He is sickly and frail at birth, and is told, “with his weak heart this strain [learning how to crawl] would probably kill him.” (page 1). This heart condition means that Doodle is unable to stand long periods of physical strain. During the story, his brother pushes him very hard to learn how
In “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst we are told the story of Doodle from his brother’s perspective. We’re told just how crazy Doodle could be, how delicate he was and how he cared for a certain bird. Moreover, in “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst uses imagery to show the connection between Doodle and the scarlet ibis. The said bird is originally from the tropics but was found badly wounded in Doodle’s own backyard. It ended up falling out of a tree and dying.
doodle isn’t supposed to walk but brother wants to prove everybody wrong. “I can’t walk, brother’ he said. ‘Who says so?’ I demanded” (Hurst 3). When doodle was born they said it was really likely doodle wasn’t gonna make it because of weak bones and heart.
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.
In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle’s older brother is responsible for his death because he hated having a crippled brother and he was selfish. The older brother was embarrassed to have a crippled brother. He ran away, leaving Doodle feeling a bit cruel. Doodle and his older brother found a dead scarlet ibis in their yard. They went together to bury it.
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.
In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator is an abuser to his younger brother Doodle. For example, a few weeks before school was to begin, Doodle experiences sleepless nights and wakes up crying from nightmares as a result of his brother’s goal to teach Doodle to walk. It is understandable to try and have Doodle learn to walk day by day, but the stress Doodle is under to please his brother shows how the narrator puts his own pride above Doodle’s well-being. Considering that the narrator doesn’t take Doodle’s responses to his activities into account as he teaches, the narrator knows no boundaries as to what is helpful and what is treated as abuse. In addition, the narrator runs out of Horseshoe Landing leaving Doodle alone in the rain
A central topic in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is selfishness. For example, the narrator only helped Doodle because he “was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk.” (Hurst 1) This shows that he was selfish because he cared what people thought of him, not the well being of his brother. Another
In “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst uses the theme of peer pressure to argue that the normative conformity with one’s reputation leads to death. In providing rationale for his brother, Doodle, the narrator exclaims “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… (Hurst 176). The narrator statement explains his embarrassment of having a handicapped brother. The narrator didn’t get the normal brother with whom he could share his love of the outdoors. When he finds out he has an “invalid brother” he feels it's “unbearable”.
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a boy is born crippled and no one thought he would live. The boy lived however, and they named him Doodle. Doodle and his brother were very close and Doodle loved his brother and never wanted his brother to leave him alone. Doodle’s brother was ashamed to have a crippled brother so he attempted to help doodle become normal throughout doodle’s life in the story. Doodle loved his brother, even though his brother was very selfish in his reasons to help Doodle to become normal, and his brother realized how selfish and guilty he was when it was to late for Doodle in the end.
Even the strongest, most determined people have their breaking point. In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator tries to lift his disabled brother, Doodle, to his impossible expectations. His hard work, dedication, and his tough ways benefit and damage his brother. The narrator’s pride makes selfish and cruel sometimes, but very determined.
Brother is ashamed of Doodle’s disability because Doodle isn't like other boys. Brother is trying to make Doodle as normal as possible so that other kids don't bully them. So, Doodle is taught to walk by Brother. Brother says, “I was embarrassed of having a brother that age
In the story “Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator is flawed in his inability to let go of his desire to have a normal brother. The narrator has a little brother named Doodle, with an extreme amount of disabilities. Before Doodle was born, the narrator fantasized about having a little brother who would be his playmate. Doodle, however, was not the ideal brother. He could not walk or do much on his own.
The Dystopian short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. tells of a world where everybody is made to be excruciatingly average. In an attempt to push equality to its furthest limits the United States government released a series of laws that forced anybody who was above average in any area, whether that be intelligence, beauty, strength, or any skill to be handicapped to turn them into another average person. This causes performers to have to wear masks and to bear weights so that they aren't better than anybody else, reporters have speech impediments, and due to the mass-hysteria against competition, anyone who tries to go against this system is harshly punished. This lack of human diversity causes a stagnation of progress, as well
Brother teaching Doodle to walk
