The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Short Story Analysis

Imagine having a brother who is incapable of doing anything for himself. James Hurst’s short story tells the tale of a young boy in this position and the way his mindset is. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses imagery, setting, and motif to convey Brother’s feelings of guilt. By using these literary elements, Hurst allows the readers to take a deeper look into Brother’s perception towards Doodle at the time.

Have your parents ever told you that you needed to improve at something? It could be a sport, activities, or even how well you do in school. This is a vile thing for parents to do to their children. Sometimes parents just need to back up a few steps and let you be yourself. The same can happen with an older sibling! That is the case in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. The narrator of this story has a younger brother called Doodle, who has some health issues. Big brother pushes little brother to be better than he is. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle strives for the goals that his brother sets for him for many reasons, which reflects the conflict in the story.

In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst symbolizes the narrator’s brother, Doodle, as the scarlet ibis, and the narrator as the storm, in order to reveal the theme that challenging someone to go beyond their limits can help in achieving extraordinary results, however pushing the limits too far may prove fatal. As the narrator, Doodle, and their family were eating dinner, they saw a scarlet ibis getting carried by the storm and “[tumbling] down, … landing at [their] feet with a thud”. Doodle’s family doesn’t care much, however, Doodle takes time to respect the bird and to bury it, even though he saw the bird for the first time as if he had some special connection with the ibis. “It’s a scarlet ibis! … South America to Florida. A storm must have brought it here. A scarlet Ibis! How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree” (14). The bird, native to South America had flown all the way from “South America to Florida”, which was way beyond its natural capacity. Doodle had also come a long way from being a baby who everyone thought wouldn't survive or a cripple who couldn’t stand. “A storm … brought it here”, somewhat assisting it and somewhat forcing it. Doodle learned to walk, with help from the narrator who pushed him and didn’t let him give up. Now the narrator was pushing Doodle, even more, to learn rowing, swimming, and fighting even though his body and heart were weak. The storm had powered the amazing flight but pushed the bird’s

In ¨The Scarlet Ibis,¨ James Hurst develops Symbolism (red) and he shows this through the red bir

The author of "The Scarlet Ibis" is James Hurst. Doodle is a physically disabled child with a normal and healthy brother. His brother pushes and is very cruel to him because of his disability. He also ends up making Doodle try to complete simple everyday tasks that everyone expects he can not do. The author uses symbolism and foreshadowing to reveal Doodle's frailty and impressionability.

Just because you have barriers on life doesn't mean you can't overcome them. In "The Scarlet Ibis" Doodle faces many barriers and have to overcome all of them. "Oh yes you can, Doodle."I said."All you got to do is try. Now come on." This shows how even if you get pushed down in life that doesn't mean you can't get back up and try again to overcome your boundaries. Another way Doodle would overcome boundaries is by setting a goal to try to achieve. "Aw, come on Doodle, "I urged." You can do it. Do you want to be different from everyone else when you start school". This shows how he wanted to try and overcome his barrier by setting a goal and trying to overcome it even if it was hard. "In the story, "The Scarlet Ibis," by James Hurst, the author

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 the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst shows how pride can come back and become regret pretty fast with imagery of red. First Hurst shows us red imagery in "Trembling had pushed himself up turning red, then a soft purple." And this shows how Doodle is trying to crawl around and move like a baby normally would. He also shows that when you push yourself too much it can be bad, but if you keep doing it you can make everyone proud and it will be easier for yourself. Another way Hurst shows us red imagery "He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained brilliant red." this shows when you push someone to hard or you push yourself to hard it can end up badly. Brother wanted Doodle to be able

“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 differences. 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

According to google dictionary, Pride /prīd/ (Noun) - Is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievement, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. This definition is saying that pride is the feeling emitted when something gets accomplished. Pride plays a very important role throughout the storyline of The Scarlet Ibis. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, the theme is, pride can be an amazing thing, but when one has too much pride, things may change for the worse, the author uses metaphors to portray this theme.

According to Karl A. Menninger, “Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.” In “Scarlet Ibis”, Brother and Doodle shared a special bond by the activities and lessons Brother taught Doodle. Brother out of love taught Doodle how to walk, run, and jump even though Doodle was never supposed to be able to do any of those activities. Doodle recieved Brothers love through his actions and Doodle grew in his abilities. In “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Brother feels love, pride, and guilt for how he treated his brother Doodle.

The short story The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst takes place in the early 1900's. This book revolves around two brothers, one named Doodle, who is developmentally late, and the other, referred to as Brother, who is the elder of the two. Brother's emotions toward Doodle transforms from positive and affectionate to antagonistic and resentful because he is frustrated with Doodle's disability causing him to act with pride. Brother and Doodle first had a strong relationship, but it soon cracks under pressure.

“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story about two brothers, one who had physical and mental disabilities and wasn’t able to do most things that other kids his age could do. Brother would constantly try to make Doodle “normal” by forcing him to do things that he wasn’t supposed to be doing, all because he didn’t want to have a brother who was different. One night during a hurricane Brother and Doodle were running home and Doodle couldn’t catch up so he ended up getting left behind and shortly died. Brother is responsible for Doodle’s death because in the story he admits that he tried killing Doodle before, and he was always rude to him.

In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, symbolism is found throughout the story. The provided passage is a primary example of this, including events and actions that are symbolic. Events in this passage are meant to be interpreted as something more than their literal meaning. The hurricane is symbolic of the narrator’s pride in Doodle. Both the hurricane and the pride could have done good things: the hurricane ending the drought, and the narrator’s pride helping Doodle grow to feel good about himself.

In the short story, The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst, characterizes the narrator who is a self - centered and an egotistical boy who is ashamed of his brother, however, throughout the novel crucial events that occur with Doodle that transform into a more thoughtful man. When Doodle was born in the family, he had many malfunctions, causing him to live for a couple days. As three months passed the parents named him William Armstrong, which the narrator thought was a great name on a tombstone. The narrator has an invalid brother, which he tries to kill with a pillow because he was embarrassed and thought a brother who is not there is unbearable. Although Doodle failed many times at walking, the narrator never gave up because he was filled with pride