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Summary Of Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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In the short story, “Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses characterization to demonstrate the idea that if pride isn’t controlled, it can take over a person’s life and blur out the needs of others during one’s pursuit of success. Pride, the satisfactory feelings that one experiences after an achievement of some sort, is a two-way street; it both fills a person with gratitude, and confirmation that they succeeded, but it also is the driving force behind the guilt that quickly follows after one ceases to prioritize themselves. Brother fights to surpass this manipulative feeling, but is soon forced to succumb. Once Doodle had made it to five years old, Brother became fed-up with the embarrassment that emanated from Doodle, as he was everything but …show more content…

This same internal conflict gives Brother the intuition to really push Doodle’s limits. If it weren’t for Brother’s unruly pride, which feeds his ego and develops the disappointment that Doodle burdens him with, then Doodle would not have died. The tiring endeavor that Brother is tasked with is recurrent throughout the whole story, as he faces hardship when it comes to accepting Doodle both as a fellow human being and a sibling of the same blood. During the beginning of the flashback, the first time Brother refused to embrace Doodle’s existence, the obvious frustration that Brother experiences becomes known as he struggles with having a brother with a disability: “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (2). Hurst presents the external conflict, Brother’s efforts to change Doodle, and the internal conflict, Brother’s issues with accepting Doodle, which makes the reader’s opinion of Brother dramatically shift. Previously, he seemed like a lonely six-year old who misunderstood the reason for this person that God granted him, but he now seems like a dehumanizing little boy who’s subjugating pride makes him hyper-aware of himself, and only

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In the story ‘Scarlet Ibis’ by James Hurst. The narrator is characterized as greedy and prideful to communicate the thought that too much pride can cause us to treat loved ones in cruel ways. At the beginning of the story, when the narrator and doodle are both young, the narrator seeing no matter how hard he tries, Doodle would “never do these things with me” Under frustration the narrator attempts to kill the baby by smothering him with a pillow. He stops and sees Doodle smile at him and realizes that he is smart and abandons the plan. "Mama, he smiled.

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89 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst shows that one should not take the easy way out by submitting to one’s obstacles because in the end, it won’t be worth it. “I heaved him up again collapsed… ‘I just can’t do it.’ [Doodle says]” (Hurts 598). An example of the theme is when Doodle submits to his obstacle, which is his brother setting a goal for him he doesn’t care to achieve. By not facing his problems, The narrator’s younger brother’s problems get worse, and somewhat lead to his death.

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518 Words | 3 Pages

Why do people hurt the one’s they love? People everywhere do things to family that they reget, same as in this story. The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, a young kid has a baby brother. He is very happy because he wants someone to play with him. When his brother is born, he is a cripple.

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185 Words | 1 Pages

Abbie Scepurek Mrs. Kapsner English 10 hour 1 17 May 2024 Pride and Death In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, he uses death/dying to symbolize the selfish pride of a brother. One example is, Brother is making plans to kill Doodle by smothering him with a pillow because Doodle has special needs. “I began to make plans to kill him with a pillow”(Hurst 1). This shows how Brother is only thinking of himself and his pride because he doesn't want a disabled brother.

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197 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the older brother is responsible for Doodle’s death, he is responsible for Doodles death because of him being ashamed of Doodle and leaving him behind, for example the brother was ashamed of Doodle’s disability and wished he was normal, so he taught Doodle to walk for his benefit, the author writes in this short story “they didn’t know that I did it just for myself, that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (Hurst, 2) the older having a crippled brother, so he runs as fast as he can knowing Doodle cannot run very well, causing Doodle to panic and die. The brother is responsible because he ran in the storm, leaving Doodle behind, he knew he didn’t teach doodle very well,

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269 Words | 2 Pages

In "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst the character Doodle often tells lies that seem to tell about his inner life. The lies become stories about people that can fly and of a boy named Peter who has a gorgeous pet peacock. The characters he creates are free to go wherever they want since they can fly; they flying characters represent Doodle's longing for mobility and freedom. His characters not only have working legs, but they also have wings to fly them wherever they wish to go. One of Doodle's favorite lies to tell is the story of Peter.

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530 Words | 3 Pages

In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator is shameful of his little brother, Doodle, in which makes his pride overpower Doodle’s needs. He is afraid of what people will think of his crippled little brother since he isn’t like anyone else so he tries to bring doodle up to his expectations. Some may argue that the narrator did make a big impact on doodle’s life by pushing him to his limits. Although, the narrator

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164 Words | 1 Pages

Blood may be thicker than water, but pride can be thicker than both blood and water. Pride can be life or death. Pride can be good or bad. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the narrator’s pride ruled over his actions and decisions. The narrator’s pride lead to the death of his little brother, Doodle.

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310 Words | 2 Pages

The Scarlet Ibis is told in first person retrospective. The readers are introduced to a story that has happened to the narrator in the past. In this particular situation, Brother is reminiscing of the time when his brother Doodle was alive. The way the story is long greatly affects the way the reader interprets the story.

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430 Words | 2 Pages

The story is told through the perspective of a grown man, who shares his memories about Doodle, his younger brother. The narrator, who Hurst only describes as “Brother,” is an outgoing and audacious, young boy. As a 6-year-old living in the rural, he dreadfully sought someone to accompany him through his adventures, a younger brother. However, when he discovers that his young brother is born physically disabled, he is shattered, his dreams crushed like a can of soda. Brother rages, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly wasn’t all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.”

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442 Words | 2 Pages

it can lead to selfishness and guilt) Support #1 Older brother thinks “pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” Support #2 Older brother leaving Doodle to die Concluding Sentence Hurst is an incredible writer through his literary devices and ideas, especially through his theme of pride in his story “The Scarlet Ibis.” V. Conclusion Restatement of your thesis in different words James Hurst is widely recognized for his powerful theme of pride which is an involuntary feeling of selfishness and guilt that is beneficial and detrimental that is represented by Doodle and the older brother.

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446 Words | 2 Pages

"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Pride is Ignorance Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movement, senses, or activities. " The Scarlet Ibis," a short story written by James Hurst, focuses on the relationship between two brothers: the narrator and his disabled brother, Doodle. Doodle is born when the narrator, Brother, is only six years old. Since the narrator is young and does not know how to cope with a situation like this, he plans to kill Doodle. The prideful narrator wants a brother he can play with and is disappointed and embarrassed that he will not be like a regular boy.

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520 Words | 3 Pages

Brother planned to spend his entire life with Doodle, They "decided that when [they] were grown [they'd] live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue" (Hurst). He wanted Doodle to have pride in himself and be able to do everything Brother wanted to do with him. Brother had pride in Doodle since he was first able to stand on his own and walk. He taught Doodle out of his own selfishness, he was ashamed of having an "invalid" brother and wanted to have "someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea" (Hurst). Brother was ashamed of the way he felt and his self-indulgent efforts for Doodle.

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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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