The Scarlet Ibis Literary Analysis

Brother is a considerate character. He is considerate because when he found out that Doodle would live he changed his name from William Armstrong, which was a name that “only sounded

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.

British politician, Iain Duncan Smith once said ‘“ Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man.’’ Determination is one thing that can get people farther in life. It can help accomplish any job or goal that they want to achieve. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story about a brother and his determination. He helped his younger brother do things that everyone didn’t know he could do. When his brother, Doodle, was first born, he had been embarrassed to have a brother that could do so little. He then decided to push his brother to do things that would surprise people. Although, others argue that “The Scarlet Ibis” doesn’t have a good story because it's boring. Although, others argue that in “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodles brother pushed

¨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.

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.

“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

Doodle, a young disabled boy, is a burden to his Brother . Brother, is very ashamed and embarrassed of Doodle. The story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst shows how Doodle is like the Scarlet Ibis. Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis have many of the same conflicts and repeating actions in the story. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst develops the symbolism, which is shown through birds, death, and the color red shows how fragile Doodle really is during his lifetime.

In the story we will see how the narrator teaches Doodle to walk. However that is not enough for the narrator, he wants to teach Doodle how to be a normal boy and to do normal boy things. He wants to teach him how to run, swim, and row a boat like all the other boys. Therefor the brother sets his goals for their summer to teach Doodle how to do all the things of the normal boy image that is in his brain. However once he finds out that his plans are going to go up in flames a raging storm begins to stir in his soul, and full war breaks out. This war between the brothers seems harmless at first, but the brothers war ends in a bloody battle, to bad for Doodle, his bad luck strikes. In the Scarlet Ibis many symbols are shown,like the Ibis, the storm, and the bolt of lightning during the storm at the end of the

When Doodle is first born and after about three years he is being taught how to walk like normal people walk and his brother is not to thrilled about it he is just doing it because he does not want to drag him around and be dead weight so he does this so he does not have to deal with him as much.

An important factor is that “The Scarlet Ibis” is told in the first person from the perspective of the brother of Doodle, a boy with a heart condition, after Doodle dies. And a change in character happens after Doodle’s death. The narrator’s change isn’t that directly shown but hangs over the rest of the story as commentary to what’s happening. The only way for someone with a

The first and one of the most important literary devices you can detect in this writing, is the usage of flashback. Hurst uses flashback to develop the whole story, relationship between Doodle and Brother, and explain what happened to Doodle. A majority of “The Scarlet Ibis” is told through this flashback and past tense. The flashback improves the story and is used in a way to show Brother at the beginning and how much his past with Doodle still affects him. We really get to see that guilt and even his maturity when he is older, because he goes back to all these places where him and Doodle played and grew up. Yet even though it's so far in the past, going to his old home and fields brings back painful memories. *

The author of “The scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst, suggests through the actions of his characters and his use of language the theme that too much pride can lead people to do things that can have devastating results. James Hurst quoted, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.” The narrator has a need to make Doodle better to give himself something to be proud of and receive recognition for his actions. The narrator is talking about an event that happened in the past when he tried to teach his brother, Doodle, to walk. He looks back on it with the insight of an adult who has struggled with the consequences of his prideful actions.

Have you ever wanted to help someone that was not as fortunate in life as you, in the story “The Scarlet Ibis” that is what Brother wished to do for Doodle but sadly it didn’t work and the situation became unfortunate. Brother and Doodle are brothers but they don’t have very much in common because Doodle has disabilities that Brother would never fully understand, no one ever will. When the story first starts Brother and Doodles relationship isn’t very strong and Brother is embarrassed about his brother but as the story continues the bond between the two grows and the love eachother. Many believe that Brother indirectly murdered Doodle because he was ashamed of him; however, Brother was trying to help Doodle and wanted to help him be normal. So the bigger picture of the story is that Brother wanted the best for Doodle and he wanted nothing more to help Doodle become more like a normal kid but it sadly turned fatal.

Think about the word delicate. What comes to mind? To some, it may be a word they use to describe their mom’s glass vase. However, delicate has a greater meaning, a condition of a beautiful, precious, living thing which must be preserved, valued, and cherished. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, the author highlights the life of a young boy named Doodle, who was born disabled, and his older brother, the narrator. The narrator, referred by Doodle as Brother, lacks the understanding of how Doodle is extremely fragile, and often neglects his needs and safety while trying to train Doodle to be “normal.” Hurst uses many literary devices, such as flashback, foreshadowing, and symbolism, which develops the theme, how delicate things are beautiful, and should be cared for with love and respect.

The theme: Sometimes, by the time we realize what we have done wrong, we can no longer fix the mistake fits both stories “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Sniper” perfectly. In both stories the characters make terrible mistakes in which they both will end up regretting.