Brother And Doodle Relationship

256 Words2 Pages
In James Hurst’s heartbreaking story The Scarlet Ibis, young Brother and Doodle find themselves bound by love. Hoping for companionship from Doodle, he faces disappointment as he observes his baby brother’s one capability: lying in bed. Unfortunately, he plans to murder Doodle by “smothering him with a pillow” until the day he notices Doodle lock eyes with him and smile. On this occasion, Brother shouts with joy, “Mama, he smiled. He's all there! He's all there!” (345). A young six-year-old, Brother does not know better than to expect the most, yet he quickly understands the power of a brotherly bond. After Doodle learns to crawl, Brother begins calling him Doodle, noticing that his “crawling backward made him look like a doodlebug” (345).