Billy And Ant Fall Out: Pride

In the story, Billy is nasty to his best friend Ant, and they have a row. Ant goes away, confused by his friend’s behaviour. He feels hurt and let down, so he decides to find a new friend. When Billy sees how easily Ant finds someone else to play with, he feels abandoned, becomes annoyed, and convinces himself he did nothing wrong. There is no way he is going to apologise.

The type of pride in the story allows someone to pretend they’re feeling good, strong and confident, when in fact they are feeling bad and guilty. There are many negative emotions that creep in when the ego takes over: in this case guilt because a best friend is upset; jealousy because he’s found another friend to play with, and envy that he seems happier playing with someone else. Once these emotions take over, the ego works even harder to prove that whatever is happening, it's not our fault.

It is Billy’s ego that entices him to go and find his own new friends to show Ant he does not need him. Even though it feels a bit uncomfortable, he decides he’ll show Ant he does not need his friendship!

When he gets drawn in by the older boys and is talked into stealing, it starts to become more serious. Then, worse still, he is asked to steal Ant’s bike in exchange for money. By this time he cannot untangle himself without losing face, and his ego is not going to let that happen.

However, Billy knows he has done wrong, and that things have gone too far. He does not want his friend to be upset about losing his bike, and tries to get it back to him without being seen. When he’s caught, he realises the only right thing to do is to apologise and try to get his best friend back.

The confident pride in himself that he is a good person overrides the arrogant pride that nearly caused him to lose his best friend. It takes courage to admit you are wrong, but knowing that you can be honest about how you feel is the best reward there is.