Do you ever feel like you are out of place? Do people behave differently towards you? In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” a character by the name of Doodle is disabled at a young age. This results in his elder brother, also the narrator, to behave with conflicting personalities toward Doodle. In his short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses Doodle’s brother in order to show how he is both cruel and kind towards his younger brother Doodle.
The character of Doodle’s brother behaves with cruel notions toward Doodle. For example, when Doodle’s brother faces the prospect of possibly having an invalid brother forever, he “…began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow,” (Hurst 555). This demonstrates that the narrator would rather murder his brother than have one that is mentally challenged, which is not at all a humane thought, to say the least. Anyone who chooses to murder their blood relative instead of support them through tough times most definitely has wickedness within them, which supports the statement that Doodle’s brother behaves cruelly towards Doodle. In addition, when Doodle refuses to touch the mahogany coffin that was built for him, Doodle’s brother says, “‘Then I’ll leave you by yourself’
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His cruelty is shown through murderous and frightening actions, whereas his kindness is displayed through teaching and planning. This behavior that the narrator has towards Doodle is not uncommon in this world. People are quick to judge when they see someone mentally or physically disabled. Most of the time they react similar to Doodle’s brother’s negative actions, but the ones with a true heart act as the latter’s more sympathetic actions. It is up to you to decide whether you want to be the cruel one or the kind one in similar situations that arise around