The Scarlet Ibis Analysis

What is the definition of pride? If someone were to search the definition they would find that pride is “a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.” People can experience pride from many things like success, or intelligence, and even simple petty things being the first to turn in their test in a class. In the story the character Brother has a different type of pride, instead of being prideful of his actions his pride is a character trait. Brother is prideful of himself and having his crippled brother Doodle damaged his pride which is a dangerous thing when pride is a trait instead of a feeling. People often forget about how important a family member, especially siblings, are because they haven’t matured enough to understand the complexity and importance of life and family. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis” brotherhood is a very big topic throughout it and the character “Brother” demonstrates how complicated and strange being prideful, being a sibling, and being a person, is. Through the story he is characterized as considerate and hurtful through his actions and inner thoughts.

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.

In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” the theme is something very intense to think about. Sometimes, by the time we realize what we have done wrong, we can no longer fix the mistake; people have dealt with this sort of conflict in their lives before, many times. Personally, I have dealt with situations like this before in my lifetime. It’s difficult, because by the time we realize our fault, it’s too late to repair the damage.

¨At six years old, when his brother is born, the narrator tells the reader that from the first, Doodle was "a disappointment." When he learns that Doodle is possibly mentally and physically challenged, the narrator begins his plan to kill his brother; however, his plans are soon discarded after Doodle smiles at him¨. (James Hurst) The main conflict of "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst is Brother's inability to deal with Doodle's disabilities.

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.

“I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death”. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story that was set in 1918 and it was written by the author, James Hurst. The story is about a young boy (that goes by “Brother” in this story) who receives a younger brother by the name of William Armstrong. From the start, Brother noticed something off about his younger brother. It is believed that the young boy had a condition called “Hydrocephalus”, also known as water on the brain. He is believed to have this condition because his head is significantly larger than his body and that is an effect of Hydrocephalus. Due to his condition, the boy was not able to do much of anything. Brother thought that the name William Armstrong was not very fitting for the young boy, so he decided to rename him Doodle. As the story progresses, Brother tries his hardest to make Doodle able to do the things that a normal boy can do. In the end of the story, Doodle dies. It is arguable of whether or not Brother was responsible for Doodle’s death or not. Even though most people believe that Doodle’s death was caused by the storm or just his condition, Brother was responsible for Doodle’s death.

Throughout the past and shown within publications there has been many deaths throughout the world not just because of murder. Often people die because there is nothing you could do to prevent it. In James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis, the character's Brother and Doodle a character dies. The story takes place at a house and in some type of forest. The main character's in the story go to a farm and play and learn new things everyday. The death of Doodle’s was not because of Brother but because of nature.

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.

“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.

“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.

The setting of “The Scarlet Ibis” helps prepare the readers’ state of mind from the very beginning. In the first place, the story takes place at the end of World War I and represents the internal conflict the narrator has as he struggles between guilt of his younger brother’s death and the acceptance of his brother’s disabilities. With this in mind, the narrator is abashed over Doodle’s inability to walk because he thinks disabilities are shameful, and he wanted a brother who was athletic, outgoing, and adventurous. For this reason,”When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him (Hurst 417).” The narrator admits to going out of his way to train Doodle to walk because he has so much pride that it is getting in the way of more important goals, meaning he would rather have a “normal” brother than a happy one. The poor treatment of his brother ultimately leads to Doodle’s death. Furthermore, he forces Doodle to do things unwillingly, such as touch his own coffin and train him to be “normal”. The narrator traumatizes his little brother to think a certain way in order to become accepted by society. Even

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst. It revolves around a disabled boy named Doodle and his older brother, who is also the narrator. The narrator pushes Doodle to his limit because of his own personal pride. Despite his impairment, Doodle strives to satisfy his brother’s requests, even if it physically harms him at times. The author uses indirect characterization and symbolism to reveal Doodle’s determination and singularity.

Authors emphasize certain traits in characters that are comparable to other characters. ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe is a short story about a man who uses his sporadic revenge to perform a sneaky murder. The second story, ‘Scarlet Ibis’ is another short story by James Hurst about a brother who realizes his pride his harmful. Throughout the stories, all characters had three tendencies in common; their planning, pride and trust.

In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” the scarlet ibis represents strength. The bird represents strength by traveling a far distance. The scarlet ibis relates to doodle. Doodle was unable to walk, swim, and ride a bike or anything, until his brother spent many old hard hours all summer helping him regain his strength so he could accomplish all of those tasks in the future. In the end, Doodle was much stronger just like the bird had strength to travel a long ways from its home to their