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.
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.
Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." In other words, Churchill stated that it is not the act of success that matters, it is the journey that made you successful that counts. In the book "The Scarlet Ibis" and the film Simon Birch they tell the story of a physically impaired boy who puts his disability aside to defy the odds and triumph before ultimately dying. Doodle and Simon were alike and different in various instances, the main themes were; their brother figure, their parents, and the major symbols in the story.
Plans Both stories, the scarlet ibis and the simon birch story are similar in symbols as in the deer by the lake in the simon birch story, theme as in don’t take someone you love for granted, and setting as in the two boys in both stories were born with undersized hearts. Symbols is one way the two stories are similar, in the Scarlet Ibis story the scarlet ibis symbolizes doodle because the scarlet ibis is weak and expected to die the same as doodle. the second symbol is again in the scarlet ibis, Doodle is seen as a symbol of hope because the doctors and everyone else believe he is going to die but then he lives. Then everyone thinks that he will never walk but his older brother teaches him to.
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).
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the selfish narrator set a mission for himself to make his invalid brother become “normal” to fulfill his own personal pride. At one point in the story, the author illustrated a scene in which Doodle and the rest of his family were drawn outside to observe a scarlet ibis as it sat unstable on a branch of a tree, and tumbled to the ground at their feet when it tried to take flight. The scarlet ibis symbolizes Doodle because both Doodle and the bird could be described as vulnerable, weak, and uncoordinated, yet they both still tried to push themselves past their limits. To begin, the precarious way the bird perched itself high up in the tree, represented Doodle because they both share vulnerabilities.
“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. Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still,” (Hurst 3). The Ibis is a symbol of Doodle and is used for the reader to see Doodle in another way. The Scarlet Ibis uses imagery and symbolism to build a deep and rich story. James Hurst uses imagery to bring the reader closer to the story and creates a deeper emotion.
Symbolism in the Scarlet Ibis The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a short story full of symbolism between the antagonist Doodle and The Scarlet Ibis. Doodle’s family didn’t really want Doodle because he wasn’t as fortunate as most kids in term of his physical and mental health. The Scarlet Ibis symbolizes Doodle in his struggle to communicate and interact with the rest of society with his disabilities. The death and the color of the Scarlet Ibis represents Doodle and how he was alone just like the bird was alone and far from home.
In James Hurst’s Story “The Scarlet Ibis”, the demand for normality ruins lives. In Hurst’s tale the protagonist is concerned about his crippled brother being seen as abnormal and reflecting badly on the character. In order to prevent this the protagonist starts to train his brother, eventually he begins to feel that Doodle, his brother, is not putting in enough effort. Our protagonist states, “You can do it. Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school?”
Special treatment due to a physical or mental challenge reveals the strength and true character inside, When a challenge, or adversity comes up, a good character is usually revealed, although in some cases a person isn’t caring or selfless inside. Adversity can cause the bad inside someone to come out. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator teaches his physically disabled brother to walk. “Once I succeeded in teaching Doodle I began to believe in my own infallibility, and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy of course” (Scarlet Ibis, Hurst). After succeeding he keeps trying to get Doodle to be more like everyone else.
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.
Pride is Ignorance Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movement, senses, or activities. " The Scarlet Ibis," a short story written by James Hurst, focuses on the relationship between two brothers: the narrator and his disabled brother, Doodle. Doodle is born when the narrator, Brother, is only six years old. Since the narrator is young and does not know how to cope with a situation like this, he plans to kill Doodle. The prideful narrator wants a brother he can play with and is disappointed and embarrassed that he will not be like a regular boy.
In a person’s life, many situations transpire and make them feel pride over one’s self. Readers can see this in the short story,” The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. “In his spare time Hurst wrote short stories and plays, but The Scarlet Ibis was the only work of his that become famous “(gradesaver.com)”. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses red to symbolize warning, death, and guilt to show the change the older brother goes through, as he takes care of Doodle. The first instance when red is used, is to express warning and the older brother’s attitude, is at Doodle’s birth.
A Brother’s Pride Pride is a feeling of fulfillment, a feeling of satisfaction from one’s achievements. In James Hurst’s short story, The Scarlet Ibis, the theme that pride has the power to blind is prevalent throughout the story. The narrator is the main target of this theme as his overbearing pride leads to the demise of his younger brother. However, the power that pride has over people can bring both a positive and negative outcome.
It is the reason the world possesses beauty and the reason it possesses evil. Regardless of one’s personal perception of pride, I believe it is an important topic to explore through literature, current events, and through aspects of our own daily lives. Pride is recurring theme in the aforementioned story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” In the story, the narrator seeks to train his handicapped brother, Doodle, to play like a regular, unafflicted boy.
