The Scarlet Ibis is a tragic short story written by James Hurst. This heartfelt piece of literature takes place mainly in Old Woman Swamp. A place that was surrounded by a cotton field, rubber grass and various wild flowers. The narrator who is referred to as Brother, wants to teach his invald little brother, whom he named Doodle, how to perform normal everyday tasks that started with walking. Doodle was very dependant, but loved his brother and would try anything he asked just so he would accept him. The brother, by his own admission would push Doodle beyond what he should have, knowing there was a list of don'ts because of his unhealthy condition. This was done as a selfish act for his own reasons, which included his pride. This put great stress on Doodle’s tender body and made it grow increasing weak throughout time. One day while the family was eating lunch a tropical bird from South America called a Scarlet Ibis made its way to their home during a tropical storm that had recently passed through inland. It was badly wounded very sick. As it tried to fly away, its weak wings fluttered, gave way and it fell to its death. After lunch, the boys went back out and continued to work on the regimen that Brother had prepared for Doodle. The day was very long and grueling for Doodle, as Brother made him row the oars of the boat against the tide. Suddenly a storm started to move in and they headed back as fast as they could towards home, racing against the storm. Fear of being left behind, Doodle was pushing himself hard to keep up with his brother even though he was very weak. Trying to beat the rain, Brother began to run. Doodle cried out for his brother not to leave him behind, however he ignored him and kept running even f...
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...for the first time. Brother threatened to leave him if he didn’t touch it. Doodle cried out, “Don’t go leave me, Brother”. This is viewed as a negative characteristic.
His strength showed when he overcame adversity. They thought her would never live, he did. They thought he would never walk. Which he learned how to do. He was very determined to prove himself to his brother was both a strength and weakness he had. A weakness because eventually was his demise. Doodle’s need for dependency irritated his brother which was cause for him to push him so hard at times.
Doodle who was a very compassionate person and loved his brother very much and wanted nothing more than to please his brother. This pushed Doodle to overcome the many obstacles in life. He ignored his warning signs that proved he was being pushed too hard, which in the end is what took his life.
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.
According to the text on page 5, “[the Scarlet Ibis] “it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud. Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still.” (Hurst, pg. 5.) This ties Doodle to the Scarlet Ibis because as the ibis falls through the bleeding tree it is losing strength just as doodle is. When the quote says
“Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy could ever have, he wasn’t a crazy crazy…. but was a nice crazy, like someone you meet in your dreams”(Hurst 416).These brothers loved each other. They were closer than most brothers are. Doodle might have been crippled but he tried his hardest to impress his brother. They were close because Doodle was taught everything from his older brother. This made a close friendship. The mood of the Scarlet Ibis is very somber and that is shown by the symbols that were used by the author.
In conclusion, the narrator went through the pride cycle before realizing that he loved Doodle for who he was and not for what he couldn’t do. In the end, the narrator was too late and he had gone past Doodle’s barriers and limits. This caused Doodle’s body to be worked too hard thus causing Doodle to
When Doodle was born, the narrator "...wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn..."(595). Upon discovering Doodle was not only crippled but also not "'all there'", the narrator selfishly decides to kill his little brother by suffocation. His plan was halted when he watched his brother grinned right at him. Though the narrator didn't kill Doodle, the narrator treated his little brother with cruelty to advance his own desires. Two instances are the reason Doodle walked and Doodle's training in his brother's program. Firstly, the reason that the narrator is determined to teach Doodle to walk was not solely out of kindness. "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"(597). The narrator is embarrassed that he has a brother that's physically unable to meet the narrator's expectations as what his brother should be. Yet, the narrator successfully taught Doodle how to walk, but in doing so, the narrator gained a false sense of infallibility that's equal only to his pride. The narrator thus created "...a terrific development program for him, unknown to mama and daddy, of course” (599). Several obstacles impeded the progress of the program, resulting in the brothers to double their efforts. The narrator made Doodle"...swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. 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"(601). Blinded by his desire to satisfy his pride, he became ignorant of the fact that as a sick child Doodle is unable to overexert himself, but the
Pride of the narrator teaches a physically deprived little boy Doodle how to walk and gives him the same amenities as every other normal child. The pride of the narrator, "I [he] am going to teach Doodle how to walk" (170). Pride, in this instance, gives the narrator enough courage and vigor to help another human being in a positive way. The world needs more people such as the narrator, who is willing to benefit other's lives in a tenderhearted way, to make another's life better and happier. For example, "It's so pretty, so pretty, pretty, pretty" (170). One's pride can truly take the simple pleasures in life and make someone happy. The narrator does a simple task by taking his brother down to the swamp. By that action, Doodle is enthralled in happiness because he sees something he has never seen before. Having pride can be beneficial in many ways; however, having too much pride can be pernicious.
He tried and tried and was just so happy that he could do it and it was time for Doodle to learn how to walk,run swim and do things like a normal kid,but when ever he was younger, he had a problem with his heart and which caused him not to do normal things because he wasn’t normal.It was all his brothers fault that he had died because it all started in the morning whenever they were eating at the table with his mom,dad and brother and auntie. Whenever they had seen a big bird outside on their tree.Doodle had told his parent’s that it was outside and the bird had fallen over and died so his father had told him to go get the bird book and once he got it he looked the bird and found out it was scarlet ibis and it came from the south.Doodle had buried the bird and hadn’t ate anything.Doodle was amazed at how big the bird was because of the size of it so he had dug a hole for it and threw it in their and buried
Brother’s, alongside his family’s, perception towards Doodle is shaped by society’s unrealistic expectations. “Everybody thought he was going to die…” (pg. 1) From the beginning of The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle’s entire family has repeatedly expressed the unlikelihood of Doodle surviving. Society had great influence on the doubts that were present in the thoughts of his family especially after witnessing Doodle’s ‘tiny body which was red and shriveled’. Taking the small details into consideration such as the mentioning of President Wilson and World War I battle sites, it can be concluded that The Scarlet Ibis was set in the early 20th century. The context of the situation, the early 20th century –with its lack of proper medical care and short
The narrator states “But all of us must have something to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.” He then goes on to explain how pride it both a wonderful and terrible thing that bears the vines of life and death. The narrator says this, because he himself, let pride get in the way. When Doodle was born, the narrator was embarrassed that his little brother was not able to walk. So he began to help Doodle out, by helping him stand. Eventually, Doodle is able to stand on
Blood is thicker than water, but sometimes pride is thicker than both. Such is the case with James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis." This is a dramatic short story about two brothers, in which the older brother manipulates and is later responsible for the death of his younger brother, Doodle. These actions proved that he did not love Doodle.
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.
In “The Scarlet Ibis,” written by James Hurst, Doodle, a boy born with health problems, experiences cruel actions from his older brother who wishes Doodle would have been born as normal as possible with no health conditions. As Doodle grows his older brother tries to teach him to be as normal as Doodle portrays to be capable to be, such as teaching him to walk, although this affects Doodle’s health severely, which eventually leads to his early death. The narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis” causes Doodle’s death by leaving Doodle in the rain, teaching him things that affects his health, and creating a sense of curiosity.
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle is an ‘ugly duckling’
Brother is too engulfed in his selfish desire for a ‘better’ brother that he does not give Doodle a chance to rest. “I made him swim until he turned blue, and row until he couldn’t lift an oar.” This excerpt shows the reader how ruthless Brother is in the training he has set up for Doodle. Brother appears to care more about him being capable of doing these ‘fun’ things than his brother having fun doing them does. “Success lay at the end of the summer like a pot of gold” When Brother says this, he relays how he is greedy for a better brother and will do anything to get what he wants.
In James Hurst's short story “The Scarlet Ibis” the author describes the life of Doodle and the relationship he shares with his brother. During the story he has some happy moments with his brother, but his brother is also very selfish. Doodle pushes himself to his limits to try to please his brother. Doodle’s brother lets his pride get the best of him and forgets about the wellbeing and feelings of Doodle. (Summary) Throughout the entire story the central message is, Pride can lead people to do terrible as well as wonderful things.(thesis)