...“Pride is the mother of arrogance” (Toba Beta). Pride is a feeling that everyone has felt in their lifetime, whether it be because they finally solved a question in math or because they finally graduated from college. That’s pride in it’s best form, but then there’s also the bad kind of pride, the kind mentioned in the quote above, that leads to arrogance and can sometimes be harmful. The tale The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a great example of how pride can be harmful. The Scarlet Ibis revolves around two brothers, Doodle (who is disabled), and his older brother, the narrator. In the story, the narrator tries to teach Doodle to do things like an abled person. He succeeded with teaching Doodle to walk, so then his ego/pride starts growing...
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...The Sharing of a Common Theme “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “The Interlopers” by Saki both share a common theme ‘appearance versus reality’. Though both of the articles have two completely different plots, they share an idea that is displayed throughout both stories. The theme may seem to have different levels of importance or appear in different parts of the stories, but it is present in both no matter what. Here is an example of how “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Interlopers” both have the theme ‘appearance vs. reality’. The theme of appearance versus reality is displayed in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by illustrating Big Brother’s disappointment at having a disabled brother transformed to embarrassment and selfish desire of...
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...James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” has a theme, pride is egregious, which Hurst demonstrates through a series of quotes with the main ideas of offering help only due to pride, the belief of infallibility, and pushing someone farther than their limits. The theme can be first expressed when Brother only teaches Doodle to walk only because of his pride. After Brother teaches Doodle to walk, he reflects upon his reasons of doing so in the excerpt,“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,”(Hurst, 4). In the previously mentioned situation pride is egregious because Brother is embarrassed about Doodles...
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...In “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, and “The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allan Poe, the characters in both works are the theme of Appearance versus Reality. The authors use Appearance versus Reality by revealing the cruel intentions of Montresor and the reality of how Doodle learned to walk. Both “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are influenced by Appearance versus Reality as the plot progresses in both of these stories. The process of maturation in Doodle and Brother demonstrate the theme of Appearance versus Reality in “The Scarlet Ibis”. When Doodle was born, his family and the doctor presumed that he would not live to experience a full life. Even his own mother did not think that he would remain...
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...use themes in their stories to relate to the reader and leave a specific message or moral for the reader to remember. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the theme is to always have faith in someone’s potential and abilities, even if the odds are against them. The specific writing techniques James Hurst uses in his short story are foreshadowing, interesting dialogue, and inner conflict. The author uses foreshadowing to help prepare the reader for what is going to happen later in the story. During the story this is shown through the narrator’s feelings about Doodle, “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (Hurst 3) The narrator is questioning his relationship with his brother Doodle, and how much he...
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...The Two Meanings of Pride The story, the “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about a young boy teaching his physically disabled brother, Doodle, how to become “normal.” The story surrounds the most powerful emotion, pride. The narrator was full of pride for his brother at times when he abled him to learn new things. The story expresses the idea that it is good to be full of pride for others, however, pushing people past their limits can be harmful. In the “Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle was pushed over his physical limit and suffered consequences. Several quotes in the story draw attention to the emotional theme, pride. Pride comes along with embarrassment. “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who...
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...Literary Analysis: “The Scarlet Ibis” Can pride affect others in a bad way? The topic of the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator helps his brother Doodle(William Armstrong) to accomplish things no one thought was possible because of his bad heart. But in the end he pressured his brother too much and Doodle dies, all because he wanted pride from it. The theme adolescents that pride can both be a good and a bad thing, which you can see through the plot of the story. The narrator reflects on his actions and realizes how selfish he was towards Doodle. In one line it shows that the narrator is planning on teaching doodle more but he saw it as his own victory instead of Doodles victory, “Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle...
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...“Scarlet Ibis” Theme Is there something in your life that embarrases you? If so, you probably know how brother feels in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. In the story brother is embarrassed by his brother Doodle. He forces Doodle to do things he really wasn’t capable of doing. Brothers selfishness throughout the beginning, middle, and end of the story help prove the theme that you should love people for who they are. Throughout the story I think brother was consistently selfish. He changed his brothers name from William Armstrong to Doodle because that name was too sophisticated for someone like him. At the start of the story, brother showed Doodle his coffin because nobody thought he was going to survive: “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not there at all was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (James Hurst 169). This shows that brother doesn’t have any love or feelings for Doodle. These are ways brother acted selfish and did not care much about his brother....
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...The theme of loyalty and betrayal is analyzed across “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, “My Brother’s Keeper” by Jay Bennet, and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. These stories present a deep dive into brotherhood and human dynamics. Each narrative offers a setting where loyalty strengthens or unravels bonds between one another, leading to a form of betrayal at the end of the narration. Furthermore, the relationship between the two brothers in “The Scarlet Ibis” is characterized by a complexity of loyalty and betrayal. The narrator’s dedication to his little brother Doodle stems from a sense of responsibility, which later reverts into a connection driven by pride throughout the story. At the end of the story, the narrator shares his last thoughts...
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...Some stories however, include themes of guilt in which a character is haunted by his past. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst employs flashback and mood to create the emotion of guilt that haunts the narrator. Hurst utilizes flashback by giving a sense of guilt emitting from the narrator. Throughout the story, the author gives examples of the narrator’s selfish actions, which is how he treats his crippled brother, Doodle. Then, Hurst portrays mood by writing the narrator’s thoughts of what horrible actions the narrator did to Doodle. The narrator feels ashamed of having a disabled brother, and feels the need to push Doodle to become “normal”, and this pressure makes the narrator look back and feel guilt. One way the narrator represents guilt is through flashback. Throughout the...
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...Naomi Long Madgett’s meaningful poem “Women with Flower” makes a marvelous companion read to the heart heavy short prose “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, with its methods of figurative language that allow the poem to reflect Hurst’s prose therefore emphasizing the meaning behind Hurst’s words and the dangers of pride. The extensive use of personification and metaphors in Madgett’s poem, make it easy to understand. Nevertheless it still allows her to get her point across. The personification “let the soil rest from so much digging” has clearly given human qualities to the non-human object, soil, as it has no need for rest, for soil simply does not get tired (Magett 619). However Madgett’s line can quickly evolve into an extraordinary metaphor...
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...In the gruesome first person narration of “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst. The author tries to show people that excessive pride can not only hurt oneself but can be harmful to others. This is shown by the thoughts and words of Brother, it is also shown by the reactions of other characters. In the short story the thoughts of Brother really have an impact on the theme. Brother’s thoughts cause Brother’s pride to become fairly ignorant. This can be seen as early as the fourth paragraph where he thinks, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so i began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow,” (163). In this time his pride wouldn't let him have an invalid brother so he planned on killing him. Even though he doesn't kill him in the end his ignorant actions cause Doodle to die, “ I ran as fast as i could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us,” (172). Because of this...
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...What is the real price of pride? Does pride sometimes make people make the wrong decisions? In the story “ The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the main character Doodle’s brother is embarrassed of Doodle. Doodle could not walk, run, swim, or be exposed to harsh sunlight. The narrator set out on a mission to teach Doodle to do these things, so Doodle would not embarrass him when school rolls around, and in the process of teaching Doodle something terrible happens to Doodle and it is all the narrators fault. The theme of the story is regrets and it is best revealed through the element of important statements. Even though the narrator loves Doodle he is still cruel to him, because of his own selfishness. The narrator is embarrassed by Doodle....
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...Pride´s Repercussions In ¨The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst characterizes the narrator as overly egotistical to exhibit the theme that one's pride can cause harm to others. Towards the middle of the story, when the narrator's brother Doodle, who has a heart disability which causes him to have to strain to move, turns five years old the narrator, ¨feels embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk so he, ¨set out to teach him.¨ (7) The word “embarrassed” implies the narrator´s large amount of pride, as rather than teaching Doodle for his benefit, the narrator only does so because Doodle´s disability puts a damper on the narrator's pride. Under normal circumstances, the narrator teaching his brother to walk should seem like a...
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...Teacher and Author: Teaching Middle and High School Using Literature Sandra Coleman Grand Canyon University RGD 545 Professor Karen Foster February 27, 2008 Teaching Middle and High School Student Using Literature Outline: I. Short Stories a) Activating Prior Knowledge b) Responding to the Selection c) Short Story Selections 1. Suggested Activities to use with Various Groups II. Oral Tradition Literature – Tall Tales and Folktales a) Analyze characteristics and plots of Folktales and Tall Tales b) Understanding Hyperbole c) Writing a Tall Tale d) Selections of Oral Tradition Literature III. Novel Studies a) Previewing the novel b) Defining and Understanding Elements of c) Character Analysis d) Problems and Solutions of the story IV. Historical Fiction a) Activating background/prior knowledge b) Setting a purpose for reading c) Writing about historical fiction V. Realistic Fiction a) Evaluating Realistic Fiction b) Responding to the selection c) Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion d) Summarizing the Story Chapter 1 – Short Stories: A short story is, like the name...
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