Scarlet Ibis Pride Theme
“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst clearly conveys a theme that pride can account for one’s achievements or for one’s destruction. The narrator, Brother, is very prideful and soon it greatly affects those around him, and not in a positive way. Brother is embarrassed and ashamed of his brother, and how his disability makes him different. The narrator even took control the situation, determining to smother his brother if he ends up being mentally disabled as well admitting to himself that, “It was bad enough having an invalid as a brother, but having one who possible was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (1. 5. 1). The narrator showed significant signs, even at such a young age,