The Price of Pride The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, “Nobody but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” In the story, pride is in a constant battle against love and hate. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the character of Brother is pulled between two opposing forces and learns the price of pride. The odds were against them, but Brother’s pride helped Doodle achieve more than they thought was possible. For instance, Brother said “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine”(Hurst, 170). In …show more content…
When Doodle was born, Brother said; “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there is unbearable,”(Hurst, 183). Brother’s pride and expectations were getting out of hand. Everything he wanted was for his own joy and fulfillment. Brother started the relationship with disappointment, he said “He was born when I was six, from the outside, a disappointment” =-0(Hurst, 174).He gave Doodle no chance or opportunity to prove himself. From the get go his pride showed that Doodle was nothing and that he was a disappointment. When Doodle was a baby, Brother got upset with Doodle and he “began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a ] pillow”(Hurst, 185). This is a prime example of how Brothers pride turned sour. He got so flustered and upset that Doodle wasn’t everything he wanted, that he thought about murdering Doodle. The pride of Brother had bad effects, in that had a role leading to the death of Doodle. Pride is a feeling that you are more conspicuous than other people. In the article “Why Pride is Nothing to Be Proud Of” John Amodeo discusses the meaning of pride and how it differs from dignity. Amedeo says “Pride is often driven by poor-self worth and shame”(Amadeo, 17). The possession of too much pride may be exceedingly stressful since the person is constantly wanting to be be better than other people. Self-worth is a function living with dignity,
Brother cannot fathom the reality of having an abnormal sibling. Brother uses his pride as a way to help Doodle succeed, but Brother only did it because of the embarrassment and disappointment that Doodle is. In James Hurst’s, The Scarlet Ibis, Hurst insinuates that pride is controlling Brother when he thinks to himself, “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride whose slave i was…” (Hurst 218). In the quote, Brother is taken over by his selfish pride.
this shows how he doesn't want doodle to be his brother at all and is ashamed of him. This proves the theme because the text shown shows that the brother has a bad side of pride. this pride will bring more bad Than good to the brother as the story progresses. Which bring the bad. After a certain amount of time the brother stats to have homicidal thoughts.
When he first got a glimpse of what could happen he continued to show his determination threw out the story. Doodle's Brother gives readers a great lesson of when you start a task to complete it never to give up. He shows great pride for Doodle which goes hand and hand with determination. Having a goal for something and never sopping shows reader what kind of person Doodle's Brother is (Hurts 559).Doodle's Brother has great determination that I have never read about in other
Lastly on page 6 paragraph 3 or 4 “bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.” This goes to show how he already knew that he was going to leave Doodle in the dust just like in the beginning when he wanted to smother him in the pillow. After this all happend Brother regrets his life decisions that he and Doodle ever did. In conclusion I hold him accountable for the death of Doodle.
Blood may be thicker than water, but pride can be thicker than both blood and water. Pride can be life or death. Pride can be good or bad. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the narrator’s pride ruled over his actions and decisions. The narrator’s pride lead to the death of his little brother, Doodle.
Later on, the Brother expressed disappointment in Doodle; he explained, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk” (466). The Brother was ashamed of Doodle for something he couldn't control; therefore, he only cared about his prosperity and no one
Brother is loving and attentive for Doodle but unfortunately, this is not the only side Doodle sees from Brother. On the flipside of Brothers personality, he is not always so sweet to Doodle and can often be seen as evil. Brother explains how he was quite disappointed in how his new little brother didn’t really know how to do anything. “So begin making plans to kill him in his sleep by smothering him with a pillow”.
“The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of many different elements. It takes a lot of contemplation to thoroughly understand it. At first thought, the narrator seems sinister with no notion of remorse. By looking closer, one can see that is not the case. The problem, however, is that he doesn’t really accept that his brother is different.
While pride can be a good thing, it can also be an unattractive quality to possess. “I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn’t let me. It was too late to turn back now for we both wandered too far into the net of expectations and left no crumbs behind (pg174).”The article shows that pride can be a driving force in achieving goals no matter the situation and the older brother wouldn’t give up trying to train Doodle, Doodle was getting hurt and that pride can cause pain to someone you love. “When Doodle was five years old I was embarrassed at
I. Introduction Attention Getter Before becoming a writer, James Hurst was young engineer, but, he switched to a musical career. During his musician days, he auditioned for the opera;however, he failed and supported himself as a writer and night bank clerk. “The Scarlet Ibis,” was first published in the Atlantic Monthly, where he made his writing debut with his touching story between the two brothers.
At first the narrator sees Doodle as a crazy frail brother but as we move into the story, we can observe a lot of varying feelings brother has towards Doodle. Brother described Doodle as unbearable, an invalid brother, a brother who was not there at all, so he started
I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (p.558). With these words, the Narrator reflects on the events and the insights that he gained
It is the reason the world possesses beauty and the reason it possesses evil. Regardless of one’s personal perception of pride, I believe it is an important topic to explore through literature, current events, and through aspects of our own daily lives. Pride is recurring theme in the aforementioned story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” In the story, the narrator seeks to train his handicapped brother, Doodle, to play like a regular, unafflicted boy.
"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.
Brother planned to spend his entire life with Doodle, They "decided that when [they] were grown [they'd] live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue" (Hurst). He wanted Doodle to have pride in himself and be able to do everything Brother wanted to do with him. Brother had pride in Doodle since he was first able to stand on his own and walk. He taught Doodle out of his own selfishness, he was ashamed of having an "invalid" brother and wanted to have "someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea" (Hurst). Brother was ashamed of the way he felt and his self-indulgent efforts for Doodle.