Literary Analysis Of The Scarlet Ibis

Within every story, there lies two points of view. Behind every meaning, there lies two outlooks. All aspects of life are more complex than how they may appear; the case of Doodle’s death is no different. Doodle is a miracle. He is born with rear disabilities that limit the life he can fulfil. Brother, Doodle’s older and more capable sibling, believes that Doodle’s impairments are not as severe as everyone may think. Because of this, Brother works hard with Doodle to ensure Doodle becomes as successful as he can possibly be, despite his disabilities. Doodle’s physical limitations, along with Brother’s drive to see Doodle succeed and overcome the challenges he is faced with, lead to Doodle’s downfall. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by

During the short story, Brother relentlessly pushes Doodle to see him improve and defy his disabilities. To begin, Brother’s persistent ambitions first became evident when Brother first began to teach Doodle how to walk. Brother becomes agitated by Doodles supposed lack of effort, so Brother “took him by the arms and stood him up. He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack. It was as if he had no bones in his legs. ‘Don’t hurt me Brother’ he warned. ‘Shut up. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to teach you to walk.’ I heaved him up again and he collapsed” (Hurst 488). As soon as Doodle is able to comprehend his surroundings, he knows that his disabilities limit the actions he can successfully perform. Instead of accepting Doodle’s limitations, Brother continues to push Doodle hard to overcome his problems, even after he reaches the point of collapsing. Eventually, Brother’s constant effort to witness Doodle’s success becomes too much for the child to attend to. Throughout Doodle’s life, Brother continuously performs careless and cruel actions which wind up resulting in the death of Doodle. Likewise, Brother’s constant push on Doodle, expressed in the short story, before Doodle’s supposed initial day at school, ultimately contributes to the younger sibling’s unfortunate passing. During the winter before he is expected attend school, Doodle is

Brother repeatedly treats Doodle with carelessness and without compassion throughout his short life. He cares more about Doodle improving than his well being; this eventually costs Brother a large part of his life. Brother has no concern for his brother’s wellbeing. Instead, he continuously pushes Doodle past his limits, which results in Doodle’s immature death. In addition, one of the numerous times Brother causes Doodle to excel past his limits occurs right before the start of school. At one of their daily trainings, Brother decides to begin his lesson on rowing. After the two of the boys had “drifted a long way, I put the oars in place and made Doodle row back against the tide” (492). Rowing against the current is strenuous work, especially for someone who is physically limited, such as Doodle. Although Brother is well aware of his younger brother’s heart disabilities, he constantly forces Doodle to perform physically-exhausting actions. Brother constantly motivates his brother to perform challenging tasks which he is incapable of performing, because of his disabilities. Throughout “The Scarlet Ibis,” Brother’s consistent push on Doodle to perform strenuous tasks play a large factor in the demise of