Theme Of Nobody Is Good At All

Having too much faith in an unrealistic goals will lead to criticism from others or disappointment in being unable to achieve it. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator has a plan to train his physically disabled brother, Doodle, to be able to run, swim, climb and fight like other boys before he started going to school. However, as the day school began comes closer, the narrator finds he was making little progress. “It was a Saturday afternoon, just four days before school began. I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldn’t let me” (Hurst 187).

“At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud.” (Hurst 5). This particular quotation is a symbol of the narrator’s brother, which he was exhausted before death just like the ibis in “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst. The narrator has a disabled brother with an abnormally large head, Doodle, who embarrassed and damaged his pride. The narrator’s emotions lead him to teaching Doodle how to walk, run, and swim to achieve an equally talented brother. The narrator’s pride, however, lead to overworking his brother, too tired to flee from the approaching storm, ending in a tragic death. Through these characters’ perspectives, Hurst shows that it is acceptable to be proud of their loved ones, but pride can be harmful to them if people force them into acts that are not in their best interest.

“My big brother was an athlete — a great baseball player,” Partch said. “He’d hit the ball and it would take off like a rocket. He was kind of majestic, but I was an abysmal failure. I wasn’t sure of myself or my abilities, or my place in the world, for that matter.”

The narrator’s brother, affectionately nicknamed Doodle, wasn’t supposed to live for much more than a day after he was born. “Everybody thought he was going to die- everybody except Aunt Nicey,” (Hurst 1) Doodle was born with a specific disability that perhaps was untreatable then. Yet, they called him a disappointment, and no one believed that he had a single choice. “He was born when I was six, and was, from the outset, a disappointment.” (Hurst 1)No one else tried to find a way to support him even after he lived beyond Aunt Nicey’s expectations. Neither of his parents cared to help or even attempt to love him, presumably they just avoided him all the time. Doctor’s assumed that Doodle wasn’t going to make it, because his heart was too small and his body too big to be supported by it. “The doctor said that with his weak heart this strain would probably kill him, but it didn’t.” (Hurst 2) The narrator tried to treat his brother like a normal kid and make him learn things, to make him closer to normal than

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst demonstrates that the confidence that comes with pride is an inspiration for growth, however, overconfidence can lead to one’s downfall. Despite a year of seemingly hopeless attempts to teach Doodle how to walk, Brother manages to persist because he has “[Doodle] to be proud of” (Hurst 419). Although Brother teaching Doodle how to walk was not altruistic, it was his pride that allowed it to happen in the first place. If Brother and Doodle did not have their pride to fuel their desire for success then they would have accepted what everyone else said about how Doodle would not be able to walk which even Doodle agreed with at first. Without pride, one would not have the inner desire for success

The narrator took pride in teaching his brother how to walk. Later on, he began to teach Doodle other abilities. But the narrator had only taught his brother how to do other activities for his own benefit. During a storm the narrator and Doodle got trapped in, the narrator left Doodle behind. The narrator was too prideful to turn around and help his brother, and his brother ended up dying. The narrator was selfish in teaching his brother how to walk and more out of embarrassment, and since he got paraded for teaching his brother he continued to help his brother, only to have his brother die. Having too much pride can hurt your loved ones because you are not aware that you have become too selfish to care for others, like your own

In the story, the narrator is not able to accept the fact that his little brother cannot do activities all the other little boys could do. An example of acting with pride is when the narrator was finally able to help his disabled brother, Doodle, walk. “I helped Doodle up, and when he was standing

The essay goes into great detail of his relationship with his father. He describes his father as cruel (65), bitter (65), and beautiful (64). He does mention the bad in length. On the flip side, he tells us some of the good as well. Throughout his storytelling, the reader gets a glimpse into his life and the way he feels. His feelings evolve during the extent of the essay.

the characters. The story reminds his audience that a man is more than a father. He is

When we are first introduced to the narrator’s father we find that he has a no-nonsense view of life. He does not

Propaganda is most commonly associated with World War II, yet in our modern day society, we are still inundated with many forms of propaganda, both directly and indirectly. With current events such as the controversial election of President Donald Trump, propaganda has once again moved to the forefront of people’s minds, with an influx of ‘fake news’ and scandalous stories on an almost daily basis, as a consequence of the rise of social media.

Competition and the drive to better than your opponent can distract you entirely from what is important in life. Ever since Willy’s sons have been young, he hammered the concept of competition into their minds. He started when he would reward whoever he felt was more successful with more attention and praise. So, when one of Willy’s sons, Biff, was in high school, he was the star quarterback of the football team. Willy gave him so much praise for this that it often left his other son, Happy, in the shadows. However, Happy wanted to receive praise and attention from his father too, so he began to try to get Willy’s attention and try to compete with Biff for attention. For instance, when Willy asked the boys to steal materials to build the stoop, to get some praise, Happy quickly asked, “I lost weight, Pop, you notice?” (Miller 50). Still, Happy didn’t receive the same attention as his brother. So, this habit continued into adulthood. When Willy would praise Biff and talks about how Biff is going to be magnificent, Happy familiarly interjects trying to get the attention Biff is receiving by exclaiming “I’m getting married, Pop, don’t forget it. I’m changing everything. I’m gonna run that department before the year is up. You’ll see, Mom” (Miller 133). So throughout his whole life, Happy focused on trying to receive the praise Biff was getting. This is why Happy ended up

The narrator though an educator, is not very good at verbalizing his emotions. He tends to be the person who keeps everything inside

As an intrinsic human nature, ambition is an indispensable driving force in society. Ramifications of vaulting ambitions are evaluated with controversial claims in myriad of literatures and academic studies. Ambition prompts one’s desire to achieve a better self; however, overindulgence in ambition would provoke intractable corrosion in one’s morality and logic and eventually precipitate the arrival of irreversible demise.

Growing up, my education involved sitting around the dining room table, multiplying cows per acre, or sitting in my room reading an outdated history book meant for the state of Texas. Many would be fine with this type of education, working on their time, stress free, and simple work that never got a graded, but instead a “That’ll do,” from your parents who were barely home. That wasn’t enough for me.