Pride Quotes in A Wizard of Earthsea

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

But for the most part he was all work and pride and temper, and held himself apart. (4.1)

Earlier we heard that Ged as a child was "loud and proud and full of temper," which maps really well onto part of this sentence, about Ged being all "work and pride and temper." Pride is one of Ged's main problems, and he doesn't outgrow it quickly (which is emphasized by the fact that these two sentences seem so similar).

Quote #5

He knew now that Jasper was far beneath him, had been sent perhaps only to bring him here tonight, no rival but a mere servant of Ged's destiny. (4.42)

Ged has a couple issues around pride. First, he thinks he's great (better than he really is). Second, he needs others to recognize just how great he is. A third issue is brought up in this passage. Here Ged achieves perhaps the purest (and most dangerous) form of pride, seeing everyone else not as people, but as tools in his own epic story.

Quote #6

[…] the new wizard was a strange young grim fellow who spoke little, but he spoke fairly, and without pride. (5.2)

We might argue that Ged is still a little proud after the shadow monster chews off part of his face, but he seems to have lost some of his pride in Chapter 4. Le Guin doesn't come out and say it as the narrator, but the townspeople seem to think that Ged is without pride.