Pride is something that is essential in human life. Due to pride, we are able to see the joys
in life and earn respect for ourselves. However, pride also has a negative aspect. Pride can cause misunderstandings and conflicts to erupt between two people and can lead to becoming hurt. For example, in "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan, Waverly and her mother are constantly fighting and disagreeing with each other because her mother always openly exhibits her pride. And in "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, Brother's pride compels him to constantly push his sick little brother, Doodle, to become a normal child. Waverly and Brother handle their pride differently since Waverly runs away from her problems, whereas Brother faces his problems head-on and tries hard to fix them.
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Waverly deals with her pride by running away from her mother.
She doesn't face her problems or try to fix them. Waverly and her mother are constantly fighting and disagreeing with each other because of her mother's boastful pride. This conflict continues to build up until Waverly is no longer able to take it and runs away. When Waverly's mother boasts to others about Waverly's success in chess, Waverly "raced down the street, dashing between people, not looking back as [her] mother screamed shrilly" (Tan 23). This shows that Waverly runs away from her conflicts. Because her mother is so proud, she boasts to everyone about Waverly. This annoys Waverly because she feels embarrassed about her mother always showing her pride
and Wu !1 acting as if she is the chess prodigy. Because of this, Waverly runs away from her mother and her problems. But Waverly also fails to face her problems when she avoids confronting her mother about her problems. Waverly and her mother constantly fight and disagree with each other, but Waverly doesn't do anything about their situation since she just lets her mother control her. After Waverly's chess tournament win, her mother says, "'Lose eight piece this time. Last time was eleven. What I tell you? Better off lose less!'" (21). But Waverly couldn't say anything to her mother who knows nothing about chess. This shows that she doesn't confront her mother to fix their problems and disagreements with each other. Even when Waverly wins a tournament, she still faces disagreement with her mother. But she fails to tell her mother about what she is doing wrong. Waverly doesn't stand up for herself and try to fix her problems; she runs away from her problems instead of facing them head-on. Brother copes with his embarrassment by constantly pushing Doodle to become a normal child. Instead of being aware of Doodle's limits, Brother continuously pushes him to walk and run and be more physical. Brother faces his problems head on and tries to fix them instead of running away from them. During the summer, Brother decided that Doodle wasn't good enough physically, so he "made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. Wherever [they] went, [he] purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed" (Hurst 10). This shows that Brother was constantly pushing Doodle to become stronger and more physically active. Instead of running away from his problems, Brother deals with his pride by pushing Doodle to get stronger. Brother also faces his problems when he supported Doodle when he was very young. When Doodle was very young, Brother would shout, "Mama, he smiled. He's all there! He's all there!" (4). This shows that he is always Wu !2 very supportive and is always there for his brother. Even though his parents didn't believe in Doodle and thought he was going to die, Brother stood by him and supported him no matter what. He was the only one who taught Doodle how to walk and do things no one could have ever imagined him doing. No one else even had the courage or the support to help him. Brother doesn't give up on Doodle and tries to help him succeed in becoming stronger. Brother faces his problems head-on since he tries to help make Doodle a normal child. Waverly and Brother handle their pride differently since Waverly avoids her problems, but Brother deals with his problems head-on. Waverly constantly struggles to find the courage to stand up against her mother. She also fails to confront her mother and stand up for herself. On the other hand, Brother constantly pushes Doodle to his limits to help him grow physically. This shows that if you aren't assertive and have the confidence to stand up for yourself, others will take advantage of you. In the end, facing your problems head-on helps you raise your self-esteem and boost your confidence level to ultimately succeed in life.
In “The Scarlet Ibis” the positivity of pride prevails in the characters. I think that judgement is influenced by pride, and it can change the whole outcome of a situation. Pride that has wonderful consequences, counts more than pride that ends
The narrator reflects,”I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two things life and death,”(Hurst 3).This quote showed that at first the narrator thought pride was good but later he became self centered and ashamed of his disabled brother and pushed him far beyond his limit.The short story called The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a drama where the narrator, or older brother, wishes his younger brother wasn’t disabled. Because he is so fueled by pride, the older brother ends up pushing his brother beyond his capabilities to his death. In this story, we will learn how the narrator’s pride led to the tragic death of Doodle.
The Mother is very critical of the strategy that Waverly uses to defeat her opponents. When Waverly
Dante Alighieri once said, "Avarice, envy, pride, three fatal sparks, have set the hearts of all on Fire." In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, it shows how pride can be beneficial in some ways, and harmful in other ways. The story starts out as the narrator of the story has a recollection of his past when his younger brother Doodle was still alive. The narrator tells how everyone believed Doodle is crippled mentally and physically. However, Doodle is a normal human being mentally, but has some difficulties physically. The narrator wants Doodle to become a "normal" boy, so he teaches him to practically all the activities any boy Doodle's age would do. One day, Doodle and the narrator were playing in the fields. A large storm came and both had to run home before it became too hard to handle. Doodle started running after his brother, but couldn't withstand it, and eventually, his stamina died down and had to rest. The narrator felt ticked off by Doodle and deserted him. A few minutes later, the narrator discovered Doodle under a tree, blood trickling from his mouth, dead. In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, it shows how pride can be beneficial in some ways, and harmful in other ways.
In the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, an important theme is pride. Pride is what keeps the story going. The theme is expressed in the story in many ways. An example is when the narrator teaches Doodle to walk and shows the family. The narrator is so proud of what he did that he wanted to continue to make Doodle "more of a person." I think that this pride that the narrator has can cause readers to get angry. It was that pride that caused Doodle to die in the end. The narrator lost his pride when Doodle could not succeed and left him. Doodle died because the narrator ran away and did not help him. If he didn't let his pride get to him then Doodle wouldn't have died.
In James Hurst's short story “The Scarlet Ibis” the author describes the life of Doodle and the relationship he shares with his brother. During the story he has some happy moments with his brother, but his brother is also very selfish. Doodle pushes himself to his limits to try to please his brother. Doodle’s brother lets his pride get the best of him and forgets about the wellbeing and feelings of Doodle. (Summary) Throughout the entire story the central message is, Pride can lead people to do terrible as well as wonderful things.(thesis)
Although pride can lead to beneficial outcomes, pride with the absence of empathy can lead to a devastating result. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell shows that having too much pride and no empathy can get someone in some terrible trouble. The theme is proven by Rainsfords pride and unempathetic-ness, how the general had too much pride, and how the general only saw himself as the hunter, not the hunted.
The definition of pride is a feeling or deep pleasure of satisfaction that people obtain from their own accomplishments. Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, is full of pride throughout his long journey. Odysseus is a warrior from the ten year Trojan War and he is trying to get back home to Ithaca. He is one of the most popular war heros from his time. On his journey home over sea, the sea god and Odysseus’s enemy Poseidon, creates obstacles for Odysseus that he has to overcome if he wants to get home. Odysseus eventually returns home after another ten years. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer represents pride Odysseus’ biggest flaw throughout his encounter with Polyphemus and the Phaeacians.
Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it.
In most cases pride always results from great accomplishments. Pride can lead to deception where people especially the ones in power, base their decisions on their ability to have dominion over everyone else. It is the major cause of broken relationships within family members. Pride has and will always be root of evil unless people change and humble themselves. Pride is most evidently seen in Antigone by Sophocles where Creon, the leader, refuses to listen to reasons as seen through Teiresias and Haemon. Teiresias gives him an advice that states; “And your house will be full of men and women weeping, And curses will be hurled at you from far Cities grieving for sons unburied, left to rot Before the walls of Thebes.” (Ant. 214). Instead of listening to the advice and taking actions, Creon mocks Teiresias and tells him that his prophecy is for sale. Creon's human flaws and emotions such as pride and arrogance lead to his ultimate downfall as well as his family’s, which ties into him being the tragic ...
What is the effect of having too much pride? Can different forms of pride such as familial and social have different consequences? Pride is usually considered to be a positive aspect in one’s life, but too much of it can have adverse results. By observing today’s society, as well as Shakespearean society, it is clear that too much pride in any form can inhibit the ability to accept differences in people and oneself.
Even though pride can be a good thing at times, it is hurtful, it is an emotion that can make or break someone.
Tan explained the feelings of Waverly through an important symbolic imaginary chess game as she wrote, “My white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell off the board one by one. As her men drew closer to my edge, I felt myself growing light” (508). This showed how Waverly felt about the relationship with her mother and how she was losing the battle. The conflicts were important especially to the theme, for the conflicts shown where the lack of understanding came from and how it can be resolved.
Waverly's family is below the poverty level. They live in a flat above a pastry shop in Chinatown, and the Christmas presents she received are from people just giving old possessions away. The chess set that her two brothers receives is even missing two pieces. Waverly's mother first shows her overbearing pride when she tells the brothers to throw the chessboard away because it is just a pity gift that some Americans just want to throw away. "She not want it. We not want it,' she said, tossing her head stiffly to the side with a tight proud smile" (161). The mother is just ignorant sometimes. She is ignorant because she has to show others she has dignity and pride. Waverly's mother needs to do this because deep down she actually has none at all. Many times when people do not have something, they pretend that they really do possess a lot of something. Waverly's mother is so ashamed about her lack of pride and dignity, she uses her position of power to portray to her children that she did. She uses her children to make her feel better about herself. Waverly's mother is ashamed of how she lived a life of poverty and, the absence of purpose and success in her life. The worst parts about this are her lack of remorse and the despicable abuse of power within her own household. Waverly's mother unveils this aspect of her character throughout Waverly' journey to become a chess master.
The word pride in itself isn’t an important word but it’s meaning implies many things. There are several different definitions for pride. Pride can be referred to as a type of plant, a form of body ornamentation, or even a group of lions. The most commonly used definition of pride is being proud, or having a feeling of great accomplishment and feeling self-satisfaction. The word pride both positive and negative meanings that can be seen throughout history.