Essay On Pride And Death In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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Pride and Death in The Scarlet Ibis
“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” (3), the narrator revealed out of discomfort, as he only saw his crippled brother, Doodle, as a burden or a mistake. He only felt the need to help him, because of his own benefit, not really caring much about him. The Scarlet Ibis, written by James Hurst, is a short story that deals with these two brothers. One of them is disabled, the other treating him poorly, being quite egotistical. These thoughts of pride from the narrator, the average brother, led to tragic consequences. Therefore, the narrator’s negative pride leads to Doodle’s sad death, as he pleads help from his brother.
The narrator’s pride was extremely negative, as he pushed him too hard multiple times. Like Doodle, the scarlet ibis was also pushed by the storm, which resulted in its death. Similar as the brother is pushing Doodle. When the narrator was around eleven or twelve, he elucidated; “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age …show more content…
He figured this after Doodle’s death occurred. The narrator realized “I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn't let me”(). In this quote, the narrator did accept the fact that he was selfish, and had negative pride towards his brother. Proving that the narrator’s pride was indeed negative. A further quote from The Scarlet Ibis that discusses the negative pride portrayed by the narrator is shown here; “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death”(). Admittingly, the narrator indicates that he was unaware of his pride, and wished he’d known how his pride negatively affected everyone around him. Including Doodle, who was essentially most
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