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Character analysis for the scarlet ibis story
Character analysis for the scarlet ibis story
Themes in the scarlet ibis
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Doodle has an older brother who feels shame towards Doodle. People believe that he would not live long since his heart is weak. Doodle, the little brother, could not do much due to his weak heart. The theme is about pride since the brother did many things for Doodle because of his pride. The pride of the brother had been very strong. In the short story, The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, the theme of pride revealed when the brother decided to teach Doodle how to walk and he does not give up on teaching Doodle how to walk. Doodle cannot walk and the brother feels embarrassed about that. Page four states, "...I was embarrassed at having a brother who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him." His pride caused him to feel embarrassment. The
in life and earn respect for ourselves. However, pride also has a negative aspect. Pride can cause misunderstandings and conflicts to erupt between two people and can lead to becoming hurt. For example, in "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan, Waverly and her mother are constantly fighting and disagreeing with each other because her mother always openly exhibits her pride. And in "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, Brother's pride compels him to constantly push his sick little brother, Doodle, to become a normal child. Waverly and Brother handle their pride differently since Waverly runs away from her problems, whereas Brother faces his problems head-on and tries hard to fix them.
For instance, Doodle figures out how to walk, run, swim, fight, and climb, before his misfortune. Doodle feels proud that he can start to be a typical kid, and is content that his brother is proud of him. Brother is also upbeat that Doodle can move like an average child and that he finally has a playmate. Furthermore, Doodle and Brother “share” Old Woman Swamp together. Doodle is pleased that he and Brother can spend quality time together and have fun. Brother is enjoying Doodle being somewhat normal, and helping and helping him be even more normal. To conclude, the effects of pride can have pleasant effects.
The narrator reflects,”I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two things life and death,”(Hurst 3).This quote showed that at first the narrator thought pride was good but later he became self centered and ashamed of his disabled brother and pushed him far beyond his limit.The short story called The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a drama where the narrator, or older brother, wishes his younger brother wasn’t disabled. Because he is so fueled by pride, the older brother ends up pushing his brother beyond his capabilities to his death. In this story, we will learn how the narrator’s pride led to the tragic death of Doodle.
In the story, the narrator's pride sometimes takes him over and eventually kills his brother Doodle. At the end of the story, the narrator " as I [He] lay sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain" (176).
Since the beginning of time, mankind has sheltered their fragile egos, in which is driven by one main attribute, pride. If mankind’s ego is placed in harm's way, their lousy judgment takes over thus causing them to conceive loathsome ideas which their greed feeds upon. When mankind reflects on their dishonorable actions, a wave of regret and disappointment washes over them. This wave of resentment is what Doodle’s brother, the narrator, in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst, is currently causing him to reflect on his past actions towards Doodle. As the narrator recalls how his pride was more important than his relationship with Doodle, the reader will realize the theme of this short story, do not let pride cloud your judgment. Hurst illustrates the theme through the usage of internal conflict, man vs man conflict, and
Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it.
“They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” (Hurst 50). This supports the claim that this is Brother’s fault, because if he were never ashamed of Doodle in the first place, he wouldn’t be given all of the extra stress running has brought his body. The narrator was very strict, and hard on Doodle because he wanted a brother that was “all there.” Brother would have been much nicer, and understanding if his decision to teach Doodle to do things like the other children was based on
Mom’s words and doctor’s advice did not become a way to obstruct the narrator and his pride. Paying no attention to Mom and the doctor’s warning, the narrator took his crippled brother out and trained him anyways regardless of Doodle’s physical restraints, because he is embarrassed. “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 (Hurst 204).” Even worse, the narrator knew it was his pride that made him to force Doodle into cruel training, “I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother (Hurst 206).” In addition, due to his embarrassment, the
In the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, an important theme is pride. Pride is what keeps the story going. The theme is expressed in the story in many ways. An example is when the narrator teaches Doodle to walk and shows the family. The narrator is so proud of what he did that he wanted to continue to make Doodle "more of a person." I think that this pride that the narrator has can cause readers to get angry. It was that pride that caused Doodle to die in the end. The narrator lost his pride when Doodle could not succeed and left him. Doodle died because the narrator ran away and did not help him. If he didn't let his pride get to him then Doodle wouldn't have died.
Family bonds are very important which can determine the ability for a family to get along. They can be between a mother and son, a father and son, or even a whole entire family itself. To some people anything can happen between them and their family relationship and they will get over it, but to others they may hold resentment. Throughout the poems Those Winter Sundays, My Papa’s Waltz, and The Ballad of Birmingham family bonds are tested greatly. In Those Winter Sundays the relationship being shown is between the father and son, with the way the son treats his father. My Papa’s Waltz shows the relationship between a father and son as well, but the son is being beaten by his father. In The Ballad of Birmingham the relationship shown is between
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)
James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis" reveals that the brotherly bond between the narrator and Doodle is an essential component in the story. If Doodle was a girl, the brotherly connection and bond would be lost, resulting in many variations throughout the story. If Doodle was a girl the narrator probably wouldn't spend as much time with Doodle. A brother-brother relationship is very different than a brother-sister relationship. Doodle would likely be closer to another female such as her mother.
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.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
...verything” (Hurst 1). The brother only cared about himself and having fun, and did not think about the affect his actions had on Doodle. The brother decides to “teach him [Doodle] to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight” (Hurst 3). Readers can begin to infer that the brother’s careless actions will later lead to serious injury or the death of Doodle.