The movie Simon Birch and James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” tell different stories about different boys. Simon Birch grew up in a town where he was alienated from the others around him because of his abnormally small size. The only people who really understood him were his best friend Joe and Joe’s mother. Doodle, on the other hand, lived a relatively isolated life surrounded by only his family. Brother was Doodle’s closest friend, but even Brother didn’t fully accept Doodle because of his frail body and weaknesses. Although Simon Birch and Doodle seemed to be different in many ways, they shared some significant similarities. Simon and Doodle shared similar relationships with others around them. Both of them had a special relationship with their best friend. Doodle and Brother became closer as Brother …show more content…
Even though they were not related to each other the way Doodle and Brother were, Joe was a brother figure to Simon. Joe was the one who rode with Simon along in the sidecar and played with Simon everyday in the forest and at the lake. Joe’s mother took care of Simon, and the boys became brothers to each other. Joe and Brother became Simon’s and Doodle’s playmates and helpers. Joe and Brother also became Simon’s and Doodle’s biggest supporters, improving their self-esteem. Another significant similarity between Doodle and Simon was that other people around them did not think that the boys were “normal”because of their physical traits. Doodle’s family knew that Doodle was not “normal” from the minute he was born. Doodle had a weak heart and could not move on his own for a long time. Brother knew that Doodle would be seen as different by the other boys at school because he could not do many things other boys physically could, so he used that fact to encourage Doodle to learn to walk. Simon was also seen as different by other people. Because he was so small, the people in Simon’s town laughed and whispered as he rode through town in his cart and got