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Symbolism In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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In the story "The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst The Scarlet Ibis symbolically connects to doodle.Hurst uses symbolism to connect the bird and the boy by explaining the similarities between them. The scarlet color of the ibis symbolizes the red on doodle shirt when he is hunched over by the bush during the storm.(183).The bird also symbolizes doodle because the bird was in the wrong region which meant he was different to that area(179). And even though doodle was born different and was different because he could not walk.The ibis also symbolizes doodle because the ibis was sick looking and unique looking And got lost in a storm and died. Doodle was crippled and doodle “had a large head and a tiny shriveled body”(169). Doodle got stuck in the
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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.

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The author of The “Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst, symbolizes Doodle with the scarlet ibis in a number of different ways. To begin, when describing the looks of the scarlet ibis, the author writes, “At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud.” With this description, the reader pictures the bird limp and lifeless on the ground in a mangled heap. The bird bleeds as it falls out of the tree, as it helplessly descends from the branch. The author describes Doodle in much the same way, and he uses some of the same words to do so when he writes, “Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth.

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In the Scarlet Ibis, Hurst uses The Scarlet Ibis as a symbol of death and blood. The text gives many clues as to what the Ibis might symbolize. The Bleeding Tree on which the Scarlet Ibis sat on, the color and description of the Ibis, and the sudden death of the Ibis indicate the symbolism and meaning behind the relevance of the Ibis. The dead Ibis is described as "broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic" in the perspective of the narrator. The narrator also mourns the death of his younger brother, Doodle, by "sheltering MY fallen Scarlet Ibis from the heresy of rain.

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For example, when Simon and Joe needed a ride back home from the police station Simon's parents did not pick him up, they suggested that they kept him there for the night which implied that he was a nuisance to them. Ultimately, Doodle and Simon share major symbols in their stories. In "The Scarlet Ibis" the major symbol in the story was the scarlet ibis. It represents Doodle because like the scarlet ibis Doodle was fragile and he did not belong with the rest of his family.

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Although Doodle is a human and the scarlet ibis is a bird these both symbolize each other by showing that Doodle and the bird both had red, weak bodies. The author shows that the scarlet ibis is weak by saying that “A bird with scarlet feathers, it looks tired or maybe even sick” (180). The bird may have been exhausted or that it

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In the short story The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst uses symbolism to compare the scarlet ibis and the narrator's younger sibling Doodle. There are many parts in this story that refer the scarlet ibis to Doodle symbolically. To begin with, The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle should've never been in the environment they had died in. When Doodle was born everyone knew he wasn’t going to make it much longer in his short span of life “Everyone thought he was going to die”(416). Therefore his family built Doodle a coffin, Later on this represents an older Doodle when he was burying the scarlet ibis “The bird wasn’t supposed to be here….it couldn't handle the climate”(425).

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507 Words | 3 Pages

The short story of “The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of two brothers, in which the older brother pushes his younger brother, Doodle, to be perfect and to be just like the other boys. This story is expressed through many different symbols that have meaning throughout the story. “The Scarlet Ibis” uses symbolism in birds, death, and the color red to show the conflict of one older brother pushing his younger brother to be perfect. Birds are used throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” to symbolize how fragile and unique the lives of creatures in nature are. “On the topmost branch a bird the size of a chicken with scarlet feathers and long legs was precariously”(Hurst).

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In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator’s remorseful attitude towards Doodle’s death is illustrated through the utilization of foreshadowing and flashback. This is made evident through the passing of the scarlet ibis and the narrator’s own prideful behavior and faith in his infallibility. The scarlet ibis that symbolizes Doodle with its death is incorporated into the foreseeable outcome of the end of Doodle’s life, and the indication of the narrator’s future guilt is manifested through his reminiscence of cruelty he displayed towards Doodle in his past. The significance of the appearance of the bird is emphasized alongside specific characteristics to foreshadow Doodle’s own fate, followed by the narrator’s guilt.

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Another similarity includes “His little legs, bent sharply at the knees,” that “had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.” (462-465). Doodle and the scarlet ibis’s resemblance is shown through both of the suffering, with the scarlet ibis suffering from the storm pushing it from Florida to North Carolina, and Doodle, suffering because the narrator is constantly forcing him to change. While Doodle and his family are trying to figure out what type of bird the scarlet ibis is, they stumble up on the fact that the scarlet ibis originally comes from Florida. The narrator begins to think about “How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in [their] yard, beneath the bleeding tree.”

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707 Words | 3 Pages

The scarlet ibis symbolizes Doodle. “It lives in the tropics. How many miles it has traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree,” (424). Doodle, like the scarlet ibis, does not belong in his environment. He is mentally and physically impaired, which makes him different and stand out.

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770 Words | 4 Pages

The older brother likely had the realization it could have been Doodle dead in that moment, instead of the ibis. Later, Doodle buried the Ibis, being the only one that wanted to do so. Even in Doodle’s state he finished burying the bird, when the reader could see a similarity in the beginning of the story in reverse on how they thought they would be burying Doodle in the coffin they built for him. Instead he is giving the Ibis a

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Doodle became fascinated with this bird in Old Woman’s Swamp. The bird looked exotic, as if it belonged to another environment. I did some research on the newfound animal and discovered that its name was the Scarlet Ibis, a species of birds that live in tropical areas. That’s when I realized a connection between Doodle and the Ibis. Just as the Scarlet Ibis was different from the dank, bland landscape of Old Woman’s Swamp, so was Doodle when he was born into the family.

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“The Scarlet Ibis” Literary Analysis Essay As the protagonist unfolds his tale, he paints a picture of himself initially as a malevolent force, planning the smothering death of his crippled brother, to a bully, force-teaching Doodle to walk to satisfy his own ends, and finally a neglectful older brother whose acts lead to Doodle’s demise. It is the central event of his brother’s death that gives full meaning to the title, “The Scarlet Ibis.” In this short story by James Hurst, the author conveys the Narrator’s guilt over Doodle’s life and, more importantly, his death.

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There is a myriad of connections amidst the Renaissance world and our world today. Renaissance encouraged the new information and advancements of astronomy, medicine, and Humanism. They made many important astronomical and medical discoveries. For example, Hans Lippershey invented the telescope in 1608. As you can see, that changed the way we looked at astronomy forever.

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The Scarlet Ibis shows how fragile Doodle was, and how the bird came so far from home like Doodle did when he learned to walk. When Doodle was first born his family was already prepared for him to die. The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle represent each other because they were both struggling to survive in an environment they weren’t in tune with. The Scarlet Ibis had trouble flying the same as Doodle had trouble with walking.

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