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The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
The scarlet ibis by James Hurst
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
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.
This shows Doodle has terrible habits that stem from good talents. All this goes to show is Doodle is at heart, a talented, though strange, boy. Doodle tried so hard to be like the others boys. He worked at it but could see results, so he asked his
Why did the narrator end up with a brother that he was utterly disappointed in? None of them wanted such a big responsibility. There is only one answer to these questions. Fate. Fate acted out into these situations.
The story "The Scarlet ibis" was written by James Hurst. This story is about a boy who's younger brother was born with weak bones. He teaches him how to walk out of shame and embarrassment, then his brother dies in a storm. The character doodle can best be described as sensitive and imaginative. He is sensitive because he feels empathy for living things.
On page 112,paragraph 6 the author gives a great example of the narrator being selfish . The reason I say the narrator is selfish is because is because he didn't care what Doodle wanted to do about his disabilities. He didn’t want to be the
Doodle was born disabled, so he is unable to walk. His brother has to pull him everywhere in a cart, because his mom told him that he has to. He doesn’t want the embarrassment that would come with having to pull Doodle around, so he forces him to learn how to walk. When the brother’s showed their parents that Doodle learned how to walk, they were so proud of the brother for teaching Doodle. They didn’t know the real reason the brother taught Doodle though.
Two brothers create a special bond but later learn it is not that way. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story that contains the main character, Brother, and his little brother, Doodle, who struggles physically. Throughout the story Doodle was put to the test by brother physically and sometimes emotionally. Brother did this in pride and learned that pride led to Doodle's Death. The author conveys the feeling of desolation and it is shown by point of view, character dialogue, character actions.
He says “but having (a brother) who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” The narrator eventually discovers his brother is “all there” or mentally sound so he decides to try to teach him to walk and make him into the brother he wants him to be. He realizes that he is only teaching Doodle due to his own pride. He doesn’t want to have a brother with a disability. When his brother first walks he says, “they did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.”
Brother uses pride in the story by helping brother walk. He was so naive about it, he even admits it to himself but by then it’s too late. He even said in the story “I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldn’t let me” (Hurst 471). His pride through the story is his biggest character trait and in some parts of the story, it defined him.
Even though it was out of self pity, the narrator teaches him how to walk, despite what everyone is saying. Clearly something is driving Doodle towards success or he would have died already. The author states, “But he didn’t die and when he was three months old, Mama and Daddy decided they might as well name him, They named him William Armstrong, which was like tying a big tail on a small kite . Such a name sounds good only on a tombstone” (Hurst 25-28). This quote shows that no one has any faith in Doodle when he is born just because he had some disabilities working against him.
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.”
The narrator’s pride wants Doodle to be an ordinary brother, and kills him in the strive for perfection. “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis,” the narrator reveals (426). For the first time, the narrator notices the connection between the scarlet ibis and Doodle. When Doodle dies, his neck is twisted identical to the scarlet ibis’ neck as it dies under the bleeding tree, along with the fact that they are both weak and fragile. The scarlet ibis and Doodle has come a long way, dodging many obstacles and achieving many goals, but in the end, both fall short of
In The Scarlet Ibis, the author revealed finally the real feelings of Brother toward his brother Doodle. During the whole incidents of the short story, Brother is not accepting Doodle as a brother because of the abnormality which Doodle suffered from and so Brother feels ashamed. The last scene in the short story is so tragic. The scene is portrayed as Brother returned back to Doodle who was found dead, having bled from the mouth and his neck is covered in blood. The act of crying and screaming by Brother for the death of his brother Doodle is a pure tragic scene and by such scene the reader makes the readers feel that Brother loves his brother Doodle and for such love he tried to protect him from an outside world.
Power and Possession In all the earthly worlds and stories, greed has always existed. Greed for power, possessions, and everything else. In Tolkien’s fantasy world of fairy tale and wonder, it is no different; that same element still exists.