Depression In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

Depression in The Scarlet Ibis

Many people wouldn’t think that it’s possible to make a story about two young brothers depressing, but “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst shows that it is in fact possible. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a tale of two brothers, named William Armstrong, nicknamed Doodle, who was born disabled, and the narrator who doesn’t have a name. The tale follows the brothers through the adventures and hardships of their childhood that they got to experience together. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” author James Hurst uses Character actions, POV, and foreshadowing to enhance the story's depressing mood.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, the author uses character actions to amplify the story’s mood of the story. In the story, an unknown

They find out that the species is a Scarlet Ibis, and it is supposed to be down in the south, so it is clearly out of place. It’s injured, and ends up falling out of the tree and dies. Doodle in particular, tends to the bird and buries it. “Slowly, while singing softly “Shall We Gather At The River”, he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden, next to the petunia bed.” (325-327). This quote shows both a sad and depressing moment, but also a moment of empathy between Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis. The author shows that Doodle is able to relate to the bird, because with his disability, he might feel out of place in his family and in society. This moment is depressing because of Doodle’s reaction to the death. Out of all of his family members, he is most interested and concerned about the Scarlet Ibis. The author also uses character actions to show the mood of depressing when he writes about the narrator’s actions when interacting with Doodle. Doodle and his brother go to Horsehead Landing, and Doodle’s brother is

Doodle was born disabled, so he is unable to walk. His brother has to pull him everywhere in a cart, because his mom told him that he has to. He doesn’t want the embarrassment that would come with having to pull Doodle around, so he forces him to learn how to walk. When the brother’s showed their parents that Doodle learned how to walk, they were so proud of the brother for teaching Doodle. They didn’t know the real reason the brother taught Doodle though. “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.” (181-184). This quote shows that the mood of the short story is depressing, because the author shows the POV of the brother, and shows the real reason why the brother taught Doodle to walk. Without the POV, the author would not be able to show readers that information. This quote is depressing because readers would normally expect the reason that the brother taught Doodle to walk would be positive, when in reality it was for his own pride. The author also highlights the mood of depressing when using POV’s when he writes about the brother’s internal thoughts when Doodle fails him. Doodle and his brother were on their way to Horsehead Landing, with a goal to get Doodle ready to keep up with the schoolboys. Their