". It seems as if Odysseus must brag after doing anything notable. If Odysseus would have kept his mouth shut, he may have escaped Poseidon and all of men wouldn't have been killed. This action set off a chain of events that could have been avoided. He would have made it home much earlier cutting of years of travel time. He would have saved the lives of his men sailing with him. Also making it home earlier would have stopped the suitors taking too much advantage of his wife's and son's hospitality and home.

A real pride is allegiance to people, places, feelings, beliefs, points of view, ideals, principles. This is about allegiance to honesty, dignity and inner strength. It is all about staying the person you are under any circumstances, which implies knowing who you are and what qualities you possess. If a person is faithful to her own loved ones and friends, if her opinion about them does not change under the influence of any factors, if her beliefs are profound and her deed are in a harmony with her words, then the person can be proud of himself. Allegiance has honesty and devotion as its integral part. So, a person that is devoted to her opinions till the very is worth of being proud of. This is why pride is allegiance.

But its major aspect is that the subject of pride has to bring positive changes to the life of the person and to the world around her. Whether it is a family, a job or allegiance, it is always about staying on top of things: living in harmony with the family, achieving self-realization through having a job or being honest and devoted to people and feelings. Each of these is pride and pride is all these things at the same time.