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Brother In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

714 Words3 Pages

Did you know that the scarlet ibis species of bird can live up to 25 years? In “The Scarlet Ibis”, a short story by James Hurst, the main character and narrator, Brother, receives a younger invalid brother, Doodle. Doodle dies of an extreme tragedy at the end of the story, only living 6 years. This story teaches readers that it is important to have gratitude for what you have, and to not let pride take over your life. The author implements this theme strategically with the help of characterization, which is the way the author introduces a character (direct or indirect); irony, a phrase that is said to express something of the total opposite (3 types); and foreshadowing, the use of clues to indicate a major event to happen later in the story. …show more content…

He mentioned how it was “bad enough having an invalid brother” and how he formed ideas to kill Doodle (James Hurst, “The Scarlet Ibis”). Brother feels that he has been “cursed” because of the birth of Doodle. Doodle has physical imparities, making him incapable of doing “normal kid activities”. Therefore, Brother is upset that he didn’t get a brother who could play with him. This shows Brother’s personality because he wanted to kill his blood-born brother just because he wasn’t “normal”. Brother also comments that he “was embarrassed to have a brother... who couldn’t walk (James Hurst, “The Scarlet Ibis”). He is talking about …show more content…

The author writes, “Black clouds began to gather...lightning...thunder roared” (James Hurst, “The Scarlet Ibis”). Brother took Doodle to the landing to row a boat. The black clouds, thunder, and lightning all foreshadow an unfortunate event. Doodle starts to get scared, but Brother makes him keep rowing anyway, because Doodle being a “normal” kid is a priority to him. This is because he doesn’t like how Doodle’s imparities build an obstacle to his image. When the storm starts to get worse, they start to run, but Doodle falls behind. When Brother comes back for Doodle, all he sees is a lifeless corpse laying down by a tree. It was Doodle. He left Doodle behind and went ahead thinking he could escape the storm, then come back for Doodle, displaying selfishness. This is when Brother realizes that Doodle was the greatest gift of a brother, and that he would have appreciated Doodle more. Through foreshadowing,

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Brother the main character in the the Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst has many problems. Most of these problems relate to his brother Doodle who is physically challenged. Throughout the story Brother tries to help Doodle with his weaknesses, but forgets to care about his own. Brother's mistreatment of Doodle eventually allows Brother to recognize his own weakness. First of all, when brother teaches Doodle to walk he decides to teach him to, "Swim until he turned blue and until he couldn't lift an oar"(Hurst 180).

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Doodles brother is responsible for the death of his own brother. Three big reasons that led me to believe this is that he always wanted doodle gone from the beginning, he was ashamed and very embarrassed of having a disabled brother, and that he only helped doodle for his own personal benefit. All of those show why he left his brother in that storm to die. From doodles birth his brother never liked him or cared about him and wanted him gone. One example is “i began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.”

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At a young age Doodle wants to go with his brother everywhere: “To discourage him coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and carren him around corners on two wheels” ( Hurst 465). When Doodle was five, his older brother was embarrassed with having a brother you could not walk. So he helped his brother learn, after a few weeks of trying to stand up. On Doodle’s sixth birthday he walked: “That Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippied brother” (468). After that, he wants to teach Doodle to swim and climb but before they can do that a storm comes.

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The brother is to blame for doodles death. Doodle was a disabled young child with a selfish brother that only looks out for himself. His brother was ashamed to be with or around him. One of the biggest reasons wanted him dead is because he was embarrassed to be around him. The three reasons I believe that the brother wanted to kill doodle was he was embarrassed, he pushed him to hard, and he was selfish.

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When we think of siblings we all think of someone to play, run, fight, and talk to with but, narrator wasn’t able to do those things with his little brother Doodle The narrator often failed to appreciate Doodle. Doodle was very small and fragile. He was born with a very weak heart so, he couldn’t do much. The narrator thought that because Doodle couldn’t play, run, fight, and talk to him his brother was “crazy”. One time he even

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In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother is self-centered by viewing his younger brother, Doodle, as a burden because of his physical limitations. Because Doodle is born extremely weak, “The doctor [says] that he mustn’t get too hot, too cold, or too tired and must always be treated gently” however “all of which [Brother] [ignores] once they [get] out of the house” (Hurst 47). Since his younger brother limits him, Brother is purposely careless around his sibling so he can participate in activities of his choice. Doodle is also so medically restrained that Brother is worried about his self-image being tainted by the fact that he has a lame brother. Also Brother realizes despite his wanting to roam the family farm freely and possibly spend

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663 Words | 3 Pages

Could you ever imagine murdering your own sibling? After reading “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, at first most people think that poor little doodle died of natural causes or he got hurt during the storm, when his brother left him. This Essay will tell you all about how that first thought is a big misconception. At the end of the story Doodle and his brother get out of their boat and a storm begins, while the narrator leaves Doodle in the storm, knowing doodle is trying to catch up. So when his brother came back he was huddled up into a ball, dead.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

The tone on which this part of the story is told makes the reader feel Brother's thoughts of regret and sadness while looking back on what he remembers of Doodle. As the rainstorm was building up, so were Brother's emotions. All he could think about was the shame he felt towards Doodle and what other people would think of him. In the beginning of this story, Brother is sitting by Doodles grave and thinking back at what had happened. “I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away—and I remember Doodle” (line 13).

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722 Words | 3 Pages

By protecting Doodle’s dead body from the rain, Doodle’s brother has finally accepted Doodle’s fragility and delicacy. But it was already too late; the damage done by his actions had already been done. Doodle’s brother expecting too much from Doodle ended up with him being in sorrow and in

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506 Words | 3 Pages

(12) Brother waited, but no one came, and he couldn’t hear Doodle’s voice anymore, so he went back. “Doodle, Doodle!” (12) Brother cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but the ropy rain. Therefore, it was all Brother’s fault for leaving Doodle behind in the

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460 Words | 2 Pages

When Brother took Doodle outside they didn’t predict the weather that was inbound to where they were. Brother heard Doodle cry, “Brother, being Brother, Brother, Don’t leave me, Don’t leave me” (475). His egotistical brain made him lose the thought to take Doodle with him when it rains. When the lightning came down, Doodle was scared and crying for help. This reveals the abusive motivation Brother intended for

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829 Words | 4 Pages

Later on, the narrator makes a plan to teach Doodle how to run and row before school starts. Through this selfish desire, Doodle is led to his death. As the two were trying to row, a storm started to roll in so they evacuated their boat. The narrator’s plan failed so he ran as fast as he could and left Doodle behind. As an act of compassion, he came back for his younger brother, although he was too late.

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446 Words | 2 Pages

"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

At this time, black clouds were rumbling and about to let the rain pound down on whomever was outside. The narrator and Doodle ran towards the house but didn't get far before a tree crashed onto the ground, blocking Doodle's path. Doodle yelled at the narrator to not leave him. This is when the narrator's pride surged up and helped him to make the decision to leave Doodle behind. "I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us" (604).

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827 Words | 4 Pages

When the storm hits, the two brothers run back to the house but Doodle can not keep up and brother taken over by pride leaves him there alone. That powerful pride that brother has, always breaks his bond with Doodle, after the failed lesson they just had, he gives up on his brother. The narrator, clearly has a lot of things going on inside his head, lost he just leaves him there because of his failure and an inside pride. “I began to weep and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. Doodle I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his.

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