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Argumentative Essay

Andres Acevedo

Cupeyville School

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Ms. Judani Rodriguez

October 4, 2023
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Can pride Lead to unwanted things? Yes, in some situations it may not be the best

emotion to show. In other cases it is a very strong emotion. Pride can make individuals resistant

to change perspectives of things when we are too proud to admit mistakes or consider athers

viewpoints. This can result in us making wrong decistons at the wrong times. That is why the

narrator is to blame for Doodles death because he was very cruel to Doodle without really

knowing it. The Scarlet Ibis revolves around the relationship between two brothers, one of

whom has physical disabilities. The older brother, known as Doodle, is born with a variety of

physical limitations, and the younger brother is embarrassed by Doodle's condition. However,

over time, the younger brother becomes determined to help Doodle become more "normal" and

teaches him to walk. Tragically, the story concludes with a heartbreaking event that reveals the

depth of the younger brother's selfishness and pride, leading to a sad and emotional ending.

The first reason of who the narator is to blame tor Doodle's death is that the narrator

didn’t notice that Doodle was trying his best to learn things. Something the narrator said was,

" I too became discouraged because it didn't seem as if he was trying" (Hurst, 1960, p. 4). The

brother went out with him everyday to practice, but after a while he didn’t see progress. The

narrator was too blind, in fact he had way too much pride and it didn’t let him see his brother

brother trying. In another perspective, Doodle was being forced to be a "normal" brother by the

narrator.

Another reason for Doodles death was that the brother wauted him to die. He didnt care

about him at all. Some evidence that the narrator wanted him to die was when he said," I began

to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” ( Hurst, 1960, p. 2). It shows that the

narrator didn’t care if anything bad happened to him. Alter all he did want to kill him. Therefore,

the narrator knew

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that Doodle wasn't supposed to live. After a miracle he survived but the brother just saw him as

an invalid and unbearable brother.

Some people might say that the narrator isnt to blame for Doodles death. He let his

emotions take over hin, The harrator didn’t realize he was hunting his brother nor himself. With

this in mind he wasn’t innocent. The narrator is guilty because of the way he mistreated Doodle

without knowing it. Still he wanted to kill him and the way he let his anger get in the way of his

goals. The narrator said "It was bad enough having, an invalid brother who possibly wasn’t all

there was unbearable” (Hurst, 1960, p.2). Knowing that the narrator didn't apreciate his brother,

meant that he didnt even give him a chance to atleast try.

The narrator is guilty for the death. In fact, The narrator wanted to kill him. He didnt

apreciate a brother who count do anything. Even after the tried to teach him things but didnt

work out the way he wanted them to. After all his emotions controlled him and let his pride get

in the way of a person who couldnt defend or do anything for themselves. His anger was so

much that even after Doodles death he was angry but at himself and didn't realize he was the one

on the wrong the whole time. As a result he ended up being angry with himself and realized

everything about Doodles situation but it was too late.

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Reference
Hurst J. (1960), The Scarlet Ibis. Mirrors & Windows, Carnegie Learning.