Kevin Zou, Period 7, 11/22/21

Literacy & Learning

• Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

In class, we read a poem, “Pride” that talked about the situational irony of a rock being cracked by a “little seal.” A rock is compared to a human, and a takeaway I had from the poem was to not let pride control you. Something that resonated with me from the lesson was Ms. Fusaro’s mantra: “if it doesn’t fuel your spirit or bank account, say no.” The class jumped into reading “Oedipus Rex,” with many interjected remarks about irony in the play.


The poem “Pride” uses irony to get its message across. Alvin’s remark that rocks, inanimate objects with no feelings, are compared to humans, who possess such feelings. The irony in this comparison was that the pride of humans can be compared to objects that are placed below a pedestal to them.


A connection I can make between hubris and literature is through the short story “Araby.” In the story, the protagonist, a boy who let his pride consume him, falls in love with a neighbor who doesn’t love him back. It took him a trip to the bazaar (a market) and witnessing a meaningless bicker between two salesmen and a woman to realize that not everyone’s reality is the same. He let go of his pride and came to accept the fact that his love is not reciprocated.


This is an example that shows when pride is given up, there are little to no boundaries to a person’s conscience. We can see this principle demonstrated in “Oedipus Rex” when Oedipus gouges his eyes out. His physical sight, a metaphor for his hubris, when lost, unlocked his mental foresight.