The Scarlet Ibis Pride Analysis

The brother's pride is the driving force for what occurs in the narrative of James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis."

The narrator/ brother initially describes his little brother, to whom he gives the nickname Doodle, as a "disappointment" and "a burden." Clearly, the little brother is an affront to the narrator's pride. At first, Doodle just lies on a rubber sheet and does not seem to be "all there." Later, he does develop some, but he still cannot walk. As a result, the proud brother, who is embarrassed to do so, must pull Doodle in a go-cart his father made for him. Because of this perceived affront to his pride, the brother insists Doodle learn to walk. They practice secretly because the brother knows he should not strain Doodle, whose heart is weak. Nevertheless, he pressures Doodle to practice for weeks until he can finally walk. The boys decide not to reveal this learned skill until a special occasion occurs; they choose Doodle's sixth birthday. After bringing Doodle to the …show more content…
Shortly before school begins, the brother takes Doodle out on the water and makes him row back against the tide and the approach of a storm. When they finally reach shore, Doodle is exhausted, and as the rain begins to pelt them, Doodle falls behind his brother in their rush to get home. "Brother, Brother, don't leave me! Don't leave me!" he cries, but the pride and the "streak of cruelty" in the brother emerges as he is its "slave," and he runs as fast as he can. When he finally turns back for Doodle, the narrator finds his piteous brother limply seated with his face buried in his arms. When his brother moves Doodle, he falls backward onto the earth, dead. Just as the beautiful and fragile scarlet ibis has died, both the ibis and Doodle are victims of a certain pride that has pushed too