Hello, my fellow AP English Students (and teacher)
So, I am making my weekly contribution to the blog of me asking deep questions about each other through slightly irrelevant questions. I think these blog quizzes are helping us learn more about each other as a class, which is a good thing before we graduate. I'll be honest, I don't know much about all of you, but when I do these quizzes or character analysis I feel like it helps me get to know all of you more, and I hope you guys feel the same. This week, since we are reading Oedipus, I decided to focus on fatal flaws, as it is a staple of all greek tragedies. I know we've been doing a lot of polls, but there will be one at the end of this. I'll describe each of the fatal flaw (some are self explanatory), and you can decide which one (or more if you are stuck) to give to your classmates. There will be a short answer option at the very bottom to tell me of any flaws that I missed that you would've liked to see that I can add to the results, but these are a general list of common fatal flaws in the greek mythos. I'll post the results sometime next week once I get enough responses.
Excessive personal loyalty: this one is pretty obvious; it's for a person that is too loyal to those they consider family or friends, meaning they would do anything for them even if it means they will suffer.
Pride (hubris): this is probably the most common fatal flaw in literature, and is for people that have trouble believing they need help, thinking they can do anything without other and better by themselves.
Holding grudges: this can actually be a really dangerous fatal flaw, as it can lead to a miserable life for those that follow it too strictly; those who have this fatal flaw will carry it with them to their graves and never forgive those who have wronged them.
Ambition: ambition isn't a bad thing, but for it to be a fatal flaw, that person would desire power that they either don't want or need just for the sake of it and will pursue success even if they have to sacrifice more than they would like to achieve their end goal.
Feeling of inferiority: a really sad one, people with this flaw always see themselves as the least important people; they view themselves as the side characters in everyone else's story which can lead them to make rash, drastic decisions to prove their worth to their family or friends.
Vanity: similar to hubris, vanity is typically more focused on one's appearance but can also factor in their achievements, qualities, and abilities; vanity is not always about looks, it can sometimes mean that you are too obsessed with other aspects of yourself and cannot see anything outside of that.
Low self-esteem: while similar to feeling of inferiority, the flaw of low self-esteem is for those who are constantly in a state of self-doubt, affecting their mental state and perception of those around them; they can see themselves as useless or invaluable, but usually don't act rashly like those with the feeling of inferiority flaw.
Excessive wrath: a usually extremely deadly flaw, excessive wrath can be blinding for those with it; this flaw usually stems from some kind of wrong-doing to the person that they never forget that causes them to act out of anger for as long as needed or until they get their revenge.
Temptation to deliberation: this is one I had never heard of but did some research into to figure out a more specific example; these are people that are too careful or compromising in their ways, or in our terms a "push-over", which can lead them to never do things for themselves and not knowing where they truly belong.
Anxiety: this usually isn't actually a "fatal" flaw per say, but it still falls under the category; this is for those people that go out of their way to prove themselves because of this deeper need to become better that causes them to go into tricky situations that can lead to more, and more, and you get the point (like a spiral).
Impulsivity: while some of the other flaws lead to rash decisions, this is the definition of those who act based off of impulse; they do not think of their actions and will act on pure animalistic instinct, which can cause people to feel they are deceptive or liars since they have to quickly get out of situations they have caused.
Ability to resist challenge: this one sounds a bit odd, but think of it more as those who cannot for the life of them admit themselves to be wrong; this is related to pride, but is much more specific since it can cause more harm if they are challenged physically or mentally (never letting this go and letting it eat away at them).
Over-analyzation: this in modern terms would be our "over thinkers" of society; if there is even a small problem, they could spiral and spend hours or days trying to solve them, which can lead to a disconnection from those around them if they spiral too far.
Impatience: as they say, patience is a virtue; those with this flaw allow their impatience to take over, always wanting quick and easy results, as they get frustrated too easily if things aren't exactly how they want it.
Excessive jealousy: this flaw can cause a lot of issues in personal relationships, as it can push those you truly care about away; those who are too jealous of others in their lives can become fixated on it and will be consumed by their feelings to a point where they eventually break.
Misplaced Trust: I also like to think of these people that place too much trust in those they have no reason to trust; it's blind essentially, and can be dangerous if people take advantage of their trusting nature and use it for personal gain.
Excessive Curiosity: whenever I think of this flaw, I think of Pandora as her curiosity lead to her downfall, so think of someone who would do the same thing as her and open the box; these are people that have to know what they are dealing with and cannot stand not being in the "loop".
Have fun!
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