William Armstrong Character Analysis

Multiple times throughout this story the narrator attempts to leave Doodle scared and alone, and Doodle calls out to his brother, “Don’t go leave me, brother” (Hurst 418).This shows not only the dependency Doodle has on his older brother, but also the lack of empathy and care that he bestows on Doodle. When the older brother declares that he is going to teach Doodle to walk, his response is, “‘I can’t walk brother”’ (Hurst 418). This shows that, in the beginning, Doodle has little hope for himself, and that he based his accomplishments off of what others thought of him.

He made Doodle touch the coffin that would have been his. Brother was going to smother Doodle with a pillow. Brother leaves Doodle behind and is ultimately the cause of his death.

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.

Doodle screams for him to not leave him, foreshadowing the way Doodle screams out for his brother in the storm, who causes him to die, just like the how the brother is the cause of Doodle touching his coffin, and in a way, his own death. The whole passage foreshadows almost exactly how Doodle dies, and how his brother becomes a factor in his death. It contributes to the mood by foreshadowing his death, keeping the reader on their toes. Readers can sense the eerie mood when the two interact with each other. They can see how superior the brother is, and how he can easily command Doodle to do anything, up to the point where he pushes him past his limit. Readers, in suspense, will then want to keep reading to see how this attribute of the brother will take a toll later on in the story. As the story continues, readers can infer that the brother is a very proud person, a characteristic that can be used for both good and bad. “It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it’s a miracle I didn’t give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (Hurst 617) This statement foreshadows how the

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

Doodle’s brother taught him these things because he was tired of having a brother who couldn’t do anything. So he taught him, and he pushed Doodle harder and harder so that he didn’t have to deal with him. Showing his family that Doodle could walk, and Doodle’s brother realized what he could accomplish. Doodle’s brother continued to push him until one day, he pushed too hard. He knew a storm was coming, but hesitated at returning home because of Doodle’s failed attempts of running and walking. The brother recognized that a, “streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind” (Hurst 117). This revealed the side of pride that resulted in death. That too much pride will fill you up, and you will keep continuing it until it

I’m here to press charges against Doodle’s brother for Doodle Armstrong's death, your honor. I’m Madison Willie. I have strong evidence that proves he says things to Doodle that may discourage him, he treats Doodle with cruelty, and he can be selfish towards Doodle. He is guilty and should be charged with a felony.

The pride of one brother leads to a cousin’s demise. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle’s development of his body is irregular: He cannot walk, or do anything physical. Doodle and his mother live with his aunt, uncle, and his cousin; he considers his cousin as a brother, so he calls him brother. Though it is said the brother’s pride was the thing that killed Doodle, the parents’ way of parenting could have lead on to Doodle’s death.

The narrator is a terrible, cruel person who is responsible for Doodle’s death. The narrator knew Doodle was incapable of high exercise activities, and he still pressured him and pushed him to do better after he already exceeded his abilities.

I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him.” This first example shows how Brother set out to teach Doodle, but he was only thinking about his feelings and how other people would think of him and his family. Another example of the similarity is in the following passage, ”Doodle was both tired and frightened. He slipped on the mud and fell. I helped him up, and he smiled at me ashamedly. He had failed and we both knew it. He would never be like the other boys at school.” After Doodle said he was too weak and tired, Brother pushed him too hard to be like the other boys at school, saying he failed. Lastly, “The knowledge that our plans had come to nothing was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us. Soon I could hear his voice no more.” The last quote shows Brother’s true intentions, trying to get him to be like everyone else and when he failed, he felt a cruelty awaken inside him formed from pure

Ever since Doodle was a baby, he had been deliberately trying to make himself crawl, walk, and run. If you laid him on his stomach when he was two, he had push himself right back up, turning a hot red, then a plum purple, and sooner or later he would plummet back onto the bed. “Finally (it was his third winter), and we brought him out of the front bedroom, putting him on the rug before the fireplace. For the first time he became one of us” (Hurst 345). He is showing that Doodle was not letting defeat get to him, despite others giving up on him. Even though Doodle could crawl, he still could not walk. His brother decided to help him, but not for Doodle’s sake. For his sake and his reputation. He was to abashed to be around him in public. He took

I feel that it was the narrator's fault that Doodle died for the reason that he purposely ignored what the doctor had said. He thought that Doodle was a burden in many ways by the reason of he couldn't do certain things that he could do. (Hurst, 164) The narrator was embarrassed by the reason of Doodle didn't know how to walk by the time he was three years old.

He recalls that "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." (Page 4.) This is where it all began. The narrator was embarrassed, so he tried to teach Doodle basic physical activities. Doodle worked hard to please his brother, but his brother continued to push and push. He loved Doodle, but also what he could accomplish through Doodle. Beginning to think himself as a hero, the narrator pushed his brother until Doodle's heart literally gave out. By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late; the damage was done. This filled the narrator with remorse and regret, as well as an unquenchable feeling of guilt and responsibility for his mistakes. Everything previously written has shown what can come of pride if humility is lost and love is forgotten. It is said in the story, "There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood often bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle." (Page

He’s tons more different in the interest of wanting to make Brother proud of him, no matter how hard he had to try. Even if he came close to dying. Doodle was always curious and he tried to live life to the fullest as much as he could. Which wasn’t a lot due to his heart condition. He additionally did stuff his brother always told him to do. There’s one thing that stood out to me in this story. Doodle never wanted Brother to leave his side. Sadly when Doodle dies, Brother left him alone in the storm. Brother left him in the storm after working Doodle too hard in the rowboat and then tried making him run home. After all that Doodle’s heart had worked too much and he passed away in the middle of the storm. When Brother finally realizes what he has done he goes back, but when goes back, Doodle was laying there dead. Brother cried while holding him in his arms, hoping he would come back to life. Sorrowfully Doodle didn’t and that was the end of the

“ ‘Poor creature. poor ceature,’ said the mother and turned away to get him some food,” reveals that the mother felt bad for Sounder. (Sounder by William Armstrong) She looked at Sounder as he was hurt and skinny, no matter if they got along or not mother would get him some food. Sounder was never fed very much because there was a whole family to eat the food, so Sounder got the scraps. Sounder was a very loyal dog and always watched over the family. Sounder over time kept getting more sad because father was gone. Sounder wasn’t doing anything to get shot except for barking at the Sherriffs that took the father away. In a way Sounder and mother were more connected when father was gone, because it was like a peice of father was