Character Analysis of Braggioni in Katherine Anne Porter's 'Flowering Judas'

What is the definition of pride? If someone were to search the definition they would find that pride is “a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.” People can experience pride from many things like success, or intelligence, and even simple petty things being the first to turn in their test in a class. In the story the character Brother has a different type of pride, instead of being prideful of his actions his pride is a character trait. Brother is prideful of himself and having his crippled brother Doodle damaged his pride which is a dangerous thing when pride is a trait instead of a feeling. People often forget about how important a family member, especially siblings, are because they haven’t matured enough to understand the complexity and importance of life and family. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis” brotherhood is a very big topic throughout it and the character “Brother” demonstrates how complicated and strange being prideful, being a sibling, and being a person, is. Through the story he is characterized as considerate and hurtful through his actions and inner thoughts.

¨At six years old, when his brother is born, the narrator tells the reader that from the first, Doodle was "a disappointment." When he learns that Doodle is possibly mentally and physically challenged, the narrator begins his plan to kill his brother; however, his plans are soon discarded after Doodle smiles at him¨. (James Hurst) The main conflict of "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst is Brother's inability to deal with Doodle's disabilities.

Eugenia Collier, the author of the short story Marigolds makes great use of literary devices such as imagery, diction, flashback, and juxtaposition in a way that creates a voice for the narrator that conveys both the regret over, and possibly the longing for her childhood. The diction, that is, the vocabulary choice is expertly combined with imagery, or the unique descriptions and sensory details, in order to allow the reader to formulate the experiences and the surroundings of the narrator's childhood in their imaginations. Flashback is used to allow the narrator to not only explain how she viewed the events of her past as a child, but to compare these views with her adult feelings of the same events. Juxtaposition aids in further explaining the connection between the setting and emotions of the main character, creating a better picture of the narrator’s life. These elements all combine to construct a narrative that effectively conveys the coming of age theme.

Who is the dynamic character in “The Scarlet Ibis?” To answer this question, one must first know what a dynamic character is or means. A dynamic character is one who changes by the end of the story. In “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator is the one who is the dynamic character. How? First of all, the reason why the narrator is dynamic is he feels atrocious of how he has treated Doodle, his brother. The second reason is the narrator comprehends he should have appreciated his brother more. The last reason is the narrator feels fallacious of what he has done to Doodle; which has possibly led to Doodle’s death.

Pride is a leading theme in most of the short stories in the unit. All show that your pride can endanger you or someone else.

"What are the words that can solder cracked pride?" Have you ever had cracked pride? Or maybe you have just had a bad stormy day. Maybe you have just had bad luck.In the short story “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle, the narators brother, happens to have one of those bad stormy days. The narrator and his brother had a close relationship, however his brothers disability makes him feel ashamed of himself and his brother. Doodle was born in a small, bland house, surrounded by fields and swamps. Doodle was one of the few disabled babies to make it in the times that the family lived, due to the lack of medical knowledge. The narrator is embarrassed of his brother from the beginning of his life due to his disability. In the beginning of the

When Doodle is first born and after about three years he is being taught how to walk like normal people walk and his brother is not to thrilled about it he is just doing it because he does not want to drag him around and be dead weight so he does this so he does not have to deal with him as much.

How far would you take your ‘love’ for someone? Would you kill them? Would you work them till they turn black and blue, or make them touch their own casket just to punish or scare them? Brother seemed to have no limits for Doodle, in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. In this short story, Hurst showed the relationship between a crippled child and his older, forceful brother. Brother pushed Doodle to his maximum, trying to get him to walk, swim, run, and become a ‘normal’ child. Yet, becuase of his embarassment, Brother took his training to great lengths, killing Doodle in the end. This passage uses several important literary devices that advance the story, such as help the readers gain a better meaning of the symbols and what Hurst is trying to convey.

In the the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James, Hurst shows his audience that self pride is a positive aspect in this story, it can help people get through difficult obstacles they have in life, but when people worry too much about their self pride it can lead to hurting others physically and mentally.

Be thankful for the people that you have in life because you never know how long they might have to live. The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a story about a kid that was embarrassed and ungrateful because his little brother was different. Doodle’s brother displayed selfishness and love throughout the story.

The metaphorical connections between Doodle and the scarlet ibis, and plentiful uses of other literary devices, such as oxymorons and personifications, help to enhance thematic and character development in James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis. For it is the title of the book, Hurst employs a scarlet ibis into the story in an eloquent manner. He creates a direct parallel between the tropical bird and Doodle, hence enriching Doodle’s character depth before his ultimate downfall. Originally living in “the tropics— South America to Florida” (Hurst 163), the scarlet ibis is disparate from the average North Carolinian bird. As the ibis collides with a tree, “the bird [begins] to flutter, but the wings [are] uncoordinated” (Hurst 163). Daddy suggests “a storm must have brought it here"(Hurst 163), implying it was an external factor that pushed the ibis out of its boundaries and into to its death.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story about a physically disadvantaged boy and his big brother in early 1900s Eastern North Carolina. The framing device is the big brother telling a story about him and his physically disadvantaged brother. The big brother talks about, in the story, his brother’s birth, his brother’s years as a toddler, his brothers physical disabilities, his relationship with his little brother, the adventures of him and his little brother, and his little brother’s death. In the “Scarlet Ibis”, Brother, whose name is never told to the audience, is characterized as loving, ambitious, and cruel.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst indirectly characterizes the narrator as prideful and sadistic through his thoughts and actions, to convey the idea that an excessive amount of pride causes someone to be deceitful, and act for their own personal gain at someone else’s cost. The abundant amount of pride the narrator has blinds him, ruining his perspective of his brother, Doodle. “The Scarlet Ibis” revolves around the narrator reminiscing on his past memory of Doodle, his “invalid” younger sibling. The narrator longs for someone to run with, play with, and fight with; a brother to be proud of. However, the birth of a frail and severely disabled younger brother is a disappointment. The narrator’s pride along the storyline leads him further into believing in his own infallibility, after been emboldened by the success of Doodle.

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses the ibis as a symbol for Doodle in order

Think about the word delicate. What comes to mind? To some, it may be a word they use to describe their mom’s glass vase. However, delicate has a greater meaning, a condition of a beautiful, precious, living thing which must be preserved, valued, and cherished. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, the author highlights the life of a young boy named Doodle, who was born disabled, and his older brother, the narrator. The narrator, referred by Doodle as Brother, lacks the understanding of how Doodle is extremely fragile, and often neglects his needs and safety while trying to train Doodle to be “normal.” Hurst uses many literary devices, such as flashback, foreshadowing, and symbolism, which develops the theme, how delicate things are beautiful, and should be cared for with love and respect.