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Doodle's Death In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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Death happens all the time; but whether or not it is someone's fault is the thing to question. In James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis", the narrator's pride gets his brother, Doodle, killed. Doodle was a child who was 'not all there' and couldn't do what normal children could. Doodle was forced by the narrator to over-work himself and do a rigorous training to get him on the 'level' he is supposed to be at, which later gets him killed. The only person to blame for Doodle's demise is the narrator. Since the narrator did not follow the rules, Doodle died. The end of summer was approaching, and autumn was beginning to show. It was then that William Armstrong, or Doodle, was born into the world. Doodle was not like most children; Doodle was 'special'. …show more content…

He was so unhappy, he ignored what the doctor said and did whatever possible to discourage Doodle from tagging along. "A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house" (596). The narrator didn't care about Doodle's safety; he just wanted Doodle to leave him alone. Doodle was a burden to the narrator; he didn't want to take care of him. The narrator would rather go and play with his friends like any other eight-year-old. The narrator was inconsiderate of Doodle's feelings and didn't care about his safety; this supports that the narrator is responsible of Doodle's death, because he didn't care for …show more content…

The narrator's pride got the best of him after Doodle could walk and had shown their family. This was when the narrator became arrogant and started to believe he could get Doodle on the 'level' he's supposed to be at. The brothers decided to up his progress by having Doodle go through a rigorous program which included swimming, rowing, climbing trees, and fighting. One day, the narrator and Doodle went to Horsehead Landing to continue Doodle's progress at being like the other children. The narrator made Doodle swim and later, row against the tide, back to the landing. At this time, black clouds were rumbling and about to let the rain pound down on whomever was outside. The narrator and Doodle ran towards the house but didn't get far before a tree crashed onto the ground, blocking Doodle's path. Doodle yelled at the narrator to not leave him. This is when the narrator's pride surged up and helped him to make the decision to leave Doodle behind. "I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us" (604). The narrator left Doodle behind, exposed to the elements, alone, and tired and frightened. Remember, Doodle was a sick, fragile boy who needed to be treated gently and with care. The narrator purposely left Doodle alone when he needed the narrator the most, which caused Doodle to

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It's the narrators fault for the following reasons: he was selfish, he was embarrassed of him, and he pressured him. The narrator was being selfish as he admitted that he did it for himself because he was ashamed of Doodle being crippled. Doodle looks up to his brother and would do anything for his approval. The narrator knows that his brother's heart is weak, forces Doodle

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So this why I think the narrator's intentions were true a first then later it became for his own satisfaction. If he accepted for who he was and not what the narrator wanted maybe he still would have been alive till this date. It's also true that if it wasn’t for the narrator doodle wouldn’t be able to walk but at least he would be

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The brother was easily the guilty suspect in this case. The question here is whether or not Doodle’s cause of death was his brother’s own pride. Throughout the book, The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle’s brother gives us a plethora of quality examples as to why the death of his brother was surely his to bear. The brother was overly prideful.

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Throughout the story, The Scarlet Ibis, the narrator known as Doodle’s older brother is attempting to change Doodle for what he thinks is the best. Although he is doing these tasks, he has indeed begun harming doodle. I do not blame the narrator because he is a child himself and there was no immediate harm done to doodle it was all long term. Early in the story, the mother of the narrator said that Doodle may not be all there, implying that he may never walk talk or do any of that.

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On page 112,paragraph 6 the author gives a great example of the narrator being selfish . The reason I say the narrator is selfish is because is because he didn't care what Doodle wanted to do about his disabilities. He didn’t want to be the

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Towards the beginning of the story, it was made known that Doodle had a great fear of abandonment and being left alone. “Doodle was frightened of being left. “Don’t go leave me, Brother,” he cried, and he leaned toward the coffin” (line 112). The reader may notice the foreshadowing in action in this paragraph. The concepts of death and abandonment are introduced at this point.

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”(1). This shows that Doodle is letting down his brother, and even family, through his newfound disability; a heart condition, which should’ve been fatal. This triggers the narrator to have a heartless attitude towards

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(12) Brother waited, but no one came, and he couldn’t hear Doodle’s voice anymore, so he went back. “Doodle, Doodle!” (12) Brother cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but the ropy rain. Therefore, it was all Brother’s fault for leaving Doodle behind in the

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The narrator loved Doodle. In the beginning of the story, Doodle had little chance to survive, and ”Everybody thought he would die-everybody except aunt Nicey, who delivered him.” The narrator, Doodle’s own brother, did not believe he would live, until Doodle was three years old lying on the bed. The narrator peeked through the iron bars of the bed, and Doodle looked right at him and smiled. The narrator skipped through the halls yelling, “he's all

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In the progression of the story, we can witness the narrator feeling towards Doodle evolve. Every now and then, the narrator expresses genuine care and affection. However, on many occasions, his pride gets in the way. This change makes him obsessed with forcing Doodle to do things that are beyond his powers, and he often pushes him too far by trying to change him. Such a desire to rearrange doodles shows the different aspects of family ties common with people.

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Eventually the narrator taught Doodle to walk, then decided to teach Doodle other abilities that would make Doodle be considered “Normal.” The narrator was so engrossed in this task that he did not notice that Doodle could not keep up. “I made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry.”

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Despite the narrator’s guilt over the situation, he is not to blame for his brother death. His pride and his constant pushing had a hand in it, but there are many other reasons why Doodle died which didn’t involve the narrator at all. We as readers know that his heart and physical condition eventually led him to his death and that from beginning Doodle was supposed to die from very young age. The narrator said, “ Everybody thought he was going to die --- except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him (Hurst #428).” His body was fragile and thin.

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Due to his hurtful actions, inflicted upon Doodle throughout his life, the Narrator feels deep shame for what he has caused. Through the elements of foreshadowing and dialogue, Hurst’s narration reveals the protagonist’s guilt, emphasizing his deep regret over his actions regarding his crippled brother. The Narrator foreshadows the eventual climax of the story through his words regarding his views of pride. He states, “But all of us must have something to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.

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Given all the evidence in the story there’s no doubt about it that Doodle’s death was because of his brother’s dislike for him, self-pride, and decisions when Doodle needed his brother most. The Narrator is responsible for his brother, Doodle's, death because he never really liked him to begin with. William Armstrong (Doodle) was born a disabled child when the narrator was 6 years old. The narrator was wishing for a brother that he would be able to do things with and have fun with, but when the narrator was

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When the storm hits, the two brothers run back to the house but Doodle can not keep up and brother taken over by pride leaves him there alone. That powerful pride that brother has, always breaks his bond with Doodle, after the failed lesson they just had, he gives up on his brother. The narrator, clearly has a lot of things going on inside his head, lost he just leaves him there because of his failure and an inside pride. “I began to weep and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. Doodle I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his.

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