The inner emotions and traits of humans are unpredictable, because each person’s thoughts and opinions are specialized for themselves. In James Hurst's short story, The “Scarlet Ibis”, Brother states that, "...pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death" (347). This means that everyone has a choice to make, either good or bad. Choosing one or the other, can greatly affect each life. One's prideful qualities may create self assurance and increase happiness, but it may also be a detriment to themselves and others by selfish means.
Whether it be pride in possessions or accomplishments, Brother states, "But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine" (347). Pride made Brother work hard to help Doodle walk. He didn’t want to have to be responsible for …show more content…
Brother had pride because he was the one who taught Doodle to walk, by hard work and patience. He said, "It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who was possibly not all there was unbearable, so I began making plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" (345). Brother began feeling anger and remorse, because pride had a strong grip on him. The thought of living with someone who wasn’t normal, like himself, was an unthinkable notion. Then, he says, "They did not know that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having an invalid brother" (347). Brother's pride made him push Doodle further than he could ever go physically. Sorrowfully, Brother says, “I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldn’t let me” (350). Brother continued to let his pride keep him from being content with Doodle's progress. Because of this, Doodle ends up dying by the hands of his brother. The ultimate price was paid because of