A Portrait of a Young Boy

In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” a young boy is killed by pride. The narrator in this story has a younger brother with disabilities no one can change. The narrator tries to help Doodle to walk but for all the wrong reasons. The narrator’s self-absorption pushes Doodle to the braking point and the narrator feels completely guilty of the crime he has committed. Although he did a great favor for Doodle, the reader is lead to believe that the death of Doodle was the narrator’s entire fault.
When the reader begins this short story they see that having a high pride level is a priority in the narrator’s life. When Doodle was first born the narrator did not even want to touch him. He was highly embarrassed in the fact that his brother had a problem and he did not want to admit to it. Pride makes the narrator feel that his brother is useless and unimp...