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Influences of family
The negative impact of peer pressure on the family
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Influences of family
The negative impact of peer pressure on the family
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
Brother took a lot of his own time to help teach Doodle things like to walk. Everyone said that Doodle would never be able to stand up, but brother was tired of lugging doodle everywhere so he taught him how to walk. ”I'm going to teach you to walk doodle”(Hurst 2). With everything that brother did to help out Doodle to become a normal a normal person meant a lot to Doodle. Doodle was the only thing
At a young age Doodle wants to go with his brother everywhere: “To discourage him coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and carren him around corners on two wheels” ( Hurst 465). When Doodle was five, his older brother was embarrassed with having a brother you could not walk. So he helped his brother learn, after a few weeks of trying to stand up. On Doodle’s sixth birthday he walked: “That Doodle only walked because I was ashamed of having a crippied brother” (468). After that, he wants to teach Doodle to swim and climb but before they can do that a storm comes.
By employing the use of conflict and similes, the author reveals Doodle’s determination and fragility. The use of conflict shows how Doodle is determined because the struggle for him to please his brother empowers him to overcome his physical disabilities. Doodle’s brother himself
The narrator dreamed of a brother that could do all those things but when his parents told him that “he wasn’t all there” he knew he had to do something about it therefore, “When Doodle was five years old, [he] was embarrassed at having a brother of that age that couldn’t walk, so [he] set out to teach him” (Hurst 488). Despite the physical condition with the Doodle , the narrator’s pride wanted him to “fix” him because he was ashamed of the Doodle ever since he was born. The narrator sets time out of his days to help his brother develop physically since Doodle is physically imobile. He goes down to Old Woman Swamp everyday to teach Doodle.
In contrast to what his parents did, Doodle's brother totally disregarded him. He was so furious with Doodle that he even went as far as planning to kill him with a pillow. He expects his brother to do fun things with him instead of accepting the fact that he can’t due to his medical conditions. He was so embarrassed about having a brother who couldn’t walk that he tried to change it.
The first time we are introduced to the motivation behind teaching Doodle to walk, and even the idea of teaching Doodle to walk, when the narrator tells us “I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk,
Brother has always been a selfish and manipulative kid. When Brother was trying to teach Doodle how to run and swim he would ask him if, “[He] wanted to be different from everybody else when [he] start school” (471). This reveals Brother’s true motives for teaching Doodle how to walk. He felt embarrassed to be around Doodle, who was an anomaly in society. The only way he thought to prevent this was to teach Doodle how to do what he wants.
As Doodle grew older, it was evident that he was out of place as well as misjudged not only by his brother but by most of his family as well. The family built Doodle a coffin believing that he wouldn't survive. Doodle managed to prosper and eventually learned to crawl and talk although he still had to be rolled around in a cart everywhere. The narrator felt that Doodle was a burden so he decided to teach Doodle how to walk. He did this because he was embarrassed to have a disabled brother.
As proven at the end of the story, Doodle’s brain and personality had matured greatly, but the significance of flashbacks is giving comparisons of how Doodle’s choices of wanting to walk and live in the real world effects his physical capabilities. When Doodle was bedridden, the only way for his family to know he was “with” them was when he smiled. This proves how much time and effort Doodle and his brother put into trying to get Doodle to walk and live as a normal eight year old boy. As a child, Doodle was extremely weak and fragile, “When he was two, if you laid on his stomach, he began to try to move himself, straining terribly” (Hurst 417).
This part shows that the narrator of the story wanted the doodle to walk only because it was embarrassing for him. He wanted a doodle to fit a mold that he can't fit and wanted him to be normal when he was already good. Another example of the theme in the story is when the brother first shows his parents Doodle's progress with his walking, and Doodle tells them that the narrator is the reason he learned to walk. “There wasn't a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at the table.
For instance, when Doodle was born his parents were expecting a baby who would die soon, “Daddy had Mr.Heath, the carpenter, build a little mahogany coffin for him”(1). The way Doodles parents act toward his disabilities makes it seem like they would rather have him die then deal with him. The expectations they set for him are so low that when Brother has high expectations for Doodle, he goes beyond his capabilities to reach them. Furthermore, Brother helps Doodle succeed, but he eventually leads him to his downfall.” The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that a streak of cruelty within me awakened”(6).
Crawling backwards made him look like a Doodlebug, […] because nobody expects much from someone called Doodle.” Society’s attentiveness is predominantly towards the aspects of and in this story Doodle’s impairment seemed to have negative impacts on him that the society has caused. His brother saw him as a burden in many ways. Doodle must be treated gently as he was forbidden from certain activities and conditions, at the same time he was embarrassed to have a crippled brother at the age
Eventually the narrator taught Doodle to walk, then decided to teach Doodle other abilities that would make Doodle be considered “Normal.” The narrator was so engrossed in this task that he did not notice that Doodle could not keep up. “I made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry.”
Even though the narrator knew what would happen to Doodle if he attempted to perform simple tasks, the narrator still felt obligated to teach Doodle to walk, swim, etc. Doodle would obviously fall when attempting to walk, but the narrator would pressure him into trying again. Stating that he would still have to push him around in a go-cart when they’re old