Summary Of Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is an exceptional story which demonstrates several separate examples of foreshadowing. The author James Hurst most strongly uses foreshadowing in order to predicts the death of Doodle. Now to elaborate on the examples and importance of foreshadowing in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst.
The first chance we get to see the brilliant foreshadowing used is quite early on when Doodle is named William Armstrong. The author describes the reason William Armstrong was chosen as “a name which only sounds good on a tombstone”(Hurst 1) this is very clear foretelling the eventual death of Doodle . The quote used definitely foreshadows Doodle's demesne by suggesting he was named with only death in mind. With this early quote …show more content…

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. This intellectual author keeps us on the edge of our seats throughout the story with continued use of foreshadowing even being used on the day Doodle dies. The Scarlet Ibis exemplar use of foreshadowing clearly shows many different ways to precisely and effectively use foreshadowing in order to further the