The Red Bird, A Thematic Analysis

Brother deliberately killed Doodle because in the story it says, “He was ashamed of having an invalid brother.” Brother intentionally showed Doodle his casket because everyone knew he was going to die. Brother wanted to kill Doodle because they went up to the loft and Brother showed Doodle his casket and told

While reading ”The Scarlet Ibis” it is clear that Hurst uses foreshadowing to give the reader the sense that something bad may happen later in the story. The first example of when Hurst uses foreshadowing for dramatic effect is when the Narrator describes why he is disappointed with his brother Doodle. “... and I wanted more than anything else someone to race…” from the statement we can infer that he (the Narrator) would do anything to get the ‘perfect’ brother, even if that means possibly overlooking Doodles health problems. We already had seen part of the evil and terrifying side of the Narrator in the passage, “... I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” the passage just proves my point, he doesn't really care

One of the three main categories of identity and identity definition in this story is family and family life. In the beginning, when Brother is trying to teach Doodle how to walk, Doodle says, "Don't hurt me, Brother," he warned. "Shut up. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to teach you to walk." I heaved him up again, and again he collapsed.”(3). During this moment, Doodle is being forced to walk by his brother, but instead of calling him by his real name, he calls him Brother. This is significant because he sees him as a family member, a brother, before the real person he is. Secondly, when Doodle sees his coffin he was supposed to be buried in for the first time, “Doodle was frightened of being left. “Don’t leave me, Brother,” he cried, and

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

By using imagery, Hurst is able to give the reader a clear picture of what Doodle’s deformities appear like. The reader also gets to learn clear and cruel thoughts Doodle’s brother has in relation to Doodle, which is saddening.

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.

The color red symbolizes a strong motif throughout this short story. “The Scarlet Ibis,” and scarlet is a shade of red. Doodle and the scarlet ibis are connected to each other. They both are damaged and die in a windstorm. As the ibis fell and hit the ground, he had blood coming from it’s mouth. When Doodle dies in the storm his brother treats him as if he were sick. Then Doodle symbolically overtakes the Scarlet Ibis.

The second example of red is found in the quote, “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” Hurst contrasts Doodle to the scarlet ibis. Covered in brilliant red blood, Doodle had bled to death. The narrator transforms Doodle into the scarlet ibis in an effort to hide from the horrific truth that Doodle is dead. The image of Doodle is so gruesome, so Hurst tries to lighten the scene by making it sound more beautiful, by using words such as brilliant red. The narrator does not realize how alike Doodle and the scarlet ibis are until he holds Doodle in his arms, and he can feel his slender frame and sees the bright red blood on his body, which looks like the scarlet ibis’s

I would like to start by saying that Doodle’s brother could say some hurtful things to Doodle that may discourage him. For example, “One day I took Doodle up to the barn loft, and showed him his casket, telling him how we all believed he would die.” (2) It was a poor choice for his brother to make and it caused Doodle to get scared and worried about whether or not his life has all been a lie. He did not know that his family thought

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.

Then they are caught in a terrible storm, the brother walks back to see doodle dead and that how it ends. Author James Hurst demonstrates both the positive and negative

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

Everyone thought he wouldn’t survive, but Doodle beat the odds. Some think he survived because of a superstition. He was born caul made from Jesus’ nightgown. This miracle of survival is symbolism of life and hope. He lived, and because he beat the odds, the other characters, and even the reader, can find hope. Brother might have thought that because Doodle lived, he could do anything. That

The tone throughout the story uncovers the depressing, cruel, and sad image of not being treated fairly due to how they act and how they appear. In the beginning of the story it starts off as as a sad and depressing tone like it some what haunted that “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst). It starts in the present where Doodle has already past away and how the flowers that were put at his graves were starting to bloom which brought back memories of Doodle. Which then leads us to Doodle’s older brother telling us the story meanwhile After Doodle was born his brothers feeling towards hating him

Brother is caring and loving towards Doodle and these are the moments in the story that make the reader’s hearts melt. For example, when Brother finally helped and taught