I think pride is indeed a wonderful and terrible thing; it is a seed that bears two vines, life and death. The pride of doodle’s brother lead him to teach Doodle how to walk, but it is also the main reason that lead to Doodle’s death.
Doodle’s brother’s pride motivated him to push Doodle to learn how to walk. Although it seemed hopeless at the beginning, but Doodle’s brother, fuelled by his pride, did not give up trying. Every day, he goes to the pine beside the stream of Old Woman Swamp, and put Doodle on his feet at least a hundred times each afternoon. For example, it is written in Page 4, third paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis” that. “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” If his pride had not fuelled him to demand Doodle to keep on trying, Doodle may never be able to walk in his whole life.
In contrast, Doodle’s brother’s pride also led Doodle indirectly to his death. Doodle’s brother forced Doodle cruelly to participate in physical demanding activities, so that Doodle could know how to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight, in one year. When Doodle’s brother realized that they were far behind schedule. He decided to push Doodle’s limitation to the extreme. For instance he made Doodle swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn’t lift an oar. Wherever they go, he purposely walked fast, and although Doodle is able to keep up, his face would turn red and his eyes became glazed. All this stretched Doodle to the point of severe exhaustion through constant over-exertion which probably caused Doodle’s death indirectly.
In addition, after realizing that his plans had came to naught, his cracked pride caused him to cruelly left Doodle alone in the plain. He ran as fast as he could, so that Doodle cannot catch up with him. This may be the main reason that caused Doodle’s death. Doodle strained...