The Scarlet Ibis Analysis

In this passage, the eldest brother says, “...I put him on his feet at least a hundred time each afternoon.” This quote from the story is an example of hyperbole which Hurst uses to emphasize how many times Doodle fails. The amount of times that he fails is what causes him to feel weak. At the end of the story, the narrator says “‘Yes, yes,’ I cried, and he cried it too, and the grass beneath us was soft and the smell of the swamp was sweet.” In this portion of the story, Hurst uses subtle imagery to show the boys’ feelings of

“The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people” (Chadwick Boseman). In Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator chooses to use his power in a way that hurts his invalid brother, Doodle. While living in a time period where different is improper, the narrator cannot mentally handle the fact that Doodle is different from others. Being the older sibling, the narrator takes on the responsibility to help Doodle become ordinary. He teaches Doodle to walk, run, climb, and swim, because he is ashamed of having a brother with disabilities. As a result, the narrator serves as a villain by forcing his invalid brother, Doodle, past his limitations, which ultimately causes 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

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.

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 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.

The narrator in the story causes Doodle's death because he happens to be disappointed. In the story, Brother tries to take advantage of the kind, caring nature of Doodle and is cruel because he thinks of Doodle as a letdown. "He was born when I was six and was, from the outset, a disappointment", Exclaims Brother (416). Be concise, Brother views Doodle as a shame, because Doodle is physically inept and Brother always wanted a little normal brother that he could play

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.

The narrator did not care about how fragile his brother was, even though Doodle gave him various signs of his debility. The narrator was so determined to end his brother incapacity in order to maintain his pride that he did not give the child a break. In fact, he continued to push his brother harder until the day of his death. The narrator was being selfish because he did not show any concern about the wellbeing of his brother throughout his tough training, he only cared about being able to get Doodle’s incapacity out of the

We are often haunted by our choices. Regret is a feeling that returns to haunt our memories. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst shows how a disability negatively affects a family. A young boy named Brother wants a sibling who can enjoy the things that he does, such as running, jumping, or even climbing. When Doodle is born, Brother’s expectations are not met. Although Brother and his family expect that Doodle would eventually die from his disability, Brother doesn’t take this loss well. James Hurst writes about the pain and regret that the narrator feels regarding Doodle’s sudden death. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses the symbolism of birds to offer insight into the difference and uniqueness of Doodle.

In James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis, symbolism is used throughout the story through a bleeding tree and a scarlet ibis. In the beginning of the story, we meet a character named Doodle which is the narrator's brother. Doodle has many health problems and had a very minimal chance of even being born. Doodle continues to live and hope begins to build that he will live to be a normal boy. One day, the family comes across a scarlet ibis which lives in the Florida Tropics which is hundreds of miles away from where the story takes place. The bird proceeds to die by falling out of a bleed tree, thus where the theme of false hope starts to develop. On page 28, the theme is supported in the quote ¨ How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our

After admitting that Doodle had been a disappointment from the start and expressing his longing to have a brother he could run and climb trees with, the narrator (who is only referred to as in the short story as “Brother” by Doodle; a name is never mentioned) then announces his plan to kill his infant brother. The older brother demonstrates his shame at having a disabled brother by revealing: “I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” (pg 1). Thankfully, the attempt had not been successful, as Doodle had leaned up to beam knowingly at his brother, but the incident had been enough to condemn both the narrator and his shame. While “Brother” may have loved Doodle at some point, this incident had demonstrated that his pride had led him to immediately detest Doodle’s existence. In addition,

Hurst displays this in the text when he writes, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurst 2). Hurst shows the reader of the narrator’s, the older brother, uncompassionate side. The older brother is unable to be sympathetic to Doodle’s disability and is unable to perceive his brother as anything but a disappointment in the beginning stages of their relationship. These apathetic emotions towards Doodle are solely fueled by pride as the brother is too proud to be related to Doodle who was not as lucky as him and was born with a flawed body that was not as perfect as Doodle’s own mental capability. It was the concept of Doodle eventually becoming “normal” that stopped him from killing his brother.

movement from Doodle occurs, Brother’s heart begins to race and he begins to weep. Deep down, Brother loves Doodle, however he is aware this is not always expressed through his selfish actions.

Brother is showing Doodle’s unwillingness along with the cruel attempts to point out his flaws. When Brother made doodle touch the coffin, he knew the reaction he would get out of him. “Even when were outside in the sunlight, he clung to me, crying, ‘Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me” ( ). Doodle is very afraid of the coffin and brother knows that. By making him touch the coffin, he is clearly implying to Doodle that he will never be normal like the other kids. On the other hand, no matter how cruel Brother’s actions may be, he still shows interest toward teaching Doodle many tricks. But these actions are clearly for his self gratification. “What are you crying for? asked Daddy, but I couldn’t answer. They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” Although brother teaches Doodle how to walk, it is entirely for his own sense. Ashamed by Doodle’s crippledness, Brother attempts to fix Doodle’s many imperfections, without acknowledging his view and