Summary Of Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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

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