Scarlet Ibis Theme

“-The wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down... Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still… ‘It lives in the tropics-South America to Florida. A storm must have brought it here.’” Doodle and the scarlet ibis both have physical weaknesses; their fragile legs and arms. Specifically, the bird exhausted itself to death, and Doodle will eventually do the same thing by being overworked during the rainstorm. Besides, the bird is in the wrong region since it’s native to the tropics, and Doodle is in the wrong environment as he cannot live up to his brother's expectations and generally doesn't fit into society. “How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree… [I] found [Doodle] huddled beneath a red nightshade bush… He had been bleeding through his mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red… with his head thrown far back… His little legs, bent sharply at the knees.” In addition, they both die relatively due to the storm, under a red plant, necks both twisted, and are red after they've died. Altogether, these are all clear indications that the scarlet ibis symbolizes

The Scarlet Ibis bird symbolizes Doodle; this symbolism can be seen by the authors description of both Doodle’s and the Scarlet Ibis’s appearance after death. After the Scarlet Ibis fell from the bleeding tree his

“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

The narrator always had strong opinions about Doodle. Ever since the day Doodle was born, the narrator’s pride was much too high for having him as a brother, saying, “he was born when I was six and was, from the outset, a disappointment.” Not even giving his brother a chance to grow up and prove himself. Since the narrator did not know how to handle having a

At the beginning of the story, Brother is hateful. Doodle is born and Brother is extremely disappointed by his disabled brother. He always dreamed of having a brother he could run and play with, and

The narrator discovers a scarlet ibis in his backyard, just moments before the ibis dies. The narrator expresses his sorrow for the ibis, mentioning “how many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree”(562). The narrator comes to realize the struggle the ibis endured to reach their home, despite his sickly state. This foreshadows the feeling of sorrow the narrator would experience when he realizes the similarities between the ibis and Doodle.

“It’s long graceful neck jerk twice into an S, then straightened out…”(Hurst 5). The Ibis neck during it’s death is much like how Doodle’s neck reacted because his neck became long and narrow as well. Not only did the Scarlet Ibis foreshadows Doodle’s death but it can also represent the way Doodle acted. “At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated… ”(Hurst 5).

The story "Scarlet Ibis" written by James Hurst, displays the theme carelessness can lead to dire outcomes. The story begins by describing a 6 year old boy and his parents awaiting the birth of newborn baby, who was not expected to live; yet did and after it survived a few months they decided to name him "William Armstrong". The doctors said that William would never walk or be able to tolerate being hot or cold, shouldn’t be allowed to become too tired and must always be treated gently. William’s brother gave him the nickname, “Doodle”, because with a name like Doodle, not much would be expected of his brother whom he would always pull around in a wagon like a potato. The summer before Doodle’s first year of schooling his older brother was determined to make Doodle more

Both the scarlet ibis and Doodle were delicate, weak, and unable to survive. The narrator became determined to teach Doodle to walk which allowed Doodle to become stronger. As the story progresses, the narrator feels the need to push Doodle more in order to make him like everyone else. The second insight to the scarlet ibis and selfish pride is when Doodle dies because the narrator pushes him too far and after realizing Doodle is dead the narrator says, “I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. "Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” The narrator's pride came in the way and caused Doodle’s death. The narrator was proud of being able to achieve something that no one believed would be possible and got carried

There is a very powerful conflict in the book about Brother’s treatment of Doodle. The quote earlier in the second example shows the root of this problem. He states; “Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (559). His actions are further explained when he narrates; “There is within me ( and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, as much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of destruction” (557). This internal struggle causes an emotional power struggle within Brother. On page 563, the boys have a falling out over how hard Brother is pushing Doodle in order to be ‘normal’ for school’, with the quote directly quoting pride “they don’t speak (what words can solder stolen pride?)” (563). The heinous action that triggered the falling out was Doodle falling over from physical exhaustion after being pushed to the limit of his body and shoved a little more. Brother acts as though Doodle’s physical failing directly affects him. Due to the behaviors seen in the former two examples, Brother and Doodle’s pride is seen through conflicts with each

Next in “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle was born with a red body and also the bird was red. In addition, another similarity they both got caught in a horrific storm that caused their death. This quote “Dead birds is bad luck,” (352) supports the thesis because it means that Doodle had the same problems as the bird, and Doodles condition was certain he could die of it. Another quote is “It's dead,” (352) this supports the thesis because, when the bird died it symbolized that most

Seeing the bird gave Doodle the comfort of knowing that things labeled as “different” could still fit in and thrive. When the Ibis dies, Doodles hope for finally being accepted for who he is, dies as

“‘Dead birds [are] bad luck,’ said Aunt Nicey, poking her head from the kitchen door. ‘Specially red dead birds!’” The scarlet ibis is very symbolic; it is a foreshadowing of what is to come. When Aunt Nicey says that red birds are bad luck, she is right. Directly afterwards, Doodle wants to bury it. Once they get to the woods, it starts thundering. Then, as they exit the woods, the narrator has a feeling return to him that he hasn’t felt in a long time, an aggressive feeling towards Doodle. The narrator proceeds to leave Doodle behind, and Doodle ends up getting struck by lightning and falling to the ground dead just like the scarlet ibis fell to the ground. This is both ironic and symbolic for the narrator. It is ironic because he worked so hard to get Doodle to where he was, but then is overpowered by the evil forces in his emotions. It is also symbolic, because the scarlet ibis was a warning, a warning not to leave Doodle and let childish beliefs overpower him. After the death of Doodle the narrator reflects on it, saying, “Sometimes, 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. Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy ever had. Of course, he wasn't a crazy crazy like old Miss Leedie, who was in love with President Wilson and wrote him a letter every

Symbolism is often used by authors to get an idea or theme across to the readers. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother has an ill sibling named William Armstrong, or as Brother would call him, Doodle. When Doodle was born everybody thought he was going to die, until he seemed coherent to what was going on around him. Brother then wanted to teach him to walk and run before school started, so he was normal like other kids. He succeeded in doing so, but he was ashamed because he did it for selfish reasons. One day while they were eating lunch, they saw a beautiful ibis outside their window. They went to go see it and discovered that it was dead, Doodle decided to bury it. Brother was pushing Doodle too hard and consequently, his body could not take

(Topic)(I)An ibis (MA) shows up one day, by motivating itself to travel more than it ever has, similar to Doodle, who has to walk, swim, and run, but (MB) Doodle and the ibis end with the same fate. (Rewording of MA) The scarlet ibis and Doodle motivate themselves to do more than expected and overcome the odds. They exhaust themselves, but still keep pushing. (m1MA) Aunt Nicey foreshadows Doodle's fate by stating, "Dead birds is bad luck... Specially red dead birds!" (Hurst 5). (m2MA) The scarlet bird means danger is coming Doodle’s way. (Rewording of MB) The ibis and Doodle accomplish a lot with motivation, but end with the same destiny. (m1MB) When the ibis dies, “Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still... Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest” (Hurst 5). Similar to the Ibis’ death, when Doodle dies, “He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs,