Pride In The Necklace

Pride is a boomerang that will eventually come back to hit you. In John Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” Brother’s pride changes how he sees Doodle as his brother, and negatively affects the outcome of the story. Throughout the story, one learns how the relationship between two brothers can break apart due to one’s pride. Pride can derail one from achieving goals while destroying relationships.

In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel is a woman who cannot tolerate her lower-class status, believing “herself born for every delicacy and luxury”(82). Mathilde’s vain materialistic goals, make her bitter and unhappy. The main point of irony in the story is the fact that Mathilde borrows the necklace and looses it. The necklace was very expensive, or so she thought, so she ended up in poverty

Mathilde never seemed satisfied with what she had. She envied the upper class and felt she should have what they have. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling” (Maupassant). This desire to belong in the upper class caused her only to focus on what she did not have. When her husband surprises her with the invitation to the ball the only thing she can think about is not having the proper dress for the occasion. “She looked at him with an irritated eye, and she said, impatiently: “’And what do you expect me to put on my back?’” (Maupassant). It seemed

The author points out, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.”(32). The tone here is shown by a metaphor which describes the different types of pride. This quote proves that he loves having Doodle to have someone to root for, but when he does not succeed there is no pride. This is when there is a quick mood shift for the reader but the figurative language used explains it. According to the author, “‘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.” This quote uses diction like ashamed and slave to show that his brother’s accomplishments were all from his own selfish wants. This creates a mood of being upset because while there is pride for Doodle, the brother is being selfish because he wanted a normal brother. Overall, pride can be a uplifting but can also be for someone’s own selfish reasons.

The setting of “The Scarlet Ibis” helps prepare the readers’ state of mind from the very beginning. In the first place, the story takes place at the end of World War I and represents the internal conflict the narrator has as he struggles between guilt of his younger brother’s death and the acceptance of his brother’s disabilities. With this in mind, the narrator is abashed over Doodle’s inability to walk because he thinks disabilities are shameful, and he wanted a brother who was athletic, outgoing, and adventurous. For this reason,”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 417).” The narrator admits to going out of his way to train Doodle to walk because he has so much pride that it is getting in the way of more important goals, meaning he would rather have a “normal” brother than a happy one. The poor treatment of his brother ultimately leads to Doodle’s death. Furthermore, he forces Doodle to do things unwillingly, such as touch his own coffin and train him to be “normal”. The narrator traumatizes his little brother to think a certain way in order to become accepted by society. Even

The author of “The scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst, suggests through the actions of his characters and his use of language the theme that too much pride can lead people to do things that can have devastating results. James Hurst quoted, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.” The narrator has a need to make Doodle better to give himself something to be proud of and receive recognition for his actions. The narrator is talking about an event that happened in the past when he tried to teach his brother, Doodle, to walk. He looks back on it with the insight of an adult who has struggled with the consequences of his prideful actions.

Is pride powerful enough to come between two brothers? "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst showes that the Narrator is thinking more about his own pride and less about his brother Doodle. He didn't like the facts that he would have a brother who wasn't all there or who is different from everyone else. Even when he showes Doodle how to walk he didn't do it to help Doodle but for his own pride. The Narrators pride taking over is what killed Doodle in the end and is why the Narrator is guilty of his brothers death.

James says,” I did not know that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. Through The Scarlet Ibis, the brother stresses the two versions of pride. Pride pushes us to overcome goals that we have set for ourselves, but can also be very destructive when we put together other pieces of the theme puzzle even though the narrator uses his pride to push Doodle so much to his early death. Later on the narrator says,” I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn't let me.” This is a bad moment for the narrator/brother.

We understand well enough how a person with a choice between pride and responsibility, will almost always choose pride. In James Hurst’s short story “The scarlet ibis", brother chooses his pride over responsibility and love. William Armstrong, who was born disabled, was nicknamed “Doodle” by his older brother for the way he crawled backwards like a Doodlebug. He had a hard life due to of his disability, he could not run or play alike any other able-bodied child. When he was born, his family was disappointed and they assumed he wasn’t going to live that long. Brother attempts to train him to be like everyone else on the contrary, he pushes him too hard and expected too much from him. Doodle doesn’t live a long life because overestimated his

In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst shows the readers how pride can cause people to do cruel or fickle things, and it can blind them to what is actually happening. At one point in the story, Big Brother has just taught Doodle how to walk and is showing his family when he starts crying. He says remorsefully, “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 crippled brother.” (Hurst 559). This shows how guilty Brother feels because his family thinks that he is helping Doodle from the goodness of his heart, but Brother’s true motivation is his own pride. Pride caused Brother to teach Doodle to walk, which could have resulted in Doodle getting hurt, making his actions thoughtless and reckless. His pride is stemmed from his success in teaching Doodle such a skill, but it also stems from his desire to not be dragged down by the weight of having a useless brother. Later on, Brother starts to become prideful and confident in his actions, and decides that he will teach Doodle everything he knows. “Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk, I began to believe in my own infallibility, and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy of course” (Hurst 559). At this point, Brother’s success and pride have started to blind him to any potentially harmful consequences. Brother even decides to keep Doodle’s training a secret from his parents, not as a surprise, but because he does not want anyone to steal the accomplishment from him, and he believes he can do it by himself. As the story progresses, Brother’s pride becomes a dangerous influence that leads Brother to push Doodle to far, and ends up killing him as a result. This is similar to the fatal cost of pride in “The

James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” is about selfish pride and reveals that sometimes doing a good thing can be done for the wrong reasons as demonstrated by his use of symbolism. Specifically, Hurst’s use of Doodle suggests that the scarlet ibis is connected to him in many ways. James Hurst’s reference to the scarlet ibis is illustrated when the narrator sets out to teach Doodle to walk, “It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn't give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” After teaching Doodle to walk the narrator has pride for being able to teach Doodle even though it didn’t seem possible at the beginning, but he is also filled with guilt because he had done something good for a bad reason.

He also begins to realize that, “pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (6). Throughout the story, the narrator also stresses how pride is double-sided as a “wonderful, terrible thing.” Pride has two different outcomes and often leads to unexpected events. It pushes one to achieve one’s goals, but can also be destructive if one loses sight of what the true aim of the task is. As the protagonist’s pride pushes Doodle further from isolation, he becomes obsessed with his desperate need for the “ideal” sibling, resulting in Doodle’s untimely death. The narrator’s thoughts represent the unawareness he has of the disastrous effects of his pride. He compares pride towards a seed, something that grows over time. When he says, “life and death,” the brother is referring to the life of his pride and death of his brother. To allow for his pride to live on, the life of Doodle is

What is pride, is it a good thing? Pride is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions, that are widely admired. According to Paul Bryant, “If  you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride and high, but so are the rewards,”which means pride is a good thing. According to C.S. Lewis”Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you provide the pleasure of being above the rest.

Too much pride in a person's heart, can lead him or her to a life of regret. The narrator from The Scarlet Ibis has a little brother who is physically disabled, Doodle. The narrator is embarrassed of having a disabled brother so he sets out to teach him how to do things like other regular kids. Eventually the narrator pushes Doodle a little too hard and the Doodle dies. James Hurst sets up a theme of pride and regret in The Scarlet Ibis.

Madame Loisel’s pride demands more: “It annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress” (Maupassant 2). Ironically, it is Monsieur Loisel who suggests that his wife borrow jewelry from Madame Forestier, and subsequently has to spend the next ten years borrowing money to replace it. As May puts it, “Her husband exhausts his meager inheritance and then borrows the rest, mortgaging their life away to buy a replacement for the necklace” (May 7). Monsieur Loisel sacrifices everything to salvage his wife’s pride.