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Comparison Of The Necklace And The Necklace

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Throughout a normal human life one is bound to make a selfish decision or two. In the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Madame Loisel borrows a expensive necklace from her friend only to lose it and spend years of her life repaying the debt. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle and his brother spend many months trying to help Doodle walk and be more like the normal kids, but end up making a major mistake. Both “The Necklace” and “The Scarlet Ibis” show that being selfish can lead to unforeseen and negative consequences. “The Necklace” begins with Madame Loisel depressed with her low class in life. “She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn out appearance of the chairs, the …show more content…

“I wanted more then anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn”(Hurst, 317). This shows how desperate Brother is to have a buddy to play with. Instead, his younger brother, Doodle, was found to be a very sensitive and challenged boy who couldn't manage to actually do much. “He was a burden in many ways….To discourage his coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around corners on two wheels”(Hurst, 317). This showed that he didn't care that Doodle happened to be born disabled, he just wanted to be alone or with someone more his speed. This relates back to my thesis because it shows that he is selfishly putting his brother in danger only because he doesn't want to deal with …show more content…

“When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him”(Hurst, 318). This quote continues to support my thesis because he tries to dangerously teach Doodle to be normal just because he wants a ordinary brother. In the short term, this worked out for him, but his disregarding of his brothers safety would soon come back to hurt him. One day when they were out practicing, a storm began to develop. Brother, thinking only of himself, ran as fast as he could, leaving poor helpless Doodle behind. Later he comes back to get Doodle after running away. “Limply, he fell backward onto the earth. He had been bleeding from his mouth, and the neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red”(Hurst, 323). This quote shows that Doodle could not survive the storm by himself, dying as his brother ran away from him. This supports my thesis because it showed that being selfish caused him to leave Doodle behind to die, forever altering his life for the worse. In the two short stories “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Necklace”, we are reminded that being a self-centered human can lead to problems we never even considered could happen. Seeing how easily this can happen, trying not to be selfish may prove to be a better way to get through

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and he was’” (Hurst 351). Brother taught Doodle how to walk for self-embarrassment later realized that he wasn’t the only one effected by

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Who's responsible for Doodles death? James Hurst short story "The Scarlet Ibis" the narrator is responsible for Doodle's death. During the story, the narrator complains about his brother and how he is an embarrassment. The narrator forced Doodle to walk, run, swim, fight, and climb when he was already sick. It puts so much pressure on Doodle that it made him give up.

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Throughout the world, more than eighty five percent of people have or are affected by low self esteem. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, it clearly shows the theme that others should not influence all of one’s thoughts and actions. Doodle is a child born with disabilities and his brother, the narrator, supports him and helps him find a place to fit into society and to achieve self-esteem throughout the story. Self-esteem is found negatively and positively in both the narrator and Doodle.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

The narrator dreamed of a brother that could do all those things but when his parents told him that “he wasn’t all there” he knew he had to do something about it therefore, “When Doodle was five years old, [he] was embarrassed at having a brother of that age that couldn’t walk, so [he] set out to teach him” (Hurst 488). Despite the physical condition with the Doodle , the narrator’s pride wanted him to “fix” him because he was ashamed of the Doodle ever since he was born. The narrator sets time out of his days to help his brother develop physically since Doodle is physically imobile. He goes down to Old Woman Swamp everyday to teach Doodle.

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371 Words | 2 Pages

Even the strongest, most determined people have their breaking point. In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator tries to lift his disabled brother, Doodle, to his impossible expectations. His hard work, dedication, and his tough ways benefit and damage his brother. The narrator’s pride makes selfish and cruel sometimes, but very determined.

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This reveals that he is a slave of pride and will do anything to not feel shame for having a crippled brother. Not only this but he was teaching Doodle how to walk for his benefit instead of Doodles. In addition, when Doodle turns six, and the narrator have a plan to teach Doodle how to swim, run, and etc. to achieve before Doodle enters school, but when they fail the narrator’s “pride had cracked”. This shows us how the narrator cares more about his pride than for Doodle.

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763 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator has already proved shame in having a “crippled brother” and having self-centered motives for teaching Doodle how to

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1063 Words | 5 Pages

In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle’s death is seen as the direct consequence of Brother’s bitter disregard to his disabilities. However, there is yet still light to shed on his defense. Brother’s behavior and actions are caused by deeper feelings of emotional

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Doodle constantly questioned the importance of walking "Does it make any difference? It certainly only does"(6). Doodle didn't walk for himself in the beginning of the story he was content in being himself. With the constant push from brother to be normal, Doodle began to feel unhappy with his disability and developed a desire to be just like his brother. Without Brother recurring pressure to fit the social norm.

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“To be human is to be beautifully flawed. ”(Eric Wilson). All humans are flawed. That is what makes them human. Flaws sometimes are hurtful, but they make the character interesting.

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The brother did take Doodle to Old Woman's Swamp, which was his favorite place to go. The cruelty outweighs the kindness though. There is no denying it. It is not hard to see. The brother is responsible for Doodle's death.

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Brother was so ashamed of who his brother might have been, that he went to extremes to make him normal. That would have been fine, but he did not help Doodle out of the goodness of his own heart, he taught him things because he felt that he would be spending too much time with him and Brother feared that he would spend the rest of his whole life trying to take care of his disabled little

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Turning from a prideful boy to being merciful toward his dead brother. In fact, it all began when his brother was born, “with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man’s” (595). Doodle is weakened and incapable of doing activities normal kids do at his age. The narrator encourages Doodle to keep on pushing, but no sooner does the narrator learn that pushing Doddle over his limitations will sooner or later kill him. The narrator kills Doodle indirectly, as a consequence of the lack of knowledge he has about Doodle’s medical issues, and as said before, being enveloped in pride.

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827 Words | 4 Pages

When the storm hits, the two brothers run back to the house but Doodle can not keep up and brother taken over by pride leaves him there alone. That powerful pride that brother has, always breaks his bond with Doodle, after the failed lesson they just had, he gives up on his brother. The narrator, clearly has a lot of things going on inside his head, lost he just leaves him there because of his failure and an inside pride. “I began to weep and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. Doodle I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his.

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577 Words | 3 Pages

The narrator longed for a brother to race, climb, and box with, but when he found out Doodle might not be able to do that, he planned his revenge: “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurst 464). Before the narrator could kill him, Doodle grins up at him, startling the narrator. Doodle was underdeveloped, any excess amount of strain on his heart could kill him. In the winter of his third year, he learned to crawl.

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