ABSTRACT

People believe that hubris was the reason why so many people died when the Titanic sank. Hubris is “excessive pride” and “self-confidence”. The Titanic was described as “unsinkable” and “olympic”. This made the crew believe that the Titanic didn’t need to be cautious. That they didn’t need to be careful, because it was said to be “unsinkable”. The three main behaviors that fall under hubris and caused the Titanic's downfall were "believing you're invincible", "ignoring common sense", and "failing to heed warnings".

Notable Quotations

"Fueled by arrogance that it could survive any disaster, the Titanic carried only enough lifeboats for one-third its total capacity, and with engines 'full steam ahead' sped to its demise through a cold front that other ships chose to wait out." (Titanic, Gen. p.6).

"The Titanic received a series of warnings from other ships of drifting ice in the area, but continued to steam at full speed into a dangerous ice field." (Titanic, Gen. p.7).

Notable Quotations

“A major contributing factor was hubris—an exalted conviction, especially on the part of the managing director J. Bruce Ismay, the chief designer/builder, Thomas Andrews, of Harland and Wolff, and the crew, that the ship was unsinkable because of the watertight compartments that divided it into some sixteen isolated sections.” (Psychology Today, p.4).

ABSTRACT

The hubris of the Titanic is one of the reasons why the Titanic sank. It was believed to be unsinkable and people thought that man had finally beat nature. But in reality, that wasn’t true. Since technology was advancing so quickly they created a ship and they thought it was unsinkable. They had too much confidence in their ship. Their confidence spread throughout the crowds of passengers.

Notable Quotations

“The same problem plagued the doomed Italian liner Costa Concordia this year, but the larger lesson - that even the most advanced technology cannot account for all circumstances.” (Boston Globe, p.4).

ABSTRACT

In this article, we see how things like vibrations from the mighty engines fatigued the hull and caused its failure. Now we know of the popped plates and broken hull. The mistake was in the design, not in the captain; the ship was too big. Edwardian's hubris sank the Titanic, not an iceberg.

Notable Quotations

“Now we know of the popped plates and broken hull. The mistake was in the design, not in the captain; the ship was too big. Edwardian hubris sank the Titanic, not an iceberg.” (The New York. Times, p.3).

ABSTRACT

The Titanic was a beautiful ship. The pride of its creators is what made her largely known. But its pride and overconfidence ruined everything. It was the builders who said that it would never sink, but did any of it really help?

Notable Quotations

“Hubris—an excess of pride and confidence is central to any classical tragedy. The Titanic set out from Queenstown, Ireland, on April 11, 1912, as a grand symbol of comfort. As she steamed at high speed through the dark of night her captain ignored the Cassandra-like warnings that icebergs lurked nearby, and through hubris the ship collided with one.” (Schlenoff, p.1).

"Within the tale of the sinking are interwoven many (mostly true) vignettes of human suffering—and also some cathartic scenesof triumph. Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet shucked off their life belts and donned their formal wear, saying, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen." Thomas Andrews, the designer of the flawed ship, sat forlornly in the opulent smoking lounge awaiting death, perhaps contemplating this awful reversal of fortune. J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line (which owned the Titanic), quietly slunk into a lifeboat and was later widely excoriated by the public for taking up a place when so many women and children were left to die on his ship. Charles John Joughin, the kitchen staff's chief baker, provides the comic relief in our retelling: He was the last person to step off the sinking ship into the ice-cold water, but was so well-fortified with liquor he survived to be picked up, his hair still dry. The "Unsinkable Molly Brown" was arguably the ship's most famous survivor: she defied convention and in an act of compassion commandeered her lifeboat to go back and look for survivors in the frigid water." (Schlenoff, p.2).

ABSTRACT

The Titanic was thought of as the best ship at the time. The creators had excessive pride and self confidence. This led to people thinking it would be the best ship in the history and the safest. This pride could be blamed for the crashing of the Titanic. If people payed more attention to safety, they would have said something about it and many people would be saved.

Notable Quotations

"The design failure was that the bulkheads dividing the compartments came up only 10 feet above the waterline, beyond which water would start flooding adjacent sections even if intact. "If the compartments had been completely watertight, that is, if water could not spill over the tops of the bulkheads, the 'Titanic' would not have sunk." (Sones 1).

“Modern ship building has gone beyond that.” For his part, Gen. Sedgwick was embarrassed by the behavior of his men toward Confederate sharpshooters firing from 1,000 yards away. “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you.” (Sones 1).

ABSTRACT

The arrogance of those who created the Titanic is what caused its downfall. Despite the Titanic's grace, in all her elegance, she was not a match for the inevitable natural disasters awaiting her. The lack of caution from the crew put the lives of all those on board, in harm's way.

Notable Quotations

"There was space to carry up to 64 lifeboats, but why would the Titanic ever need them? Twenty would do nicely. At best, they’d ferry the passengers of some smaller ship in distress to the safety of the Titanic." (The Pride Before, p.6).

"It wasn’t anything so bold as arrogance that sent the Titanic into a fatal brush with an iceberg four days out on her maiden voyage." (The Pride Before, p.7).

ABSTRACT

Despite not yet having its own voyage, the Titanic already had quite a reputation. Due to the popular belief that it was perfectly safe, people of different social classes boarded the ship in excitement. However, as we all know, this deceptive idea of the Titanic is part of what led to her downfall.

Notable Quotation

"Combined with the belief that the ship was unsinkable there was a rush to be on the maiden voyage with no worry for safety. … Beyond the technical errors there was a deeper issue – leadership and the impact of hubris. Specifically, the focus on social status and wealth affected the crew’s performance.” (Leadership, p.3&8).