When people are placed in a new environment, they need to either adapt and overcome or they will submit to their fear and self-destruct. They destroy themselves by trying to be what, in truth, is worse than what they had. The main characters in "The Scarlet Ibis"", "The Most Dangerous Game"", and "The Necklace" prove this. In "The Scarlet Ibis, " Brother acts out of pride and embarrassment towards his disabled brother, Doodle, and eventually causes Doodle's death. Mathilde in Guy Maupassant's story "The Necklace"" wishes to be a member of the upper class, but her envy leads to devastating consequences when she loses the necklace she is lent. She end up lost everything and must work relentlessly for ten years to pay for the replacement, all because she didn't tell the truth. "The Most Dangerous Game"," by Richard Connell, demonstrates how fear can be a great motivator. Rainsford changes from a civilized individual into a murderous villain when he finds himself in a terrifying situation. In all these short stories the characters' environment put them to the test, by forcing them to deal with an extreme situation which revealed -their true nature. These three stories clearly prove through the examples of pride, greedy, and fear, that the Environmental Changes played an important role on affecting one's behavior.
James Hurst's story "The Scarlet Ibis"" shows how pride can be beneficial in some ways, and harmful in other ways. Nobody really believes that Doodle will survive. Doodle is expected to die, so "they named him William Armstrong such a name sounds good only on a tombstone (Hurst 416). Brother shames for having a crippled brother, Doodle, and tries to teach him how to fit in with the other children. Once he "succeeds in teaching Doodle to walk, he begins to believe in his own infallibility, and "prepares a terrific development program for Doodle" (421). His true motivation for helping Doodle is for his own selfish reason, to save his own pride.