Scarlet Ibis Pride Theme

Pride can be a fulfilling quality at times, however, it can sometimes be your enemy. It often breeds cruelty. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, cruel pride is shown perfectly and tragically. Brother, the narrator, wanted a normal sibling; a partner who he could do leisure activities with. “I thought myself pretty smart at many things, like holding my breath, running, jumping, climbing vines in Old Woman Swamp, and I wanted more than anything else 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. I wanted a brother.” (Hurst 595). Instead, he was born with “...an invalid brother…” (Hurst 595). Ashamed, he killed his wounded brother trying to make him normal.

“At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud.” (Hurst 5). This particular quotation is a symbol of the narrator’s brother, which he was exhausted before death just like the ibis in “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst. The narrator has a disabled brother with an abnormally large head, Doodle, who embarrassed and damaged his pride. The narrator’s emotions lead him to teaching Doodle how to walk, run, and swim to achieve an equally talented brother. The narrator’s pride, however, lead to overworking his brother, too tired to flee from the approaching storm, ending in a tragic death. Through these characters’ perspectives, Hurst shows that it is acceptable to be proud of their loved ones, but pride can be harmful to them if people force them into acts that are not in their best interest.

¨At six years old, when his brother is born, the narrator tells the reader that from the first, Doodle was "a disappointment." When he learns that Doodle is possibly mentally and physically challenged, the narrator begins his plan to kill his brother; however, his plans are soon discarded after Doodle smiles at him¨. (James Hurst) The main conflict of "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst is Brother's inability to deal with Doodle's disabilities.

James Hurst is the author of the heart breaking short story entitled “The Scarlet Ibis”. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story about two brothers; one brother is healthy, while the other is physically handicapped. The short story is centered on the idea that the older, healthier brother’s selfishness and pride ultimately led to the death of his younger brother, Doodle. Numerous quotes throughout the story demonstrate Hurst’s use of symbolism and foreshadowing to portray and predict Doodle’s untimely and heartbreaking death.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst that is a short story about adolescent born with a medical condition who is ultimately dead due to his brother’s lack of ability to accept the positive features and alternately focus on the negative features of his brother, William Armstrong, who he later renamed Doodle as he perceived that the fact that his parents “named him Armstrong...was like tying a big tail on a small kite”( Hurst NP). There are numerous subjects in the story such as pride, brotherhood and selfishness that can demonstrate a theme that states that pride and selfishness can interfere with brotherhood by convincing us to commit cruel things to the ones we love. In the beginning of the story,

“The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people” (Chadwick Boseman). In Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator chooses to use his power in a way that hurts his invalid brother, Doodle. While living in a time period where different is improper, the narrator cannot mentally handle the fact that Doodle is different from others. Being the older sibling, the narrator takes on the responsibility to help Doodle become ordinary. He teaches Doodle to walk, run, climb, and swim, because he is ashamed of having a brother with disabilities. As a result, the narrator serves as a villain by forcing his invalid brother, Doodle, past his limitations, which ultimately causes the

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Hurst illustrates the struggle of one boy with his disability and his and his brothers expectations.

Many times we think pride is a good thing, but in this case, it can hurt the ones you love. Webster Dictionary’s definition of pride is, “a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements.” In this story, I will talk about one boy’s pride that comes from the achievements of his brother rather than his own. Rather than celebrating the glory of his brother’s achievements, he lets the pride get to him. This makes him act narcissistic. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator lets his pride and ambition ultimately destroy his brother.

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.

The narrator’s authority shines through many times in “The Scarlet Ibis”. Doodle, the narrator’s disabled younger brother, surprises his family by surviving birth, even after a coffin had even been made for him. During a visit to Doodle’s coffin,

Not only did pride seize my mentality, it controlled my mother’s. When I was younger, I witnessed my own mother stress my brother over his grades. My older sisters were unusually brilliant in school and my mother didn’t want the streak to be ruined. Almost every evening, she’d sit down with him and they’d have extra practice on assignments and projects. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother forced Doodle to walk. “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 597). “‘I just can't do it. Let’s make honeysuckle wreaths.’ ‘Oh yes you can, Doodle,’ I

“The Scarlet Ibis” is the story of two brothers and their complicated relationship. The younger of the two, Doodle, is developmentally delayed and struggles with everyday tasks. His eldest brother teaches Doodle how to accomplish these tasks. Brother’s initial intentions to teach his invalid little brother to walk start out of love, but soon are formed from prideful motives. Despite his brother’s pride, Doodle strives to please him by cooperating, because he loves his older brother. After Doodle’s passing, Brother’s tangled web of pride is straightened out again to reveal his pure brotherly love and how much he misses his little brother. In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis”, the most prominent emotion is love because of the powerful role it plays in the brothers’ interactions with one another.

Pride Overcomes Judgement James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” is about the battle between love and pride and reveals that pride alters people’s perception of loved ones capabilities demonstrated by symbolism. James Hurst’s use of symbolism suggests that the Scarlet Ibis is a symbol of Doodle’s life and his journey to be able to walk, even though his disabilities challenge that. The narrator teaches Doodle to walk out of this embarrassment towards him, all because he isn’t like a “normal” six year old kid. After he successfully teaches his brother, Doodle, to walk he lets his pride and embarrassment alter his perception and pushed Doodle to his maximum capability.

I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death,”-Narrator, The Scarlet Ibis. Pride can be a very dangerous and wonderful thing, but in the story more destruction is occurring then happiness. The characters consist of Doodle and brother. Doodle was born with disabilities that brother wanted to change so he wouldn’t get made fun of by his peers. Wanting to have pride, brother pushed Doodle too much, took pride for a selfish reason, and eventually caused Doodles death at the end of the story.