When we look deeper into the de la Poer’s character we begin to discover some other weaknesses, aside from the desire to consume other human beings. Similar to Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft had a tendency to write about more than what was on the surface. His focus was more centered on the interior, what was on the inside (Oates). One of the ideas that he incorporated into his work is pride. In de la Poer’s case, the pride is aimed towards his family’s estate. If he had not relocated across the country, his future could have been very different.
He was proud of the property that he was restoring. I believe that if he had not started restoring the building the darkness that was held within would not have come out. He would not have felt the urge follow in his ancestor’s footsteps. While it is understandable to take pride in something as important as a family estate, in this case it was taken too far. The final example of a piece of popular culture that exhibits pride as a major weakness is the 1986 film Aliens. This movie is a direct sequel to Alien, which debuted in theaters in 1979.
In Aliens, the audience follows Ellen Ripley after she has been discovered floating through space, fifty-seven years after the destruction of the Nostromo. She was recruited to act as a consultant on a marine ship that was heading out to the planetoid from the previous film, which has since been given the name LV-426. The crew was told that they were going to there because there had been some technical issues with the colonists that had made the planetoid their home. Little did they know, Weyland Industries was just trying to get their hands on the mysterious alien again, putting lives in danger, just as they had before.
During their time on LV-426, the crew found a young girl, Newt, who had lost her parents and brother to the alien creature that is roaming the area. It is Ripley who was finally able to connect with the girl, developing a close mother-daughter type relationship. As the alien wreaks havoc, it becomes clear that history is repeating itself. While Ripley and Newt are sleeping, two of the facehuggers are released from their tanks and attempt to attack themselves to them. They are saved when Ripley pulled the fire alarm, alerting the marine of their situation.
It is after this that Ripley begins to explain the motive of the company representative, Carter Burke. It is believed that he is the one that released the facehuggers from their specimen tasks in attempt to impregnate Ripley and Newt with the alien embryo, making it easier to get the alien back to the quarantine of Earth. Before the marines have the opportunity to attack Burke, the alien creature ambushed the group from above. It is during this time that Burke, Hudson, Vasquez, and Gorman are killed and Newt is taken away.
Ripley and Hicks made their way to one of the dropships where Bishop is, but Ripley refused to leave Newt behind. When she goes to find Newt, she is greeted with the sight of the alien green and a clutch queen, the Ripley Newt meet back up with Bishop and Hicks on the dropship. On board of the dropship, the remaining crew members learn that the alien has stowed away on the landing gear. After emerging, she injures Bishop and then makes a move for Newt. It is then that Ripley is able to expel the alien through an airlock using a cargo-loader exosuit.
At the end of everything, the four of them enter hypersleep and await their return to Earth. Looking closely at the characters in the movie Aliens, it is clear to see that Weyland Industries is the reason behind everything that happened during the film. The company takes pride in the fact that they have the ability to perform their research on extraterrestrial life (“Aliens”). After the events that transpired on board the Nostromo, one would think that Weyland Industries would abandon their research. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Instead, they did whatever was necessary in order to have another chance at discovering new information. Even when Ripley was trying to convince the company of what really happened in the first movie, they just looked in the other direction. This would be the reason why Burke was sent along with Ripley to join the group of marines on their journey (“Aliens”). From the very beginning of the film, Burke was portrayed as a representative of Weyland Industries. It was Burke’s job to make sure the alien made it back to Earth.
In order for him to be able to put the others’ lives on the line like he did, he would have been proud of the position with/in the company that he had. If he was not, he would not have blindly followed their instructions (“Aliens”). It is my belief that without being so prideful, Burke would have done what he thought was right, not what his employers wanted him to do. In the end, the massive amount of pride that Burke had towards his place of employment is what lead him to his ultimate death. Another ay that we can see pride as a weakness in this movie is in Bishop.
Before too long, the audience learns that Weyland Industries has been placing androids on their ships for years. This explains what Ash was a member of the crew in the original movie. Although it is much more subtle, we can see the same change in Bishop’s character as we did in Ash’s when they were given their chances to conduct research. Similarly to Ash, Bishop started to become defensive, as well as protective of any information that had to do with the alien (“Aliens”). I believe that the reason behind their personality changes has to do with their pride.
Being as they property of Weyland In dustries, in the end, they would have the same goals of gathering information about the alien species on LV-426. Even Bishop’s final words, “not bad for a human” (Aliens), shows a bit of the pride that he has for himself. Pride is defined as “a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displa yed in bearing, conduct, etc. ” (“The Definition of Pride”). While having some amount of pride is a good thing. It is what keeps us pushing forward to do ore and more. It is what makes us feel as though we have accomplished something, but too much pride can prove detrimental. Too much pride makes us forget about those around us and focus exclusively on ourselves. It causes a disconnection between us and the rest of the world. This is why pride is often considered to be a weakness that can have unfortunate consequences. In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, pride is what caused Fortunato to continue deeper and deeper into the catacombs and to his ultimate doom.
Pride is what caused the men in A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell to overlook major evidence that they could have used to conflict Minnie Foster. De la Poer’s pride in the ancestral estate, and his desire to restore the property, is what lead to him gradually go insane in the short story written by H. P. Lovecraft. And lastly, pride is what lead Weyland Industries to put multiples people’s lives on the line, simply for more information on a mysterious alien species in the movie Aliens. All in all, pride is a major weakness that is evident in The Cask of Amontillado, A Jury of Her Peers, The Rats in the Walls, and Aliens.
