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Comparing Hurst's The Scarlet Ibis And He Ain T Heavy

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Life has highs and lows, but sometimes when we reach a low point we forget that the people around us may have it a lot worse. Booker T. Washington once said “Those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others.” In other words when we are having a bad day try to help, because someone has it a lot worse than you, and that will make you feel better. Two works of literature that explore the idea of how we should live our lives with compassion for others. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “He Ain’t Heavy” by the Hollies. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, and older brother reflects on the selfish choices he made growing up. In “He Ain’t Heavy”, the speaker talks about how he would do anything for his brother, another human being. Using symbolism Hurst and The Hollies explore the importance of compassion. …show more content…

The bird symbolizes Doodle for a few reasons, the first is that the bird is small and weak just like Doodle. The second is that the bird is lost, and Doodle was always seemed out of place in his world, he was five and could not even walk. When Doodle dies, his brother thinks that Doodle looks a lot like the scarlet ibis when he is dead. His neck is twisted and he is covered in red blood, the same deep red color of a scarlet ibis. Therefore Hurst uses the scarlet ibis as a symbol to make a point about how to be benevolent to those who have a more difficult battle to

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In the story The Scarlet Ibis, the grindstone symbolizes memories from Doodle’s childhood. The narrator lets the reader know that, “A grindstone stands where the bleeding tree stood, just outside the kitchen door...” (Page 1 in The Scarlet Ibis). The grindstone replaced the bleeding tree, where the Scarlet Ibis died that represents Doodle. The grindstone links to the bleeding tree because the tree is where the bird lived.

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Symbolism The author of the short story “Scarlet Ibis” is James Hurst. This is a story about a boy that was born with a heart disease. His name is William Armstrong, he was born prematurely. Even though he was slower than others his older brother helped him out.

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Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." In other words, Churchill stated that it is not the act of success that matters, it is the journey that made you successful that counts. In the book "The Scarlet Ibis" and the film Simon Birch they tell the story of a physically impaired boy who puts his disability aside to defy the odds and triumph before ultimately dying. Doodle and Simon were alike and different in various instances, the main themes were; their brother figure, their parents, and the major symbols in the story.

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“The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of many different elements. It takes a lot of contemplation to thoroughly understand it. At first thought, the narrator seems sinister with no notion of remorse. By looking closer, one can see that is not the case. The problem, however, is that he doesn’t really accept that his brother is different.

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Thesis Statement Despite the fact that pride is considered an incredible feeling of motivation and happiness, the author James Hurst through his characters, Doodle and the older brother, in his story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” proves ,it is in fact, a masked detrimental and beneficial feeling of selfishness and guilt. II. First Thesis Point- Topic

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Hurst uses this symbol to caution the audience of Doodle’s looming death. Hurst uses the Scarlet Ibis, a red bird,

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In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses direct characterization, through the action did by the narrator to demonstrate that people will hurt others easily if they are doing the bad actions to them. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is saying bad thing to his brother, which he says, “It [is] bad enough having an invalid brother, [...] so I [begin] to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (pg. 2, last paragraph). The narrator uses the words “invalid brother”, which represent the narrator despises his brother. Obviously, the narrator hates his brother and tries to harm him with a pillow which he says “smothering him with a pillow”.

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The human mind is sometimes stronger than the human body itself. In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” a boy named Doodle was pushed to his limits to overcome his struggles. Due to Doodle’s restraints and disabilities, trying new things and building strength to keep up with everyone else was his favorite thing, his mind was full of determination and vigor; this demonstrated irony of how fragile things are sometimes the strongest and the symbolism of the scarlet ibis’ compatibility to Doodle weaknesses. Strength of the mind is more powerful than strength of the body; therefore, Doodle’s strength is being compared to the scarlet ibis by showing his physical impairments and powerful mind to the significance of symbolism. The scarlet

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“The Scarlet Ibis” “It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that ibis lit in the bleeding tree” (Hurst 350). James Hurts creates a depressing tone, or attitude, by using figurative language, symbolism, and imagery. This sad story is about a child who is born with a deficiency and expected to die however, lives. His brother soon realizes that Doodle is not like the other kids so he pushes him to be like the others, which actually hurts him more. Figurative Language helps show the gloomy tone throughout the story from the first paragraph onwards.

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In life everyone has been through a dark moment that they thought they could not get through but now they realized that they can get through anything that they put their mind to. What they do not realize is that they are not the only ones going through it. There is always someone else going through the same thing. You should never be ungrateful because you never know when something good may come around. Elie Wiesel was talking about compassion because he wanted to let people know how he got through the Holocaust.

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In a person’s life, many situations transpire and make them feel pride over one’s self. Readers can see this in the short story,” The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. “In his spare time Hurst wrote short stories and plays, but The Scarlet Ibis was the only work of his that become famous “(gradesaver.com)”. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses red to symbolize warning, death, and guilt to show the change the older brother goes through, as he takes care of Doodle. The first instance when red is used, is to express warning and the older brother’s attitude, is at Doodle’s birth.

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By placing the bird so high up, yet incredibly close to the family, it can be taken as a warning. The bird only appears in this single line throughout the excerpt, acting as an observer but also as a predator waiting for a chance to strike, providing an unsettling truth to death being out of our control. Though many efforts may be made to create a sanctuary, there are things out of one's control and when power is exercised, there will be forces fighting back. The opening sections of the novel A Bird in the House demonstrate this clearly by how Margarets Laurence's’ use of literary devices can be interpreted.

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When people have a bad or disappointing day, do they lack self-confidence? It does not matter who someone is, people should always look on the bright side and carry an encouraging attitude no matter the situation that lays ahead. Through the country song “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” by Travis Tritt, he understands people may have non-successful days, but looking at what he personally has in life, he is thankful and knows the joyful days are yet to come. The poem “I, Too” by author Langston Hughes, illustrates how discrimination is more than difficult, but having confidence in oneself and the people around will get through the hard times. In the song “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” and the poem “I, Too”, both have the message of having confidence in life.

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640 Words | 3 Pages

The Scarlet Ibis shows how fragile Doodle was, and how the bird came so far from home like Doodle did when he learned to walk. When Doodle was first born his family was already prepared for him to die. The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle represent each other because they were both struggling to survive in an environment they weren’t in tune with. The Scarlet Ibis had trouble flying the same as Doodle had trouble with walking.

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The poem "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye speaks about how you experience kindness and what it really is. The main point in this poem is that in order to experience people's kindness you need to experience hurt, sorrow, and loneliness. The author says that when you loose everything and have no one or thing that when kindness comes along it lifts you up "and then goes with you everywhere/ like a shadow or a friend" (33-34). When portraying this message the author uses a sad but hopeful tone to send the message she wants to say. This tone helps portray the message because you can feel how sad someone is when they are lonely and they have nothing.

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