The Scarlet Ibis Short Story

Did a young boy actually kill his own brother? “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. In this story the main characters are boy named Brother and his younger, disabled brother Doodle. Brother is on trial for killing Doodle. Brother planned to kill Doodle because he always ashamed of having a disabled brother. Brother is guilty of killing Doodle because he didn’t want a brother who was disabled so he always planned to kill him.

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.

¨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.

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 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.

On page 350, Brother tries to train Doodle to be able to keep up with the other kids at school. “School was only a few weeks away, and Doodle was far behind schedule … Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry. ‘Aw come one Doodle,’ I urged. ‘You can do it. Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school?’ ‘Does it make any difference?’ ‘It certainly does,’ I said.” page 350. This quote shows that Brother isn’t just afraid for himself. Brother is afraid for Doodle as well. Brother wants Doodle to fit in at school, knowing that the other kids at school could be cruel to Doodle because of his disabilities. Later in the story, after Brother pushes Doodle far beyond his limit causing him to die, he regrets what he did Doodle. “I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. ‘Doodle!’ 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 rain.” pg 354. This quote shows that Brother cares about Doodle and loves him, because seeing Doodle die made him feel very sad and guilty about how he pushed Doodle far beyond his limit, leading to

The older brother of Doodle was ashamed of Doodle ever since he was born he actually made plans to kill Doodle when he was a baby. He was rough with Doodle on purpose so Doodle wouldn’t want to go with him. He didn’t do anything for Doodle out of love he did it so he wouldn’t have a crippled brother.

At the beginning, Doodle had been very hesitant to go along with his brother’s plans. He tried to argue with his brother. “I can’t walk, Brother,” Doodle said. “Who says so?” He demanded. “Mama, the doctor, everybody,” uttered Doodle. “Oh, you can walk,” The narrator said.” Shortly after that, Doodle began to follow the narrator’s orders and self ambitions. Soon, the narrator had acquired too much ambition, putting Doodle at risk. This is evident with Doodle’s constant cry, “don’t hurt me, Brother.” Little did the narrator know he would be pushing his brother too far. Later in the story, the narrator let his ambition overcome him and decided to keep on pushing his brother. He did not want a brother who could not do what other normal schoolboys could do. He admits to himself, “the knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.” He believed what Doodle could not do would greatly affect him and his social

The narrator is ashamed of Doodle. When Doodle is born he is born weak, and his family assumed he was going to die but he didn’t. The narrator’s mother tells him that Doodle was either going to die or be not all there. The narrator wants a brother that can adventure with him. He explains, “ 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 with a pillow”( ).

In the story The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, A child is confronted with the mental effects of him growing up and having to help with his handicapped brother. His brother's name is Doodle, and he is Paralympic. Throughout the story, the narrator tries to control split personality, his nice and helpful side and his greedy side. The narrator decided halfway through the story to help Doodle walk, and he ended up pushing Doodle to the point of death because of his heart disease. I feel as if the narrator had a part in the death of his brother.

two brothers the first one is the narrator who is just called brother and the other one youngest brother and his name is Doodle. Doodle was born with a big head with a small body and a weak heart, and every one expects that he will die(but he didn't die), and yet his brother feels like Doodle is just a disappointment. Brother want someone who he could do things with and someone one who was normal, but instead he got Doodle. Brother was determined to make Doodle normal. Brother was pushing Doodle past his physical breaking point. He also was very cruel to Doodle, he made him touch his coffin that was built for him when he was a baby. Brother taught Doodle many things but in the end it all adds up to Doodles death. Who is to blame for Doodles death.

When the boys started to get Doodle normalized Brother would give him lessons on the things that he liked to do. Evenduring some dog days they were working. "' On hot days I gave him swimming lessons or showed him how to row a boat '"(599). Doodle's heart is starting to go faster so could keep on doing the work that he is not supposed to do. On those hot days Doodle knew he should be resting, but he trusted Brother to get him to be better than he was already. Some of those days Doodle must've thought about quitting, but he didn't want to upset his big brother.

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

Gaining from the ameliorate of ones disability, makes a person seem self-centered or conceited. The Scarlet Ibis, a short story by James Hurst tells the story of two brothers. Brother tells the story of his actions that contribute to his younger brothers death. Brothers pride is the main reason for Doodles yearly passing. This idea of pride, is a central theme in the story. Pride, a feeling of importance, merit, or superiority, can cause both positive and negative consequences. Moral integrity will destroy the career that took so long to build up. Brothers shame and embarrassment are forces that gave life to Doodle. Because Brother is ashamed of Doodles disability Brother tries to fix Doodle so that he can be pride of his brother. For