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The Scarlet Ibis Symbolism

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Often, authors will use symbolism to add meaning and depth to their story that literal of a young 14 year old boy and his brother Doodle. Doodle has a physical disability and can’t walk. However his brother makes him walk and teaches him to do other things he couldn’t do, words never could. James Hurst, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis” is no expectation. Hurst writes because he was embarrassed of him. Hurst also tells of a scarlet ibis, which dies in the middle of the story and seems to bother Doodle more than anyone else in the family. In the end of the story Doodle dies and his death brings pain to his brother, but also has symbolic meaning.The scarlet ibis is a symbol for Doodle, and his disabilities because they have many similarities and …show more content…

The scarlet ibis is in the wrong environment because it’s not in its native tropic environment, and Doodle won’t fit in with the other kids in school because he is different. When the family sees the red bird they wonder what kind it is and the father looks it up,“ ‘It's a scarlet ibis’ he said, pointing to a picture.’It lives in the tropics-South America to Florida. A storm must've brought it here’ ”(424). The setting of this story is in North Carolina and the scarlet ibis lives in the topics, so the bird is far from home and doesn’t fit in with this environment. Doodle has a similar issues with the kids at school, because his brother wants him to fit. This leads Doodle’s brother to make him do all sorts of physical activities and when Doodle got tired he told him “ ‘Aw, come on Doodle,’ I urged. ‘You can do it. Do you want to be different from everyone else when you start school?’ ‘Doesn't make a difference?’ ‘It certainly does’, I said.” (422). Doodle is very different that other children because he cannot walk or run or do other things that most children can do. He is out of his environment in the sense that he is very different than the other children that are surrounding him. The similarities between Doodle and the scarlet and the scarlet ibis show that the scarlet ibis is a symbol for Doodle and his

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Characterization Essay Sometimes in life people are not the luckiest at birth. The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a story about a boy who learns to walk. Doodle displayed determination and that he could work hard. Doodle is very determined to learn and be able to walk.

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After the scarlet ibis died, Doodle claims that he wants to bury it, but his mom doesn’t allow him to touch the bird. Doodle finds a way to bury the scarlet ibis anyway. The author writes, “He took out a piece of string from his pocket and, without touching the ibis, looped one end around its neck. Slowly, while singing softly "Shall We Gather at the River," he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden, next to the petunia bed.” This introduces the correlation between the scarlet ibis and Doodle, because of how intrigued and how much he cares about the scarlet

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The bird symbolizes Doodle for a few reasons, the first is that the bird is small and weak just like Doodle. The second is that the bird is lost, and Doodle was always seemed out of place in his world, he was five and could not even walk. When Doodle dies, his brother thinks that Doodle looks a lot like the scarlet ibis when he is dead. His neck is twisted and he is covered in red blood, the same deep red color of a scarlet ibis. Therefore Hurst uses the scarlet ibis as a symbol to make a point about how to be benevolent to those who have a more difficult battle to

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Doodle was very fragile and thin, and so was the scarlet ibis. This shows that the scarlet ibis symbolizes Doodle because of all of the similarities between both of them when they both pass. The scarlet ibis best represents

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(Hurst 139)”. This relates Doodle to the scarlet ibis because both were a “brilliant red” (Hurst 139). This was probably close to the same color of red during the ibis’ and Doodles death. The scarlet ibis is an exact symbol for Doodle because their deaths looked alike, and they both have come far from where they

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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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Would you ever think a person with a disabled brother would be ashamed of him? Sadly, throughout most of the story the narrator in The Scarlet Ibis” has tried to change him and make him a normal kid. Some of the character traits that the narrator has are that he is generous, ignorant, and dramatic. One of the first things the reader notices is how cruel the narrator is. When the narrator threatens to leave Doodle all by himself.

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“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.

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In the “Scarlet Ibis”, the scarlet ibis is a metaphor for Doodle because they both share similar traits and circumstances. When Doodle and his brother first see the bird, it was in a tree with its “long legs... perched precariously. Its wings hung down loosely, and as we watched, a feather dropped away and floated slowly down.” Similar to the bird, Doodle has problems moving his lower body and his legs are awkward until his brother teaches him how to walk. In addition, the bird doesn’t seem to be healthy and normal, just like Doodle.

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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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James Hurst’s short story ” The Scarlet Ibis” tells a story about two brothers who have mixed feelings for each other. Doodle, crippled and mental, really loves his brother and all he wants is to please his brother and his family. Unfortunately, his brother doesn’t like him because he wanted a brother he could play with. He also believes that Doodle is a burden to him because he has to take him wherever he goes and has to take care of him.

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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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The quote said “he was looking up into the tree”. “It’s a great big red bird” he called”. Later after Doodle said that, the bird fell through the tree and died. While everyone looked at the Scarlet Ibis, the reader can see a similarity in the bird and Doodle. They were both weak and Doodle was born a shade of red, as the Ibis is.

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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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