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An essey for "the scarlet ibis" for literary divices develuping the theme
Themes in the scarlet ibis
Essay for the scarlet ibis
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In "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, the author uses foreshadowing to predict Doodle's death. To begin, in the first paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis'' by James Hurst, he begins by talking about “graveyard flowers”, and the phrase “speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst, 1) that could foreshadow a death near in the story. It foreshadows because graveyard flowers and the “names of our dead” are words that are usually associated with death, and the beginning of the story took place years after Doodle had been gone. In addition, Doodle had always been scared of being left behind which can mean he was scared of death, the text states, “Doodle was frightened of being left.”
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.
The brother is to blame for doodles death. Doodle was a disabled young child with a selfish brother that only looks out for himself. His brother was ashamed to be with or around him. One of the biggest reasons wanted him dead is because he was embarrassed to be around him. The three reasons I believe that the brother wanted to kill doodle was he was embarrassed, he pushed him to hard, and he was selfish.
Life is unfair sometimes but we have to climb over the obstacles and make ourselves stronger. In the story, the narrator states, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible
Pride can be a really good thing that keeps you going and makes you try hard, but it is also a very destructive force that can hurt you and others. Doodle was one of those people who got hurt because of someone's pride. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the story shows that the narrator is guilty of Doodle’s death. These are my two reasons supporting this claim. First off the narrator was ashamed of Doodle, and second He just simply did not like Doodle.
Similar to when Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his family he didn’t escape charges just how I think Mr. Armstrong shouldn’t escape. In the case of our victim William “Doodle” Armstrong we have our murderer who was an adored brother of William. Mr. Armstrong couldn’t accept the fact William had inabilities and forced him into ‘fixing’ his disabilities. William wasn’t given the choice of declining his brothers advances in improving his mobility. As the days went by of William’s brother pushing him to and beyond his limits Mr. Armstrong still gave no mercy to little William.
In this quote, the narrator forces his brother to touch his own coffin. There is no legitimate reason to make anyone touch their own coffin, other to be cruel, mean, and spiteful. That was exactly what the narrator did, and if his brother would not touch it he was going to leave him there. At that point in the story Doodle did not know how to walk so he would not have been able to get down at all. The narrator is also needlessly cruel to Doodle when Hurst writes “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.
Death is the end of an organism. A person doesn't know when there time is, but they do know that they need to be ready when the time comes. If a person kills someone then that is their responsibility, also. n James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the older brother was responsible for Doodle’s death because the brother overwhelmed Doodle,gave no mercy,and left Doodle behind. First, the brother made Doodle overwhelmed.
Point of View Forces the reader to identify with the personality defect of the narrator and make/ learn the same mistakes vicariously, Gives a direct insight into the mind of the narrator Quotes A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house. House was like his “Time Out” a place for him to come back to to get a breather There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle “ foreshadowing doodle's death.” Setting Home is the place of comfort for Doodle, where he is able to be sheltered, before being forced to engage in activities he is not able to perform
The rotting brown petals can be linked to Doodle. Another image given that fleshes out the tone is when Doodle is shown his coffin. “Daddy had Mr. Heath, the carpenter, build a little mahogany coffin for him” (Hurst 351). This highlights the truly depressing tone and shows the expectation of Doodle not making it. The image of death is highlighted by the flat statement saying there is poison on the coffin when Doodle is made to touch it.
“I won’t touch it,” he said sullenly. “Then I’ll leave you here by yourself,” I threatened, and made as if I were going down. Doodle was frightened of being left. “Don’t leave me, Brother,” he cried, and leaned toward the coffin. His hand, trembling, reached out, and when he touched
He was so unhappy, he ignored what the doctor said and did whatever possible to discourage Doodle from tagging along. " A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house" (596). The narrator didn't care about Doodle's safety; he just wanted Doodle to leave him alone. Doodle was a burden to the narrator; he didn't want to take care of him.
Given all the evidence in the story there’s no doubt about it that Doodle’s death was because of his brother’s dislike for him, self-pride, and decisions when Doodle needed his brother most. The Narrator is responsible for his brother, Doodle's, death because he never really liked him to begin with. William Armstrong (Doodle) was born a disabled child when the narrator was 6 years old. The narrator was wishing for a brother that he would be able to do things with and have fun with, but when the narrator was
“Doodle, Doodle.” There was no answer but the ropy rain. I began to weep, and the tear blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. ”(pg.395) The reaction of the family to the Scarlet Ibis’s death shows maybe how the family would react if Doodle was to die.
Hurst shows the narrator’s remorse of leaving through his use of somber words. After the narrator discovers Doodle’s deceased body, he uses cacophonous, and sorrowful, words, such as “weeping,” “tear-blurred,” “crying,” and “fallen,” to describe the massive regret he had for leaving behind Doodle. The narrator fell into hysteria as he was unable to control his intense crying, so the diction used only could be cacophonous. As a result of Doodle’s death, the narrator and his family left their house at some point in time after the event because the loss of a family member must have had a depressing effect on the atmosphere within the home. After an extended period of time, the narrator returned to his childhood home, despite the painful nostalgia
