"is it normal that one lttle test destroyed my little brother?"

My little brother, Benjamin, has always been a boasting, obnoxious, sarcastic person.

It started when he turned 17 (is that the turning age for such behavior?) and he started exercising. He had always bragged about being the tallest in the family and also being the youngest. But now that he was ripped, it added to his taunting.

Next came his SAT scores. His first PSAT graded him at 1258. When he took the real one last fall he passed with an even higher of 1864. His confidence and mostly ego went to new heights. I was proud of him, but a little annoyed that he wouldn't shut up about it already. My parents supported his incredibly stupid ideas. For instance, taking the SATs again to get a higher score and get accepted to Harvard or another Ivy-League university for Auto Tech? To be a mechanic? Why? I don't know, I just shake my head and leave the room.

And now, just recently he went to take his permit test. My Dad didn't think he was ready because he had always seen Ben play "Burnout" games, where the goal was to crash into other cars. But eventually Dad gave in and bought Ben the manual for the state DMV. Benjamin studied it in two weeks and asked for Dad to drive him over for the test. FYI, Benjamin just turned 18 to take the permit test, he couldn't have taken it earlier because he's been home-schooled since 6th grade and he didn't take the normal high school driving classes/course. So with two weeks of reading the manual, Dad paid $40 for the permit test.

I don't know exactly what happened, but when Ben came home half an hour later, his usual cocky face was dead. No life in his eyes, no smirking, not even standing up straight. It's like his dog just died or something. He went directly into his room and didn't come out.

It's been a month of moping, and I could tell it wasn't going to get any better anytime soon. He really let himself go. Ben didn't exercise anymore, doesn't play his video games, or even keep up with his friends. He used to play outside for at least five hours almost everyday. That or volunteer at the local YMCA. It was just a permit test! On his first try! And yet, the Ben that annoyed me to no end died that day. His world ended? Really?

Is this normal? Does a teenage boy's pride affect them that much?