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Theme Of Pride In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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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) This proves that pride can be evil because it is Brother himself that comprehends this years later after Doodle’s tragic death.
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The Color of Pride In James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis" the red imagery is symbolized as pride and how it can get its way in a persons life and causes a person to make bad choices. There are many pieces of evidence to prove this and I have chosen two pieces to prove this correct. The first piece is "He had been bleeding from his mouth and his neck and the front of his shirt was a brilliant red". This shows that Doodle paid for his brothers pride and selfishness.

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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.

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In both short stories, Only Daughter and The Scarlet Ibis, there is a similar theme which is pride. For example, in Only Daughter, the narrator, Sandra Cisneros, wants her father to be proud of the work she’s been doing. In The Scarlet Ibis, the narrator wants to help Doodle to walk so that he can be proud of Doodle and because he was ashamed of Doodle being crippled. How do you think, the theme, pride played a role in both

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it can lead to selfishness and guilt) Support #1 Older brother thinks “pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” Support #2 Older brother leaving Doodle to die Concluding Sentence Hurst is an incredible writer through his literary devices and ideas, especially through his theme of pride in his story “The Scarlet Ibis.” V. Conclusion Restatement of your thesis in different words James Hurst is widely recognized for his powerful theme of pride which is an involuntary feeling of selfishness and guilt that is beneficial and detrimental that is represented by Doodle and the older brother.

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563 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst expresses the theme that we must learn to see people as they actually are, rather than as we would wish them to be. This means that we should push someone to be what they aren’t. People should be who they are no matter who doesn’t like it. The theme is shown when the narrator was running away from Doodle when it started to storm. At this point the narrator says “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.”

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Brother now sees the horrible effect pride has had changed his life. In this story Brother has learned that pride has covered his love. He has also learned that Doodle has loved him and if they would have loved each other equally that maybe Doodle could have died differently. This story is a life lesson. Pride affects everybody and it is important to remember that their is a cruel streak in

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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.

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(ATTENTION GETTER)“I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” The narrator of the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” realizes how pride is a double edged sword. (CLAIM) Likewise, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis” shows the reader how pride can be a “Wonderful, terrible thing” by using the motif of pride throughout the short story to get across the overall theme of pride having two sides. (BRIDGE) Doodle, a disabled child, is coached by his prideful older brother to walk and be ‘normal’ again as he calls it.

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Brother put lots of his time, effort, and care into Doodle even though "It's a miracle [he] didn't give up" (Hurst). His efforts showed the pride he had, or at least wanted to have in his younger sibling; even if it was rooted in selfishness. Pride is what motivated Brother to help him, though he wished it was his family which gave him the grit to always push Doodle to success. Brother

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In the quote written by Lord Castlereagh, he mentions, “When a man is drunk, either with alcohol or selfish pride, he invariably hurts the one he loves.” The short story of Scarlett Ibis written by James Hurst talks about a boy who tries to push harder his little brother to become a normal kid without disabilities, and this leads to a terrible accident. The story of Scarlett Ibis by James Hurst shows how pride relates to the addictions and sins by demonstrating that both can cause damage to the people that they love the most and how someone can be pushed to a limit to be accepted. The story shows that being prideful and addictive are similar because we can hurt ourselves and the people that surround us.

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This quote relates to the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst because the narrator learns that pride isn’t always a good trait to have, it can harm the people you love. The narrator of “The Scarlet Ibis” states that “pride is a wonderful, yet terrible thing” to possess. He proves this through the relationship between the two brothers. The narrator of the story proved that pride is a terrific trait to possess.

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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

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In the opening of the story, the narrator is ashamed of Doodle, but in time, the narrator develops into a forgiving, loving person. This overall change was sparked by the death of Doodle. His love that was hidden throughout the story, is finally revealed after Doodle dies in the storm. These changes that the narrator undergoes, taught the reader the many consequences that pride can have on someone, and how it can be certainly evil, depending on the circumstances. To recap, C.S. Lewis mentions, “as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you,” which relates to the evilness the narrator obtains throughout the story till the death of his brother.

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“Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 2). This is how James Hurst describes pride in his heart-wrenching short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” What speaks to me most about this quote is its profound truth. For the majority of people, pride is either a positive or negative thing, but what Hurst and I seem to agree about is the fact that pride can be both. It is an undeniable symptom of the human condition, a tool that can either create or destroy, and is responsible for the best and worst parts of history.

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