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Theme Of Pride In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

671 Words3 Pages

“I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” This was a quote from the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, he was emphasizing how the narrator thought about his pride. The theme of the story was Do not let pride overrule love, the narrator really expresses this throughout the story with a lot details. Throughout the story this lesson continues to grow by using characterization, foreshadowing, and imagery. Firstly, James Hurst uses characterization, in the beginning of the story the author alerts the readers to the narrator's original expectations for his little brother. The narrator wanted a brother who could run and play with him, so the reality of Doodle's condition hit him deeply. It is this disappointment for the narrator that lead him to push Doodle as hard as he possibly could. This shows the narrators character as mean, and selfish. The narrator taught him how to run and do other activities, since his pride cannot handle the disparity between the brother he wanted and the brother he got. "Everybody thought he was going to die—everybody except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him. She said he would live because he was …show more content…

The family realized that Doodle's disabilities undoubtedly make him different from other people, but this story questions whether these differences even matter. His brother insists and continues to push him right past his breaking point in the interest of conformity. He gives an example of the theme Do not let pride overrule love. A bird called the Scarlet Ibis appears, it forms a strong connection with Doodle. The ibis's death and Doodle's response to it, is the most impactful piece of foreshadowing in the story. Doodle connected with the scarlet ibis because he is the scarlet ibis, and according to the narrator, the ibis is majestic and beautiful even in death as well as

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483 Words | 2 Pages

Soon empty threats displayed during the foreshadowing would present themselves nearly exactly in Doodle’s death “It’s long graceful neck jerked twice into an S”(Hurst 5) compared to “I cried, shaking him… making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim”(Hurst 6). The death of the scarlet Ibis draws many similarities to Doodle’s unfortunate end whether that be when comparing their necks or the brilliant red displayed by Doodle’s blood and the birds feathers. This final quote being so close to Doodle’s expiration leaves little suspense when leading to final act. All the examples quoted lend themselves in order to show the brilliance in the use of foreshadowing throughout The Scarlet Ibis. The use of foreshadowing early on keeps readers guessing on whether this will be a story of Doodle’s unlikely survival or foreseeable doom.

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569 Words | 3 Pages

The scarlet Ibis, throughout the story the author compares and contrast the scarlet Ibis and Doodle. Showing how they are alike, different, and more alike than different it shows with the details and characterization of the characters how the two characters are compared and contrast to each other. Throughout the story it shows how doodle take on physical and mental obstacles not within his abilities to be able to achieve. In the story The scarlet Ibis the author shows details and characteristics to show how the scarlet ibis and Doodle are alike, in the story, it tells how the bird is from tropical lands meaning it is in an environment it is not adapted to survive in, while Doodle is stuck in a world where he has to try to live up

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“The Scarlet Ibis” a short story written by James Hurst. He uses numerous literary devices, however the main one he focused on is symbolism. He uses the scarlet ibis to symbolize Doodle’s loneliness and death. There are various examples throughout the story showing the symbolism. One example symbolized in the scarlet ibis is Doodle’s struggle to survive in his environment.

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625 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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452 Words | 2 Pages

In the “Scarlet Ibis”, the scarlet ibis is a metaphor for Doodle because they both share similar traits and circumstances. When Doodle and his brother first see the bird, it was in a tree with its “long legs... perched precariously. Its wings hung down loosely, and as we watched, a feather dropped away and floated slowly down.” Similar to the bird, Doodle has problems moving his lower body and his legs are awkward until his brother teaches him how to walk. In addition, the bird doesn’t seem to be healthy and normal, just like Doodle.

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977 Words | 4 Pages

In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator’s remorseful attitude towards Doodle’s death is illustrated through the utilization of foreshadowing and flashback. This is made evident through the passing of the scarlet ibis and the narrator’s own prideful behavior and faith in his infallibility. The scarlet ibis that symbolizes Doodle with its death is incorporated into the foreseeable outcome of the end of Doodle’s life, and the indication of the narrator’s future guilt is manifested through his reminiscence of cruelty he displayed towards Doodle in his past. The significance of the appearance of the bird is emphasized alongside specific characteristics to foreshadow Doodle’s own fate, followed by the narrator’s guilt.

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In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst reveals that life is full of unexpected tragedies. Also, he shows that Doodle cares more about himself than his brother and that the scarlet ibis symbolizes the hardships and beauty of life. In the beginning of the short story, Horst writes, “I skipped through the rooms, down the echoing halls, shouting “Mama, he smiled. He’s all there!

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446 Words | 2 Pages

Pride...is something to fear. This quote is directly connected with the story “The Scarlet Ibis”. Brother’s past now haunts him. Pride is a powerful thing and it's not always good.

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The scarlet ibis symbolizes Doodle. “It lives in the tropics. How many miles it has traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree,” (424). Doodle, like the scarlet ibis, does not belong in his environment. He is mentally and physically impaired, which makes him different and stand out.

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1049 Words | 5 Pages

Such ending of The Scarlet Ibis is surprizing for both the narrator and the reader. In fact, the death of Doodle after growing up is unexpected by neither the narrator nor the reader. (Hamdi, DeAngelis, 2008, Page

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770 Words | 4 Pages

The quote said “he was looking up into the tree”. “It’s a great big red bird” he called”. Later after Doodle said that, the bird fell through the tree and died. While everyone looked at the Scarlet Ibis, the reader can see a similarity in the bird and Doodle. They were both weak and Doodle was born a shade of red, as the Ibis is.

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How much pride a man can have? Well in Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” the Man made choices that got himself killed. Reasons the Man got himself killed were he traveled alone, he built a fire under a tree, and he had too much pride. First reason the Man got himself killed was he traveled alone. In the text is says the man had a dog instead of a person to travel with him.

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“The Scarlet Ibis” Literary Analysis Essay As the protagonist unfolds his tale, he paints a picture of himself initially as a malevolent force, planning the smothering death of his crippled brother, to a bully, force-teaching Doodle to walk to satisfy his own ends, and finally a neglectful older brother whose acts lead to Doodle’s demise. It is the central event of his brother’s death that gives full meaning to the title, “The Scarlet Ibis.” In this short story by James Hurst, the author conveys the Narrator’s guilt over Doodle’s life and, more importantly, his death.

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827 Words | 4 Pages

At first the narrator sees Doodle as a crazy frail brother but as we move into the story, we can observe a lot of varying feelings brother has towards Doodle. Brother described Doodle as unbearable, an invalid brother, a brother who was not there at all, so he started

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

“Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 2). This is how James Hurst describes pride in his heart-wrenching short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” What speaks to me most about this quote is its profound truth. For the majority of people, pride is either a positive or negative thing, but what Hurst and I seem to agree about is the fact that pride can be both. It is an undeniable symptom of the human condition, a tool that can either create or destroy, and is responsible for the best and worst parts of history.

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