Motivation In The Scarlet Ibis, By James Hurst

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.

Hurst again uses bird symbols in the story when he vividly describes, “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 landing at our feet with a thud.” (Hurst 5). While telling the story of the ibis, Hurst is simultaneously describing Doodle’s demise. Right before Doodle dies, he is attempting to catch up to his brother in the thunderstorm. Even though Doodle tries hard to catch up to his brother, much like the bird who is attempting to fly, Doodle’s physical shortcomings cause him to fail. Hurst then directly relates Doodle’s death to a bird when he is describing Doodle’s death. Doodle’s brother recounts, “I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” (Hurst 6). Hurst related Doodle’s dead body to the dead ibis from earlier in the story. This metaphor seems to help his brother come to terms with what has happened. Although he had been cruel to him by running ahead of him, he is comforting Doodle now that he is dead. The many bird symbols throughout The Scarlet Ibis help to further support the theme of death in the

“-The wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down... Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still… ‘It lives in the tropics-South America to Florida. A storm must have brought it here.’” Doodle and the scarlet ibis both have physical weaknesses; their fragile legs and arms. Specifically, the bird exhausted itself to death, and Doodle will eventually do the same thing by being overworked during the rainstorm. Besides, the bird is in the wrong region since it’s native to the tropics, and Doodle is in the wrong environment as he cannot live up to his brother's expectations and generally doesn't fit into society. “How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree… [I] found [Doodle] huddled beneath a red nightshade bush… He had been bleeding through his mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red… with his head thrown far back… His little legs, bent sharply at the knees.” In addition, they both die relatively due to the storm, under a red plant, necks both twisted, and are red after they've died. Altogether, these are all clear indications that the scarlet ibis symbolizes

¨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.

Who is the dynamic character in “The Scarlet Ibis?” To answer this question, one must first know what a dynamic character is or means. A dynamic character is one who changes by the end of the story. In “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator is the one who is the dynamic character. How? First of all, the reason why the narrator is dynamic is he feels atrocious of how he has treated Doodle, his brother. The second reason is the narrator comprehends he should have appreciated his brother more. The last reason is the narrator feels fallacious of what he has done to Doodle; which has possibly led to Doodle’s death.

The Scarlet Ibis bird symbolizes Doodle; this symbolism can be seen by the authors description of both Doodle’s and the Scarlet Ibis’s appearance after death. After the Scarlet Ibis fell from the bleeding tree his

Symbols are used to represent something else deeper than the actual meaning either in real life or in literature. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle who is mentally and physically disabled was not expected to live. Although, he did live, however, he could not do things other children could do such as walk or talk. Therefore, his older brother set out to teach him because he was embarrassed to have an abnormal brother. However, many years later Doodle is soon overworked until he can no longer go on, and he sadly dies. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses the caul, the oriole nest, and the blood od Doodle as symbols to offer greater insight into abstract ideas that are difficult to understand on their own.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst that is a short story about adolescent born with a medical condition who is ultimately dead due to his brother’s lack of ability to accept the positive features and alternately focus on the negative features of his brother, William Armstrong, who he later renamed Doodle as he perceived that the fact that his parents “named him Armstrong...was like tying a big tail on a small kite”( Hurst NP). There are numerous subjects in the story such as pride, brotherhood and selfishness that can demonstrate a theme that states that pride and selfishness can interfere with brotherhood by convincing us to commit cruel things to the ones we love. In the beginning of the story,

Pride is a leading theme in most of the short stories in the unit. All show that your pride can endanger you or someone else.

“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

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.

Symbolism is used to signify ideas and qualities about an object or idea and is used when the author wants to give those objects or ideas meanings different from their literal sense. Symbols are often used in literature to bring a deeper meaning to a story or work. These meanings can emphasize or intensify feelings of anything from love and hope, to danger and sadness. James Hurst uses symbolism in his work, “The Scarlet Ibis”, to convey and emphasize some of these feelings and ideas in his story. “The Scarlet Ibis” centers around the lives of Brother, a very driven and determined child, and his younger brother, Doodle, an innocent and naive individual with a heart condition that causes doctors to believe that he

(RE-WORDING MA) In James Hurst's “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle’s brother would continually persist, which is one of the qualities I truly admire in him. (MINOR 1 FOR MAJOR A) Throughout the story, he did not let anyone stop him from fulfilling his plan on abolishing Doodle’s disabilities. For instance, Doodle’s brother said, “Well if you don’t keep trying, you’ll never learn.”(Hurst 158) (MINOR 2 FOR MA) Comparably, I strive to persist each and every day, no matter how immense the size of the goal or task is. Persistence exemplifies a time in my life when I felt discouraged and believed that I could not land my axel, a one and a half rotational jump in the air on the ice; however, inspiration sparked within and I started to believe I can. Now I land my axel almost every time, and I am currently working on my double jumps, which are much more complex tricks. (RE-WORDING OF MAJOR B) As I explore the character of Doodle’s brother more in depth, I discover that he is self-aware, which resembles a similar quality we both share. (MINOR 1 FOR MB) Throughout certain scenes in “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle’s brother is self-aware of his wrongdoings and his true colors within himself. For instance, he stated, “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me

There are multiple themes throughout “ The Scarlet Ibis”.The strongest theme in the story is that you should not do things for the benefit of yourself all the time, you should do things for the benefit of others also.His selfishness is shown in this line of the story “ they did not know that I did it for myself; that pride,[...] and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (Hurst 468).Even though Doodle finally walked, his brother helped him for his own good, which shows his need to help himself before others.He taught Doodle how to walk for his own selfish reason that he was “ashamed” of him (Hurst 468). This shows the reader that doing things for your own benefit can have a negative effect on you.

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.