Motifs In The Scarlet Ibis

The narrator uses the scarlet ibis as a way to cope with his grief, while also making Doodle’s death look honorable as he refers to Doodle as his “fallen scarlet ibis” (Hurst 441). The scarlet ibis was ethereal in Doodle’s eyes; therefore, the narrator calls Doodle a scarlet ibis to revere him by referring to something Doodle himself revered. The narrator envisions Doodle as the beautiful, majestic scarlet ibis that they witnessed die in their front yard as a way of deflecting the guilt Brother feels about Doodle's death. James Hurst utilizes the color red to symbolize the guilt that Brother feels as it says about Doodle before he died he was bleeding from multiple places and the front of his shirt “were stained a brilliant red” (Hurst 441). The narrator attributes Doodle’s blood as a brilliant red indicating that he found his death somewhat beautiful since the word brilliant carries a positive connotation. By finding beauty in Doodle’s horrible death, the narrator has found yet another way to overcome the misery he feels for the death of his beloved brother. Symbolism proves vital for the reader to understand the different methods the narrator applies to withstand the guilt that overwhelms

James Hurst, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis”, uses death and birds as symbols to show how Doodle is fragile and could die at any moment. Red is a color that is often associated with evil and other times it represents love. Birds also represent death and fragility, but they also mean freedom and change. This shows how Doodle’s and Brother’s paradoxical relationship changes from Brother being evil and selfish, to him being an extremely helpful and caring brother.

James Hurst is the author of the heart breaking short story entitled “The Scarlet Ibis”. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story about two brothers; one brother is healthy, while the other is physically handicapped. The short story is centered on the idea that the older, healthier brother’s selfishness and pride ultimately led to the death of his younger brother, Doodle. Numerous quotes throughout the story demonstrate Hurst’s use of symbolism and foreshadowing to portray and predict Doodle’s untimely and heartbreaking death.

The narrator regrets how he pushed Doodle far beyond his limits. Now that the Brother is older, he knows how pride can affect him. “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.”(4) When the Brother got Doodle to stand, he was confident in Doodle to accomplish any physical movement. So he expected more and more out of Doodle. But he didn’t know the pain and the danger of trying to exceed the limit of one’s body. Now, after all the years have passed by, the narrator realize that his love for Doodle. “But sometimes (like right now), as I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away--and I remember Doodle.”(1) The years have taken away the cruelty and selfishness in the Brother’s early year and he was sorry for how he forced and threatened Doodle. The narrator looks over the cruel moments he had with Doodle and blames Doodle’s death on himself. “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all the other voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.”(5) The voice here is very regretful of his sins, and wants to fix what he had already

One example of Hurst showing symbolism in the story is through birds. Doodle and the scarlet ibis are both graceless and very weak. The scarlet ibis tries to fly, but fails to do so. “At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud” (Hurst 321). Doodle is comparable to the scarlet ibis. He is very clumsy, and looked down upon by his family. They believed that he was not going to live. He is shown through the scarlet ibis because the bird is also very weak, like Doodle. They both have come over many obstacles to be alive. But still, you never know if something so little to you, could break something so fragile like a Scarlet Ibis. In the story after Doodle dies. It talks about how empty the house was. “...the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle” (Hurst 315). Now that the birds are gone and the tree is not occupied, it is like the empty cradle in the house now that Doodle is gone. He is shown through the birds. Doodle is just like the birds leaving their home. And now that Doodle is gone, it is a very empty sensation lingering in the home he once lived in. Doodle is symbolically a bird in the story the Scarlet Ibis because he is very weak and fragile, just like the bird.

“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a realistic fiction about these two brothers, Doodle, and Doodle’s brother who was the narrator of the story, many symbols are used. A symbol is a materialistic object being put in place for an abstract or complex emotion, or idea. For example the emojis you use when texting are symbols you use to express how you are feeling. In this story, Doodle is being symbolized by the Scarlet Ibis, the Scarlet Ibis is a bird and a symbol for Doodle because of their many similarities. An example of the Scarlet Ibis symbolizing Doodle is when Hurst describes the physical health of Doodle and the Ibis. He describes Doodle as being very sick and weak at the beginning of the story by saying “He seemed all head, with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man's. Everybody thought he was going to die-everybody except Aunt Nicey….” (Hurst page 1). Later on in the story when the Scarlet Ibis is introduced, Doodle’s father describes the bird as: “It looks tired, or maybe sick”(Hurst page 5). By giving Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis such similar physical features, it insinuates that whatever happens to the Scarlet Ibis will more than likely happen to Doodle. Another example of the Scarlet Ibis being a symbol for Doodle is when the Scarlet Ibis dies.” At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and

In the beginning of the short story, as Brother reflects on Doodle’s life, the author uses personification and foreshadowing to create a mood of remorse. As he gazes out of the window into his backyard, Brother states that “the graveyard flowers were blooming. ...speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst 1). The flowers provide flashbacks of the past, and foreshadow a loss of life. The loneliness felt by Brother causes readers to consider how they would feel if their loved one was gone. As Brother observes the seasons, it is noted that “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” (Hurst 1). The personifications of the seasons as stages in the cycle of life and death creates an unsure and uncertain mood. The shift between seasons creates an idea of change and uncertainty of events to come. Hurst creates a mood of remorse through

The despondent mood at the beginning of the story, mirrors the loss of innocence of the narrator because he had to face the responsibility and guilt of Doodle’s death.

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”.

Brother was a mean boy who didn't like his younger brother at first because he might not be all there. Brother said. “ It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one that possibly was not all there was unbearable. So I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” then again he was mean to Doodle. “One day I took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how we all had believed he would die.” Brother also admitted he was mean.”There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by a stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle.”

In James Hurst's short story, "Scarlet Ibis," life is short is the main message. Since the prelude of the story, it was brought to the reader's attention that Doodle's life comes to an end at a young age. Brother starts off as an arrogant, self indulgent individual and metamorphizes into a benevolent, wise young adult by experiencing the trauma of losing his baby brother due to his own selfish desires. The author manifests that pride which leads to one's downfall. James Hurst proves this theme through conflict; Brother versus Doodle, society, and himself with his struggles.

At first Doodle’s brother becomes angered that the plans to teach Doodle failed, then, in his rage, he leaves Doodle behind during the storm. Doodle’s death comes to his brother in full force, making him extremely sorrowful. A second instance in which cruelty is brought to light through the narrator occurs when Doodle is forced to touch his coffin. Many older brothers pick on their younger siblings, but as seen in this scene, Doodle’s brother takes cruelty to a whole new level.

The metaphors and similes in The Scarlet Ibis create the drama and ironies that effect the characters. “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis, from the heresy of rain” (6) The Scarlet ibis. The Ibis most prominently symbolizes Doodle because both were weak and beautiful in their own way and taken down by a storm, the storms that represent something else. Brother conveys the storms, like the hurricane and the ibis, Brother is Doodle’s storm, the one that makes him weak. He is like the storm because he takes Doodle so far in strength and distance, but leaves him, like the storm left the Ibis. Whether or not it was intentional or conscious. Brining the story further out the two brothers, symbolize mankind as a whole and the misunderstanding that causes war and silent loathing. There are more simple representations in The Scarlet Ibis, for example on the first page; “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking the names of our dead.” (1) The Scarlet Ibis. The graveyard flowers symbolize memories and that things always come back. The symbolism create this atmosphere and struggles between the characters that accrue the

After the ibis falls out of the tree, Brother depicts the bird as exquisite and says “Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic beauty.” (6). Even in death, the ibis did not fail to show its grace and its magnificence. When Doodle dies of overwork, the text describes Doodle’s body as “ had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.” When Doodle dies, Brother finally realizes Doodle’s limitations and how all this time Doodle has been exceeding his limits because of him.

By examining loss, we learn that humans can feel loss when they do selfish things to others. For example the narrator in the story “The Scarlet Ibis” thinks that his brother is weak and would not survive very long because of how Doodle was born . The narrator feels ashamed to have Doodle as a brother. Then got tired of seeing his brother struggle and tries to teach him how to walk and when doing so the narrator feels achieved. “They did not know what I did it for myself that pride, whose slave I walk because I spoke to me louder than voices, and that Doodle walk because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” This means that Doodle and the narrator relationship starts to build up but later turns into destructive. This happen when the