Figurative Language In The Scarlet Ibis

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst to illustrate the difficulties of living with impairments. Hurst uses characterization by character’s actions, character’s speech, and character’s thoughts to create meaningful characters. In this story, Hurst uses characterization by character’s actions to demonstrate the life of a small, physically impaired boy. All throughout the story, Doodle works to overcome the obstacles facing him, whether it is simply walking or even running.

The quote exposed the narrator’s true motives and intentions to his younger sibling only by his ambition to normalize Doodle, for his own sake. The narrator thought that “pride […] spoke to [him] louder than all their voices”, and that even though he mostly cared his younger brother, he only invested his time and effort to towards Doodle as well as improving his younger sibling's weaknesses to make his family seem more normal. Doodle was oblivious to this, and thought nothing but love towards Older Brother because he was helping Doodle become less different. Hurst also employs the phrase “that pride, whose slave I was” to imply that Older Brother is also having his struggles, and he was figuratively a “slave” to his thoughts, and he was experiencing a conflict with his own morality and dignity. Previous to the younger sibling walking, it seemed “so hopeless from the beginning that it’s a miracle [he] didn’t give up”. The narrator thought, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst. It tells of Doodle and his weak heart and crippled body, and his brother who was filled with too much pride. Hurst creates this story by using many different types of figurative language. Hurst used similes, symbolism, and hyperboles to develop the mournful, yet humorous mood of “The Scarlet Ibis”.

¨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.

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author, James Hurst, uses indirect characterization, mainly through the narrator’s internal thoughts and feelings, to convey the theme that disabilities are not flaws in an individual, and that they are mere differences that make each individual unique. Early in the story, the author explains that Doodle, the narrator’s brother, has a deadly heart condition which prevents him from participating in activities such as running, jumping, swimming, and even walking. When Doodle is not expected to live when he is born, the narrator says that he does not want an “invalid” brother, but instead, wants a brother who can run around, jump, and play with him. Even the rest of the family does not believe that he is going to survive, and they do not even name him until he lives for three months. Later in the story, the narrator thinks, “...but he learned to crawl

In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, the Brother pushed Doodle to learn how to walk, swim, run and various activities so that Doodle would not seem to be crippled. Through the Brother's characterization, conflicts and eventual resolution, Hurst suggested that one's overwhelming selfishness, pride and cruelty can result in the death of a loved brother.

Doodle, a young disabled boy, is a burden to his Brother . Brother, is very ashamed and embarrassed of Doodle. The story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst shows how Doodle is like the Scarlet Ibis. Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis have many of the same conflicts and repeating actions in the story. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst develops the symbolism, which is shown through birds, death, and the color red shows how fragile Doodle really is during his lifetime.

For instance, in “The Scarlet Ibis”, James states “There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love…” (4) By reason of Doodle being born different from Doodle’s brother, Doodle’s brother thought he could be cruel to Doodle. These examples show how figurative language gives the story “The Scarlet Ibis” a dismal tone.

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Hurst illustrates the struggle of one boy with his disability and his and his brothers expectations.

The dangers of cruelty in life ultimately overpower emotions and decisions of higher quality. Difficult decisions are made daily, and the compelling idea of satisfaction leads people to make choices for the sake of themselves. The emotions that potentially can happen because of those decisions are captivating, resulting in cruel outcomes. An author that portrays this idea through a character is James Hurst. In his work, “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst develops a relationship between two brothers using the idea that cruelty ultimately overpowers love. The brothers, Doodle and Brother, experience events that cause them to make valued memories, but also break close bonds. Through these experiences, Brother begins to accept his disabled brother, Doodle, for his limitations. Doodle has to be extremely cautious due to his disability, never letting an emotion or feeling become too strong. Some events lead Brother to show affection towards Doodle, but others prompt him to do just the opposite. Hurst uses Old Woman Swamp and the coffin as symbols in, “The Scarlet Ibis”, to assist in demonstrating the highs and lows of Brother and Doodle’s volatile relationship.

The setting of “The Scarlet Ibis” helps prepare the readers’ state of mind from the very beginning. In the first place, the story takes place at the end of World War I and represents the internal conflict the narrator has as he struggles between guilt of his younger brother’s death and the acceptance of his brother’s disabilities. With this in mind, the narrator is abashed over Doodle’s inability to walk because he thinks disabilities are shameful, and he wanted a brother who was athletic, outgoing, and adventurous. For this reason,”When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him (Hurst 417).” The narrator admits to going out of his way to train Doodle to walk because he has so much pride that it is getting in the way of more important goals, meaning he would rather have a “normal” brother than a happy one. The poor treatment of his brother ultimately leads to Doodle’s death. Furthermore, he forces Doodle to do things unwillingly, such as touch his own coffin and train him to be “normal”. The narrator traumatizes his little brother to think a certain way in order to become accepted by society. Even

Someone will always die and they will have a funeral, but can you imagine losing someone close to you? How about you brother? In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” there are many situations when death is among Doodle and his body. James Hurt wrote the story the “Scarlet Ibis” about a boy that was suppose to be a miscarriage and even the doctor said that he would not survive. He lives on with his brother to help him through his adventurous life. The brother is very ashamed that his young brother came to be disabled and he teaches his to walk. All of this James Hurt creates through his writing. Throughout essay there will be multiple ways the author is expression the tone. Through the use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism, James Hurst creates a Mournful tone in his short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”.

The author of “The scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst, suggests through the actions of his characters and his use of language the theme that too much pride can lead people to do things that can have devastating results. James Hurst quoted, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.” The narrator has a need to make Doodle better to give himself something to be proud of and receive recognition for his actions. The narrator is talking about an event that happened in the past when he tried to teach his brother, Doodle, to walk. He looks back on it with the insight of an adult who has struggled with the consequences of his prideful actions.

The narrator’s authority shines through many times in “The Scarlet Ibis”. Doodle, the narrator’s disabled younger brother, surprises his family by surviving birth, even after a coffin had even been made for him. During a visit to Doodle’s coffin,

Joy is a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. It can be brought through any positive deed. This emotion can be portrayed through characters found in literature. The author, James Hurst, from The Scarlet Ibis represents the feeling of joy through the characters found in this story. In the story, The Scarlet Ibis, Hurst uses diction and figurative language to prove that joy is something that can be brought by faith and determination as it can be rewarding at the end.