Scarlet Ibis Literary Devices

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.

The Scarlet Ibis Symbolism Paper Have you ever broke past your limitations so far you thought you were going to die? In the story The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, an ordinary boy’s only dream was to have a little brother and he got just that. However, the boy’s little brother, is not ordinary. The family decided to name the baby Doodle because of the way he crawled backwards and looked like a doodlebug. This was just one factor that led to believe Doodle could not completely function like other boys could.

The Point of View is when he calls his ¨Brother is what his brother, Doodle, called him¨. The story is his memory of their time together. Brother is a central narrator because he's a main character in the story. “Don’t leave me, Brother,” he cried, and leaned toward the coffin.

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

There are 56.7 million people in the United States that are living with a physical disability; that is 19 percent of the population of the whole country. Imagine each and every one of those people being hated and shamed by their family, specifically their older siblings. Older siblings are supposed to be a role model for the younger children in their family, but in “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator was a prideful, spiteful, and murderous person who held shame and hate in his heart for his invalid younger brother. The narrator was the older brother of an invalid child who could not even walk, yet the narrator hated him for what he was and felt shame that he had to associate with a kid such as his brother. The narrator was the cause of his younger

"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

“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

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.

The narrator, Brother, tells the story of Doodle, his brother, and his childhood with all his disabilities; starting off by telling about Doodle when he was a baby and toddler, about how he could not do much for himself for a long time, but eventually learns to crawl. He soon moves onto when Doodle got a little older and Brother would have to take him everywhere he went and how the two would take on the mission of teaching Doodle to walk; they spent almost everyday out in the woods making Doodle stronger and stronger. On Doodle’s sixth birthday, they showed the family what he could do;

The first and one of the most important literary devices you can detect in this writing, is the usage of flashback. Hurst uses flashback to develop the whole story, relationship between Doodle and Brother, and explain what happened to Doodle. A majority of “The Scarlet Ibis” is told through this flashback and past tense. The flashback improves the story and is used in a way to show Brother at the beginning and how much his past with Doodle still affects him. We really get to see that guilt and even his maturity when he is older, because he goes back to all these places where him and Doodle played and grew up. Yet even though it's so far in the past, going to his old home and fields brings back painful memories. *

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.

Often times, people view individuals by the way they handle situations and their responses to others. Every character in a story can be summed up in about three to four characteristics based on their actions and speech. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator reveals his true character through the way he treats his younger brother. He possesses characteristics including authority, pride, and cruelty, and readers know these traits through Hurst’s dialogue and actions.

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst narrates how Brother’s pride and selfishness ultimately leads to the death of his disabled brother Doodle. As Doodle grows throughout the story, his brother teaches him how to be normal so he does not feel embarrassed about having a disabled brother. The selfish narrator pushes Doodle to the limits, blinded by his own pride, to have Doodle trained and ready for kindergarten. There are many pieces of text in the story which show the author’s use of foreshadowing and symbolism to portray Doodle’s terrible and despairing death. Primarily, Hurst hides clues in his text which establish that pride and love can end up being harmful.

Throughout life, we all encounter delicate things that must be treated in a special way, whether it be treating them gently or just treating them with a great deal of respect. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author, James Hurst, demonstrates this by telling a story about a brother trying to make his disabled brother do more than he is capable of, because he is ashamed that his brother is not “normal.” Through the author’s storytelling, readers can clearly see that the theme of “The Scarlet Ibis” is that delicate things must be treated with respect. Hurst clearly emphasizes this theme by using several literary devices. The literary devices that are most evident in building the theme are indirect characterization, symbolism, and flashback.

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.