What possible message can I take away from reading "The Scarlet Ibis"?

There are of course many different messages or potential
themes that you could take away from reading this excellent story. One of the key themes
of the text is the conflict that is presented between love and pride. Chiefly of course
this is explored through the relationship of the narrator and his brother, Doodle.
Although Brother clearly loves his disabled younger sibling, at the same time his
relationship with Doodle is impacted by pride and the way that this can lead to cruelty.
The narrator clearly feels a sense of embarrassment at Doodle's various limitations, and
does everything he can to train Doodle so that he won't be different from everybody
else. We see this clearly after the demonstration that Doodle gives his parents when he
shows them he has learnt how to walk. When he sees this, the narrator begins to cry.
Note what the text tells us at this stage:

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"What are you crying for?" asked Daddy, but I
couldn't answer. 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.

The narrator's
relationship with Doodle is clearly driven by pride as well as love, which forces him to
push Doodle to ever greater feats of physical achievement. It is this sense of pride of
course that leads to Doodle's death, as the brother, in spite of Doodle's obvious sense
of exhaustion, continues to train his brother until Doodle actually dies from the
physical strain. Thus the message of this story concerns the way that often in our
closest relationships other, more negative emotions can be incredibly important. We need
to be aware of these emotions and feelings in order to ensure that they do not destroy
both ourselves and the relationship.