Passage Annotations In The Scarlet Ibis

Brother didn’t want to kill Doodle is happened in a freak accident and he was just trying to make the best of what Doodle had. In the beginning of the story Brother and Doodle go to the casket, that was made for him at a young age because no one thought he was going to live very long. When the approached the casket Brother made Doodle touch the casket. “His hand, trembling,reached out, and when it touched the casket he screamed.” (H.13) In the context of the rest of the story this single act gave Doodle confidence that he had already exceeded the limits

The family of Doodle knew that he would have a short life so they just kept Doodle in another room so they wouldn’t get attached to him. The older brother showed Doodle his casket and threatened to leave Doodle there which was harsh and unnecessary.

Brother might not have understood but he did and the result of it is Doodle dying. Some people might say that Brother was innocent of killing Doodle, but he wasn't! Brother was being rather selfish and pushing Doodle around. Also, Brother has never really appreciated Doodle.

Brothers main struggle in the story is between Doodle being a disappointment to him, or his brother that he loves. Through the story he seesaws back and forth between cruel ways of “fixing” Doodle and loving him. This is best shown when the are in the swamp for the first time and Brother says “‘Shut up. I’m

At one point in the story, Brother even says to himself, “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all of their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother,” (pg. 389). This quote shows that he only taught Doodle to walk because he was so afraid of what people would think of him since he had a crippled brother. Even after he had the realization that he was only doing this for himself, he still continued to teach Doodle more physical activities for his own benefit. Later on during the story, Brother says to himself, “Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk, I began to believe in my on infallibility and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy, of course,” (pg. 390). In this quote, Brother describes how he goes on to teach Doodle other activities, but he doesn’t think about how Doodle feels about doing this, he just wants to prove that he can do anything without

In "The Scarlet Ibis," Brother's confession about teaching Doodle to walk reveals complex motivations beyond mere pride. While Brother admits to his pride driving him, his actions also stem from a sense of responsibility and guilt. He is motivated by a desire to conform to societal expectations, compounded by the shame of having a disabled sibling. Brother's self-assessment encapsulates his internal struggle, but it oversimplifies his motivations and the depth of his relationship with Doodle.

He has been characterized as cruel by making Doodle push himself to death. After a very difficult lesson, a storm arose and the two brothers were separated. “When the deafening peal of thunder had died, and at the moment before the rain arrived, I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind, cry out, ‘Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!’” (182). The narrator has developed into Doodle’s best friend, mentor, and protector. Doodle needed the protection from his brother when he fell behind. At the beginning of the story the narrator would have just left Doodle behind to die, but now that they have grown a relationship, he waited for Doodle to catch up. “‘Doodle!’ I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long, long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain” (183). The narrator has developed into affectionate, knowledgeable young adult. This incident is nearing the end of Doodle’s life, and he did not want to lose him. It is also evident that the narrator has become Doodle’s protector. Doodle later dies, the narrator released many sad

The biggest reason Brother is guilty for Doodle's death is when he taught Brother to walk. Doodle at five years-olds could barely stand on his own two feet. "Finally one day, after many weeks of practicing, he stood alone for a few seconds" (598). Now because Doodle can walk, Brother thinks Doodle can accomplished many more things like swimming and climbing trees. Brother didn't do it to help Doodle though, he it did for himself. He was completely embarrassed by Doodle. Brother, driven by his pride, helped Doodle everyday hoping that he would learn to be a better person.

When Brother set out to teach Doodle to walk and realized he had succeeded he became so proud and was convinced that he could teach Doodle anything. The only thing is Brother didn't teach him anything that he did for Doodle's benefit he did it for his own satisfaction. When Doodle had failed and couldn't get up Brother let his pride control him. "I ran as far as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us" (604). The only reason Brother left Doodle is because of his pride. He felt he had spent so much time teaching him things so he could be normal all for nothing, and that aggrevated him. Doodle had just shown extraordinary success by rowing against the current and running as far as he did but for some reason that wasn't enough for Brother. The least that Brother could have done was went back and picked him up helping him back to the house considering all of the energy he had exerted. The only thing that Doodle ever asked of his brother was not to leave him and that is exactly what he

In fact, Doodle’s death is caused by his own brother’s selfishness. Near the resolution of the story, Doodle fails to complete Brother’s training program and collapses into the mud. Brother declares, “ He had failed and we both knew it, so we started back home, racing the storm. We never spoke, but I knew he was watching me, watching for a sign of mercy” (182). The narrator ignores Doodle’s plead for forgiveness and begins to sprint.

From the start the Narrator didn't want a brother who wouldn't be able to do anything with him. He thought since the beginning what a disappointment Doodle had been and thinks about how "It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all their was unbearable,so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow"(595). This shows how the Narrator even when Doodle was born never really liked him and was even planing to kill him then. He would be very cruel to Doodle by telling him how everyone thought he was going to die and that he is different from everyone else. He also showes Doodle his mahogany casket and pushes him off the waggon so he wouldn't want to go wherever he went.

Brother was disappointed with Doodles progress before the storm had started. “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and the streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us (Hurst 6).” Doodles biggest fear was being left behind and brother knew that. As soon as brother realised that Doodle was not making as much progress as he had hoped, he thought there was no point in going back to help doodle. Brother was not being compassionate to Doodle and only worried about himself. Doodle ended up dying during the storm because he was left behind. Because of brother’s lack of compassion towards Doodle, Brother does not contain the qualities of a good

The only thing that the Brother wanted was a sibling with which he could play with. But when Doodle arrived all of his hopes were shattered. As a result, he makes Doodle pay for it on many occasions. He makes him touch his own casket that was laying in the lay loft being reserved for

A brother who would be his companion, a brother who would always be by his side. But his hope was crushed as he quickly learned that his brother would not reach his expectations. “Although Doodle learned to crawl, he showed no signs of walking, but he wasn’t idle.” (L67-L68) This quote indicates that although Brother had lost hope in Doodle, he pushed to find the bright side to keep him from facing the reality of having a brother that isn’t of any use to him. “Doodle was my brother and he was going to cling to me forever.” (L83) But, one afternoon, Brother’s perspective on Doodle completely flips when he recalls stating that, “[Doodle] looked straight at [him] and grinned.” (L42-L43). Doodle’s grin replaces Brother’s plan to “smother him with a pillow.” (L41) with an unpredicted friendship or

Hurst utilizes foreshadowing to demonstrate how the brother’s selfishness and pride leads to the death of Doodle. Not long after Doodle was born, the mother explains to the brother that Doodle might be mentally handicapped as well as physically handicapped. The brother could not accept the fact that his brother is different, so he “began to make plans to kill him [Doodle] by smothering him in his sleep” (Hurst 1). From the very beginning, Doodle’s brother is unable to except the fact that his brother is not normal and never will be. His selfishness and pride leads him to want to kill