The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Literary Analysis

Doodle was like a shooting star in the night sky. He was rare and special. Doodle was a unique person that was different and didn’t fit in. Doodle was born sick and no one thought he would live, but he did end up living and his brother spent much of his time helping Doodle become stronger and learn to walk. Over time in the story Doodle got stronger, but in the end he eventually died. In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses creative symbols such as the color red, the scarlet ibis bird, and the seasons to represent the life of Doodle. First, in “The Scarlet Ibis” the color red is a major symbol that represents the life and death of Doodle. The color red in the story shows what both the scarlet ibis and Doodle looked like in general and when they died. Usually red is compared to blood and the author used this in the story to describe how there was blood on their

The scarlet ibis was very similar to Doodle. They both were different than others and didn’t fit in, but they were also one of a kind. Also, when they both died they looked similar to each other with the blood and broken neck. James Hurst wrote, "It's a scarlet ibis," he said, pointing to the picture. "It lives in the tropics-South America to Florida. A storm must have brought it here." Sadly, we all looked back at the bird. A scarlet ibis! How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree.” (5) Out of all the possibilities, the bird that was originally from a place far away ended up in their yard under the bleeding tree. At the end of the story Doodle dies under the bleeding tree. The bird did not fit in with the area it was in and it was special. Doodle was different than everyone else because he was different but he was also one of a kind. The scarlet ibis was a major turning point in the story because after they discovered the bird the author began to foreshadow future