Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Ibis, By James Hurst

Family is an essential thing in life, especially for siblings. Sometimes siblings get mad at one another. But what if getting angry at your sibling caused their life, and their death was on your hands? What would you do? “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about two brothers, Doodle and Brother. Doodle was born with a condition and can not walk. Brother made it his job to teach Doodle how to walk, which was successful. One day he makes Doodle row the rowboat even though he is exhausted. Brother always pushed Doodle past his limits. However, a storm was approaching. They start running to get out of the rain. But Doodle falls, anger fills Brother, and he starts running ahead, leaving Doodle behind. When Brother returns to find Doodle, he

Hurst improves the grim mood through foreshadowing. At the story's beginning, the narrator describes his surroundings by saying, “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst 462). When the narrator says, “last graveyard flowers were blooming,” it introduces the feeling of darkness just by the single word graveyard. A graveyard is where the dead rest, and when thinking of a graveyard, the image of a dark and sad environment fulfills the air. Also, when the narrator brings up the smell of the flowers softly speaks the name of the dead, as in Doodle. It sets the tone and allows the reader to know that Doodle dies. But it also creates a dark vision. Because if flowers are speaking the names of the dead, they will not appear colorful. They would show dark colors such as black and gray. Black is portrayed as a dark and grim color. Not only that but

At the story's beginning, the narrator also describes his garden by saying, “The flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals, and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox” (462). Magnolia is a flower that symbolizes luck. The description of the beautiful white petals of the flower becoming brown and rotting shows that his luck is out, or there was no luck at all. As the leaves are rotting, the plant is dying, which gives the sense of Doodle's death, that he had no chance, and he is now gone. Also, ironweed is a weed with a strong stem with a red flower color. Even though Doodle was not strong, the red can give the idea of Doodle's blood. Present with the flowers also is the phlox flower that represents love, the love for Doodle. The description of the rotting flowers and the red colors gives a dark and grim feeling. Another example of how Hurst shows grim through diction. In the middle of the story, Brother is teaching Doodle how to walk and says. “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (467). Brother uses a seed that sprouts into two vines to describe the word pride. Brother wanted someone to be proud of, and that would be Doodle. So he tried to teach Doodle how to walk so he would be proud of his brother, which is terrific. But Brother's obsession with having a perfect brother goes too far; Doodle goes down the vine of death. When