What pulls families apart? Money, fighting, and/or work. In this story its pride, selfish pride showed why people hurt the ones they love. In the story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, The narrator demonstrates the theme that “spiteful cruelty towards a loved one often leads to wounded pride.” The narrator loved Doodle. In the beginning of the story, Doodle had little chance to survive, and ”Everybody thought he would die-everybody except aunt Nicey, who delivered him.” The narrator, Doodle’s own brother, did not believe he would live, until Doodle was three years old lying on the bed. The narrator peeked through the iron bars of the bed, and Doodle looked right at him and smiled. The narrator skipped through the halls yelling, “he's all