Comparing Love In The Scarlet Ibis And My Brother's Keeper

Loving is hard, this is explored in two short stories, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “My Brother’s Keeper” by Jay Bennett, and in my personal life. In our first story, Brother, our narrator, loves his brother Doodle but is blinded by his pride. In the second story Jamie, our narrator, was pushed to the brink, making him put limits on his love towards his brother. So whether it is love towards a partner or to a brother, love can always be there but comes with its faults. Starting with “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother failed to put forth his best intentions, causing the untimely death of Doodle. Towards the end of the story Brother recalls, “I cried, shaking him.it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis” (Hurst

Following up with “My Brother’s Keeper”, Jamie was always there for his brother, Ted, but had reached his tipping point. Shown when Jamie recounts, “I can’t do it, Ted.and Jamie knew that he would never again be his brother’s keeper” (Bennett 29-30). This quote shows that even if you are there for someone, you can end up hurting yourself if you do not put yourself first. Stepping into my complex human life, I recall the idea of knowing I love my dog, however knowing I could have done more for him. Throughout his life he had everything any dog could have, a bed to sleep on, food to eat, water to drink, and people who would be there for him. Although he had all these things, I am not sure it was enough to satisfy the moments he was there for me at my lowest. Even if he lived a good life now, I know what it means to give anything to spend more time with him. Throughout the stories and my own experience, we can see love comes in many shapes and sizes, including its imperfections resulting in at least one of the people being hurt. In “The Scarlet Ibis” we explored the idea of not knowing what you have until it's