Pride In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst demonstrates that the confidence that comes with pride is an inspiration for growth, however, overconfidence can lead to one’s downfall. Despite a year of seemingly hopeless attempts to teach Doodle how to walk, Brother manages to persist because he has “[Doodle] to be proud of” (Hurst 419). Although Brother teaching Doodle how to walk was not altruistic, it was his pride that allowed it to happen in the first place. If Brother and Doodle did not have their pride to fuel their desire for success then they would have accepted what everyone else said about how Doodle would not be able to walk which even Doodle agreed with at first. Without pride, one would not have the inner desire for success

In numerous books, I noticed how it is looked down upon to be a prideful person. This is a lesson that too many people do not seek knowledge of. Those are the few who do not realize the way that you act towards other is only a reflection of yourself. I have seen up close and personal how being a prideful person can seriously hurt your life. In the Popol Vuh I saw them mention pride countless times and one example of that would be from the story of the twins grandparents healing the Lord. “They had desired the death of Seven Macaw, and they were able to do it. For they saw pride as evil and went to do these things according to the word of Heart of Sky.” (p. 88, PopoVuh). What is evil to one could be good to the other, just as what is good

‘Brother’ has a difficult time having a crippled brother forming a Man VS Self conflict. ‘Brother’ changes throughout the story but in the end is consumed by pride. The theme Hurst tries to show throughout the ‘Scarlet Ibis’ s that one can have pride, but it can lead to helpful outcomes, but don’t become consumed by it or you will not get what you dreamed of. When ‘Brother’ and Doodle revealed that Doodle could walk at his 6th birthday “ “What are you crying for?” asked Daddy, but I could not answer. They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was [...] Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (Hurst 258). When ‘Brother’ starts crying he is consumed by guilt from forcing Doodle to learn how to walk. He knew it was pride controlling him, but could not help free himself from it. His pride though let him teach Doodle to walk and gain compassion for Doodle, his crippled brother. The incident changes ‘Brother’ in a way where he learned, but did not realize, he should never have pushed Doodle as far as he did. ‘Brother’s’ pride got the better of him and he wanted to teach Doodle how to row a boat and run. ‘Brother’ tried day after day, but Doodle just did not have the endurance. Yet ‘Brother’ did not stop, he kept pushing Doodle to his limits “The faster I walked, the faster he would, so i began to run [...] in the moment

Pride, which becomes a major life lesson that is being taught throughout this book, concludes that pride it self is a life changing characteristic that one may chose to attain. In attaining pride one may seem arrogant or stubborn or one may chose to toss the pride aspect of life aside, yet seem somewhat less respectable. This book entails that pride should be taken into serious consideration since it has a major impact in everyday

A father smiling down at his son; a teacher learning from his pupil; a soldier gazing up to his country’s flag. Or a woman masking her face with makeup; a man boasting endlessly of a talent; a child mocking another’s impediment. All textbook illustrations of pride. Nevertheless, the first trio is of outward pride—pride not of one’s own accomplishment, but the achievements of something or someone else. Moreover, the second trio consists of an inner pride—a vain, arrogant, conceited, egotistic, narcissistic feeling. Another crucial aspect of different prides is Jane Austen’s Pride vs. Vanity. She says, “A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” Although “pride goeth before the fall”, pride, being outward or being competent to ourselves, is a healthy feeling unless provoked into vanity and narcissism.

Pride can be a good thing at times, but never have to much of it. It could get in the way of many things. Which is what happens in Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, when Brother's pride gets in the way of excepting his little brother Doodle. Doodle was born premature and can't do the things that Brother can do. Brother doesn't like the fact that Doodle is so slow at doing things. He threatens him, makes him feel bad for the way he is, pushes him to limits that could really hurt Doodle. Have pride but not so much to where it starts effecting the people around you. Reason #1

Another example of pride would be with John Proctor. John Proctor was your everyday man. He was a farmer, he claimed to be Godly though he was said to never attend church. Not attending church then was very frowned upon and even considered a horrible sin. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams. Abigail did this to get revenge because Elizabeth fired her. Elizabeth did this because Abigail had an affair with John. He would not confess to being associated with the Devil because it was not true and he did not want shame brought to his name. Though his wife talked him into confessing, he would not sign his name to the paper. Not only did he not sign his name; he also ripped up the papers. This shows a great deal of pride as well, being that he would not confess because of the way society would look at him thinking that he was associated with the Devil.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst indirectly characterizes the narrator as prideful and sadistic through his thoughts and actions, to convey the idea that an excessive amount of pride causes someone to be deceitful, and act for their own personal gain at someone else’s cost. The abundant amount of pride the narrator has blinds him, ruining his perspective of his brother, Doodle. “The Scarlet Ibis” revolves around the narrator reminiscing on his past memory of Doodle, his “invalid” younger sibling. The narrator longs for someone to run with, play with, and fight with; a brother to be proud of. However, the birth of a frail and severely disabled younger brother is a disappointment. The narrator’s pride along the storyline leads him further into believing in his own infallibility, after been emboldened by the success of Doodle.

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.

“I did not realize 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”, by James Hurst, showed very clearly that there are 2 different sides to pride.” The author s“There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.” This is a quote from John C. Maxwell about good and bad pride. This topic of good and bad pride comes from the book “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. This book explains how having too much pride in one’s self can create a negative product, or a positive product, as shown by the character Doodle and his brother. This is a story that shows how two younger brothers both have a heap of pride in themselves and each other and eventually learn how it can affect a person. The author of “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, proclaims that “Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing” to own. He shows the reader this through the two main characters, Doodle and his

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” the larger message Hurst was that pride can be a dangerous thing. Brother’s pride and shame prevented him from loving Doodle making which led to the death of Doodle. During his lifetime Brother had always wanted a brother he could laugh and play with, but when Doodle comes into his life he is an immediate disappointment to Brother. Doodle’s disability of being frail and weak halted brothers expectations for them in the near future,” But Mama, crying, told me that even if William Armstrong lived, he would never do these things with me.” Seeing his brother as unfit and invalid, he immediately set out to “improve” and shape Doodle in his image. Hurst uses this part of the story to foreshadow that Brother will

Any great accomplishment can make someone feel proud about their work. It makes one feel good; it raises a person's spirits. "No question, pride has its good points." (The Toronto Star, Nov 1999) Then again, there are also the bad points of pride one must consider, before being proud. Pride can deceive a person into being ambitious, and make them strive for something that is not rightfully theirs. Both Macbeth and Willy encountered this problem. Pride can also cause a bad relationship with the people one loves most. For Macbeth and Willy, their relationships with their families were burdened as a consequence of this pride. Pride can lead to much worse things; it can put a person in a

Pride was believed to be “a high or overweening opinion of one’s own qualities, attainments, or estate, which gives rise to a feeling and attitude of superiority over and contempt for others” (OED 2). This usage of the word pride gives it a negative cynical connotation, describing people as vain, arrogant or belittling other people. An example of this could be when someone famous thanks “all the little people” as seen as in movies and TV as a joke. They are suggesting that they are bigger or greater than others. Pride is not a negative trait to have if it doesn’t get the best of you.

Pride is defined as “ excessive belief in one’s own abilities, that interferes with the individual’s recognition of the grace of God.”(www.deadlysins.com). ”It was pride that changed angels into devils ; it is humility that makes man as angels” said St. Augustine (www.deadlysins.com) . Pride is a sin that is sometimes misinterpreted as self-esteem but it isn’t. In roman mythology Narcissus was so in love with his reflection that he spent all his time looking at it and he ended up withering away and dying. ‘Narcissism tends to develop in tandem with parental warmth’.(https://blogs.scientificamerican.com). The prototypical grandiose narcissist is characterized by arrogance, superiority, vanity, entitlement, exploitativeness, exhibitionism, and the incessant need for acclaim from others.(https://blogs.scientificamerican.com). Excess pride leads to narcissism and narcissism can ruin your relationships. Showing too much pride can lead to you losing your form of income.

Most people have these feelings or opinions without even realising it. Pride is a feeling of satisfaction that you have done well, however, it can also mean that you feel better than others. Pride can be linked to vanity, which can be described as a feeling of excessive pride regarding aspects of yourself, for example, your looks or abilities.