“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a short story about a man looking back on his childhood experiences with his little brother, Doodle. The author uses symbols related to death to affect the tone. The words death and dead are used nine times and subjects related to death seems to sneak into the narrative very often. For example, when naming their son, the protagonist’s parents decide on the name William Armstrong. The narrator says that “such a name sounds good only on a tombstone” (Hurst 1). Death is hidden in the background, using words like bleeding tree and tombstone. Even something as innocent and normal as parents naming their child is not safe from the symbol. The story takes a second meaning when Doodle, the narrator’s little brother