Scarlet Ibis Compare And Contrast Essay

People with physical disabilities have with setbacks that make it harder for them to live normal lives like most of the people around them. Some of these individuals learn to cope with them, try to keep a positive mindset that helps them become better and stronger in their bodies and mind. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” and the movie Simon Birch, two boys who suffer from growing setbacks, learn to live with their complications and persevere through their short lives while living them to the fullest and navigating their way to accept themselves for who they are. Simon and Doodle are very similar boys who both have the same disabilities and lifestyle, but the way they act on them and the people around them act as a result of it is somewhat different.

Pride can be a fulfilling quality at times, however, it can sometimes be your enemy. It often breeds cruelty. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, cruel pride is shown perfectly and tragically. Brother, the narrator, wanted a normal sibling; a partner who he could do leisure activities with. “I thought myself pretty smart at many things, like holding my breath, running, jumping, climbing vines in Old Woman Swamp, and I wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea. I wanted a brother.” (Hurst 595). Instead, he was born with “...an invalid brother…” (Hurst 595). Ashamed, he killed his wounded brother trying to make him normal.

“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.

In the end of both “The Scarlet Ibis” and Simon Birch, the main characters die, but that is not the only similarity between the two pieces of artful media. Simon Birch and Doodle combatted their disability and struggled to live a full life. Although, Simon Birch and Doodle had differences in their symbolism, they were both similar in their physical limitations and obstacles, and their important brother figures in their life.

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 brother’s criteria for being normal is very precise, as Doodle is expected to be indomitable. This creates conflict between Doodle and society, which is external conflict.

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.

Firstly, the central conflict in each work is murder; they both revolve around the main characters’ plans and actions of this terrible crime. Both stories share the same plot ideal, but differ in murder execution and justification. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator murders his victim, possibly a family member of his, because he could not stand to look at his eye anymore. He recites, “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (331). One pale eye, with a film over it that resembled a vulture, influenced the murder of the old man. The execution occurred when the narrator, “Dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him” (333). The narrator smothered the old man until he suffocated and died. However, in “The Cask of Amontillado”, the narrator, Montressor, desires to kill his friend, Fortunato, because he insulted his family’s honor, and he wanted revenge. Montressor utters, “When he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (190). His murder was executed by trapping his victim in a walled-up enclosure, in the deep vaults of a remote crypt on his property. Montressor explains “With these materials (building stone and mortar) and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche” (193). Both narrators committed cruel, unnecessary murders, and they could be considered psychotic.

On page 350, Brother tries to train Doodle to be able to keep up with the other kids at school. “School was only a few weeks away, and Doodle was far behind schedule … Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry. ‘Aw come one Doodle,’ I urged. ‘You can do it. Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school?’ ‘Does it make any difference?’ ‘It certainly does,’ I said.” page 350. This quote shows that Brother isn’t just afraid for himself. Brother is afraid for Doodle as well. Brother wants Doodle to fit in at school, knowing that the other kids at school could be cruel to Doodle because of his disabilities. Later in the story, after Brother pushes Doodle far beyond his limit causing him to die, he regrets what he did Doodle. “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, long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” pg 354. This quote shows that Brother cares about Doodle and loves him, because seeing Doodle die made him feel very sad and guilty about how he pushed Doodle far beyond his limit, leading to

The older brother of Doodle was ashamed of Doodle ever since he was born he actually made plans to kill Doodle when he was a baby. He was rough with Doodle on purpose so Doodle wouldn’t want to go with him. He didn’t do anything for Doodle out of love he did it so he wouldn’t have a crippled brother.

People being killed every day because they are different. The story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about a boy with a disorder that made him different from his family. But it's not okay to kill someone just for own Pride.

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.

“Nothing hurts more than trying your absolute best and still not being good enough.” -r.t Everyone in our society wants to be accepted into this world so they try and try until they think they are good enough but sometimes it still isn’t enough, like with Doodle in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. Doodle was born into the world expecting to be a normal child, but turning out to have disabilities. His whole family never really accepted him because of his distinction. His brother would try to teach Doodle everything he would need to be to become a normal person, but only for himself, which hurt Brother in the long run when selfishness and rejection become him. Some people may say that James Hurst views difference as a way to become closer to the one that is diverse. This makes sense because Brother would act as if he accepted his brother as much as he would try to change him. However, in the story Brother was very selfish because he was embarrassed about having a brother with disabilities so he never accepted him, he merely approved of the brother that Brother made him.

In many cultures, coming of age is often celebrated because children become young adults who grasp self-awareness and accountability. At the same time, childhood is threatened by responsibility, which is dreaded because there is an unpredictable world of adulthood waiting with no guarantees. James Hurst demonstrates the journey of growing up through life experiences everyone goes through in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. Throughout his use of mood, setting, and symbolism, Hurst shows that maturing requires reflecting on past experiences and losing innocence, which then can transform one’s outlook on life.

Too much pride in a person's heart, can lead him or her to a life of regret. The narrator from The Scarlet Ibis has a little brother who is physically disabled, Doodle. The narrator is embarrassed of having a disabled brother so he sets out to teach him how to do things like other regular kids. Eventually the narrator pushes Doodle a little too hard and the Doodle dies. James Hurst sets up a theme of pride and regret in The Scarlet Ibis.