The Scarlet Ibis Analysis

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” love and pride war in Brother's motivations to help Doodle; his love encourages kindness, but his shame at Doodle's failings results in the cruelty that kills the younger boy. “It is,” I said. “And before I’ll help you down from the loft, you’re going to have to touch it.”

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author, James Hurst, uses indirect characterization, mainly through the narrator’s internal thoughts and feelings, to convey the theme that disabilities are not flaws in an individual, and that they are mere differences that make each individual unique. Early in the story, the author explains that Doodle, the narrator’s brother, has a deadly heart condition which prevents him from participating in activities such as running, jumping, swimming, and even walking. When Doodle is not expected to live when he is born, the narrator says that he does not want an “invalid” brother, but instead, wants a brother who can run around, jump, and play with him. Even the rest of the family does not believe that he is going to survive, and they do not even name him until he lives for three months. Later in the story, the narrator thinks, “...but he learned to crawl

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.

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.

“There is within me a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle”(Hurst 557). Being kind and being nasty are everyday parts of life. Sometimes these emotions are awoken by situations beyond one’s control and take form in actions, as in the case of Doodle. Doodle is a boy who was born with disabilities that prevent him from being a normal brother. To show his disappointment, Doodle’s brother acts negatively towards Doodle. Despite his disappointment, he still loves his brother. In his short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses Doodle’s only brother to show how Doodle’s brother shows negative and positive

The dysfunctionality in Doodle and his brother’s relationship began when Doodle was born with a disability. Despite Doodle being a miracle baby, his brother feels embarrassed of his brother’s disability. Doodle’s Brother always tries to cause Doodle pain and traumatized him by making him touch his coffin and other such terrible things. He made Doodle go above and beyond his limits by forcing Doodle to “run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight.” inspite of Doodle’s disability (4 Hurst). He only does this for his own selfishness and wish to not have a disabled brother. Doodle was considered to be a burden, even after he learned to walk for the happiness of his elder brother. Doodle always trusted and believed his brother. On the other hand, Doodle’s Brother always felt Doodle was nothing more than a burden. When he tries to run away from his responsibilities, he ends up killing Doodle. Doodle’s loyalty and faith in his brother was not reciprocal by his brother . Doodle trusted his brother blindly but his brother’s hateful emotions towards him cause their relationship to be destroyed. The narrator showed false loyalty and pride for Doodle and allowed his selfishness to destroy their

A significant aspect of life is being confronted with obstacles that restrict the ability to achieve success. As displayed in James Hurst’s short story, The Scarlet Ibis and as well as in the movie The Man in the Iron Mask, the main characters Louis and Doodle face the reality of being confined by their physical and mental inabilities, which hinder their progress. Each character is also greatly influenced by their surroundings, leading to poorly made decisions. Additionally, both characters face unrealistic standards set by the individuals around them and are pushed past their capabilities, resulting in failure. The lack of ability possessed by Louis and Doodle prevent them from overcoming barriers due to their physical and mental limitations,

Starting with the brother in "The Scarlet Ibis", his attitude towards Doodle is bitter, he is ashamed of him and attempts to disown him. "He was a burden in many ways. The doctor had said that he mustn't get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired and that he must always be treated gently. A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got home." The brother thinks if he tries to improve Doodle's physical capabilities it will help him fit in with the other kids in Doodle's class. The brother keeps pushing Doodle every day and trying to improve his physical strength without caring about his physical health. He teases Doodle all the time he even showed Doodle his own casket. "One day I took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how we all had believed he would die." The brother was unappreciative of Doodle he never realized how kind Doodle could be. However, Doodle idolizes his brother, he looks up to him but is afraid of his brother leaving him behind on their adventures. Doodle looked up to his brother for guidance and love while his brother did not accept him for who he was. Unlike his brother, Doodle was grateful to him and always helping him out even though that is not his

Brother reminds us throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” that pride can help us yet also hurt us. We often use our own pride to push not only ourselves as well as other’s over the limits. Brother demonstrates this particular task as his pride pushes Doodle past the limitations. The conflict exhibited in

The use of the literary devices repetition, paradox and situational irony show how Doodle is a complex, yet believable character. These literary devices show how Doodle is dependent on Brother and the progression he’s made with Brother helping him with his disability. As the story begins, the author gives a brief backstory about Doodle’s heart disease. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst uses the repetition, “‘Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!”(Hurst 475) to show the dependency Doodle has on Brother and the anxiety he experiences from being alone.

On page 388, it states, “It seemed hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn’t give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of and Doodle had become mine.” The tragedy struck. On page 395, it says, “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 the rain.” The narrator is very negative towards his brother, He claims to be helping Doodle because he is embarrassed to have a handicap brother but I feel that isn’t true. At the scene of his brother’s death, the narrator was devastated. He played over Doodle’s dead body to protect him from the rain. Though the narrator came to the realization that his brother was everything he had. Though he was tough on him, he did it because he wanted what was

Though George and Brother’s feelings towards Lennie and Doodle are often questionable and unclear, the sacrifices, effort, and overall consideration for the ones they care for make it easy to see that they truly act out of the love they have for their brother or cousin. Though the love they have can be deciphered even through George and Brother’s acts of cruelty, the strong feelings for each character are most obviously presented to the reader through Doodle and Lennie’s death scenes. Feeling resentful and frustrated as a result of Doodle’s inability to complete his training, Brother runs through a storm with Doodle struggling to keep up with him. After time had passed and Doodle had failed to show up, Brother went looking for him, only to

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a young boy lives with his crippled brother, Doodle, and tries to teach him basic physical activities so he can live life. The boy pushes Doodle too far, ultimately killing him. The Brother’s relationship with Doodle was made up of pride for himself as well as compassion in helping Doodle, Though he had altruistic motives for helping Doodle, these were a veil to cover his truly selfish gain. This creates a paradox in his love for his brother Doodle. Brother’s actions could be taken both ways as a selfish love for his brother or a charitable love.

In the “Scarlett Ibis” written by James Hurst, he sets a gloomy throughout the beginning of the story drawing readers in, forcing them wonder the unfortunate events that were yet to happen in the narrative. These loving brothers only want the optimum for one another which results in one of the main characters, Brother, urging his ailing brother, Doodle, to the point of death, which is a clear example of the theme James Hurst had demonstrated throughout the “Scarlett Ibis”. Although Brother only intended to encourage Doodle and make him feel accepted, it revealed how when you love someone so much, you end up maiming them the greatest.