End of the Year Writing Reflection:
This year I learned a lot about writing, the structure of it and how to write a good essay. We had to write essays on The Scarlett Ibis and at first I did not know what a thesis is or what each body paragraph should be about or include. I learned how to complete these things by practicing many times and by competing my rough drafts on time to get feedback. I have improved in using the correct format but, I still need to work on using the right tense. My goals for next year are to write more and to be more creative.
Scarlet Ibiss Essay
Excessive Pride
“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose the someone you love with your useless pride.” In “the Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator is ashamed of his disabled brother so he pushes him to his limits. His pride gets in the way resulting in the worst. Through his writing the author teaches the reader that too much pride can make people treat those they love in cruel ways.
The narrator is a person full of pride and he lets people see that. The narrator lets the reader know what he is proud of, “I thought myself pretty smart at many things like holding my breath, running, jumping, or climbing the vines in old Woman Swamp, and I wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with and someone to perch within the top of the great pine behind the barn, where across the field and swamps you could see the sea. I wanted a brother.” (Hurst, pg. 1) With the author stating this it shows for how he holds his pride at a high standard and makes sure to keep it there. However it also shows how he wants someone to share the pride and help him get better. In addition, he shows that again with saying, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother that age that couldn't walk.” (Hurst, pg. 2) The narrator is even embarrassed to be seen with his crippled brother. His held high pride could be reunited, even his reputation of being smart at many things. With his pride in mind the narrator acts to help his reputation.
With his pride at heart the narrator treats his loved ones with cruelty. The narrator says that, “School was only a few weeks away and Doodle was far behind schedule. He could barely clear the ground when climbing up the rope vines, and his swimming was certainly not passable. We decided to double our efforts, to make that list drive and reach our pot of gold. I made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. Wherever I went, I purposely walked fast and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry.”(Hurst, pg. 4) The author shows that he keeps pushing Doodle even when he knows that it is hard for him to keep up. He doesn't want to quit because of what other people are going to think of them and his pride getting hurt. In addition he also says, “ The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could leaving him far behind, a wall of rain dividing us. The drops stung my face like nettles and the wind flared he wet glistening leaves of the bordering trees. Soon I could hear his voice no more.”(Hurst, pg. 6) This shows that he does the same things even after not being able to accept failure because of his pride getting in the way. He doesn’t notice he has been treating Doodle so poorly until after they fail. With treating his loved ones cruelly he ultimately pays the ultimate price when Doodle dies.
As a result of too much pride people can often treat those they love in cruel ways. The author teaches with a tragic message that the narrator is too proud of himself to realize how he is treating his brother. With the result being death the narrator is too late to realize his mistakes. Its okay to be proud of yourself and be proud of others, but there comes a point in time where you have to know the appropriate amount of pride and who is getting affected by it.
I got a 2 on my first essay that we wrote this semester. On this essay I got this grade because I use different tenses
and my grammar was wrong. Some goals that I have for writing is to be more creative and write outside of school.