Recommended: Essays on Pride
First example is ”doodle walked only because i was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” (pg 6 paragraph 3). It is crazy that he would do so much just so that he wouldn't have to deal with a crippled brother that he is ashamed of for something that isn't his fault. One of their conversations were “Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school? Said brother Does it make any difference?
Brother took a lot of his own time to help teach Doodle things like to walk. Everyone said that Doodle would never be able to stand up, but brother was tired of lugging doodle everywhere so he taught him how to walk. ”I'm going to teach you to walk doodle”(Hurst 2). With everything that brother did to help out Doodle to become a normal a normal person meant a lot to Doodle. Doodle was the only thing
In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst conveys his theme to the readers in order to discuss the issue of pride and how having too much pride can negatively impact another individual. Within the story, James Hurst brings forward his message when Brother is beginning to teach Doodle how to walk at Old Woman Swamp. After some innumerable attempts Brother feels a strong urge to give up but his pride over Doodle would not let him give up. Shortly after Brother starts thinking to himself, “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (170-172)
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.
On page 347 the brother admits his guilt, “’What are you crying for?’ asked Daddy, but I couldn’t answer. They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” As you can see, the brother not only avoided the doctor’s directions of no walking because Doodle is special, but only taught him for the plain reason of being ashamed of a disabled sibling. This harmful pride doesn’t stop there.
The author was humiliated at the thought of having a crippled brother, so he decided to teach him how to walk for the sake of his reputation. “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed of having a brother who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him(Hurst 2).” “They did not know that I did it out of pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all of their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother(Hurst 3.” The author clearly has good intentions with his plan, however, he is only doing them for the glory of himself, and not for his brother.
The narrator has already proved shame in having a “crippled brother” and having self-centered motives for teaching Doodle how to
Pride is a dangerous thing that can destroy your life in a blink of an eye. One of the best examples of this is the story “The Scarlet Ibis,” written by James Hurst. This story is about a boy and his younger brother “Doodle.” Doodle is very far behind all the other kids his age and his brother is determined to catch him up. After teaching him one thing his pride gets the better of him and one day he pushes too hard and the worst happens.
Losing Doodle “It's okay to lose your pride over someone you love. Don't lose someone you love over your pride. ”(Unknown) Pride is a powerful thing. It can kill and raise up, it can keep you from admitting your wrong.
After Doodle was finally strong enough to walk, the Armstrong Brothers showed their parents. "Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (5) This quote proves that Doodle wants to be accepted by his brother. Throughout the story, Brother is pushing doodle to be like him for his own conscience. Doodle is mesmerized by Brother so he wants to be just like him. While a Brother was giving doodle walking lessons.
Pride is Ignorance Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movement, senses, or activities. " The Scarlet Ibis," a short story written by James Hurst, focuses on the relationship between two brothers: the narrator and his disabled brother, Doodle. Doodle is born when the narrator, Brother, is only six years old. Since the narrator is young and does not know how to cope with a situation like this, he plans to kill Doodle. The prideful narrator wants a brother he can play with and is disappointed and embarrassed that he will not be like a regular boy.
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.
A Brother’s Pride Pride is a feeling of fulfillment, a feeling of satisfaction from one’s achievements. In James Hurst’s short story, The Scarlet Ibis, the theme that pride has the power to blind is prevalent throughout the story. The narrator is the main target of this theme as his overbearing pride leads to the demise of his younger brother. However, the power that pride has over people can bring both a positive and negative outcome.
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.
This shows his older brother is willing to teach Doodle even when he thinks he a liability. This makes his older brother seem somewhat compassionate towards Doodle, even when later in the story we find out he only helped Doodle so he did not look bad because Doodle could not walk. This makes Doodle’s older brother’s choice seem less generous and more selfish.