Newspaper report on the conditions in the factories and mining areas of Industrial England - Essay Example

July 13, I am Better than Thou: The Perils of “Intellectual Pride” People assert “intellectual pride” in many ways, such as in meta-fighting. “Meta-fighting” pertains to the pernicious process of “bickering about style, tone, and methodology” (Breakthrough Writer). It is a fighting that has no productive end, in the same way that “intellectual pride” does not accomplish anything meaningful for its practitioners. Flannery O'Connor provides another exploration of “intellectual pride.

” “Intellectual pride” relies on egocentric and illogical beliefs of one’s intellect, because it is characterized by the resistance to acknowledging one’s mistakes, strong belief in one’s ability to “read people,” and assertion of one’s intellectual superiority. “Intellectual pride” refers to that permanent resistance to admitting one’s mistakes. Mrs. Hopewell believes that she did not make a mistake in hiring the Freemans or in choosing Pointer as a potential boyfriend for Joy.

Still, she suffers from Mrs. Freeman’s insistent presence during meals, and Pointer happens to be one of the greatest shams in her world of “Good Country People.” The grandmother also does not want to divulge to her son Bailey that she made a mistake in giving directions. Even at the point of impending death, she resists acknowledging that she indirectly killed her own family, because of her vain attachment to an illusory past. People with “intellectual pride” also insist that they know how to “read” people. Mrs. Hopewell thinks she knows who good country people are.

Though she is put off by Mrs. Freeman’s nosiness, she decides to maximize it by putting her in charge of “everything” (O'Connor “Good Country”). The grandmother also thinks that the Misfit is a “good man” and even calls him one of her own children. Joy further thinks that Pointer is “innocent,” until he dupes her into giving him her two prized possessions: her leg and her eyeglasses. These people think they know “someone,” when they hardly know themselves. “Intellectual pride” revolves around the belief that “I am better than Thou.” Mrs. Hopewell believes that she has a better life than her daughter who “had never danced a step or had any normal good times” (O'Connor “Good Country”).

Joy also thinks that she is intellectually superior to her mother. She feels that without her health condition: “She would be in a university lecturing to people who knew what she was talking about” (O'Connor “Good Country”). Mrs. Hopewell thinks the same for her daughter: “She was brilliant but she didn’t have a grain of sense” (O'Connor “Good Country”). The grandmother emphasizes her intellectual superiority through moralizing, a moralizing that had grave consequences. “Intellectual pride” brings no joy and comfort to the people who have them, and more so, for the people around them.

If anyone thinks that they have intellectual pride, they should get rid of this pride immediately, by realizing that they would hate to be Mrs. Hopewell or Joy. This kind of pride proves to be fatal, and sometimes, it can be infuriating enough to earn three gunshots in the chest. Works Cited Breakthrough Writer. English 1C Summer 2011 Quiz 3: An Extended Definition of the Term "Intellectual Pride". 10 July 2011. Web. 13 July 2011 . O'Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” ---. “Good Country People.”