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Universal Themes In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

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Relationships are one of the most important things in our lives whether it be family, friend, or God, and though many things will try to disturb those relationships, we must do everything we can to keep them secure and close to our hearts. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a great short story that represents several universal themes throughout in which readers can identify. The main conflict of the story is between Brother and Doodle because Brother desperately wants Doodle to be able to live and function just like him, even though Doodle was born different from most people living in society, especially at that time. Three of the main themes that are defective in the story are man’s struggle with pride, his desires to please others, and his struggle to love and accept others for who they are. …show more content…

Pride is one of the most dangerous things in the world and we can’t allow it to get in the way of what truly matters. The narrator states, “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” (Hurst 389). This displays to us that Brother only tries to help Doodle because he is ashamed of his brother’s disability. The pride drives him to anger against Doodle which further leads to Doodle’s death. He was poisoned by his pride. The narrator also tells us, “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 388). Pride can be wonderful and terrible depending on what the result of it is, though it is terrible in most cases such as this one. Brother’s pride led to Doodle’s death because of his shame of Doodle. Brother put himself in the mind state that he would get Doodle to be like him and that mind state corrupted

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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.

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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.

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In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses the writing strategy of characterization in order to develop the central idea of brotherhood. For instance, brother helped Doodle move around with a go cart. According to the story, “It was about that time that daddy built him a go-cart and I had to pull him around.” This evidence clearly shows that “brother” cares for Doodle. Brother can be characterized as loving and caring towards Doodle.

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In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst conveys his theme to the readers in order to discuss the issue of pride and how having too much pride can negatively impact another individual. Within the story, James Hurst brings forward his message when Brother is beginning to teach Doodle how to walk at Old Woman Swamp. After some innumerable attempts Brother feels a strong urge to give up but his pride over Doodle would not let him give up. Shortly after Brother starts thinking to himself, “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (170-172)

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Although with bad intentions Brother’s pride came with positive effects. The first effect that Brother’s had was that it helped him perceive that Doodle was an intelligent human being. “Mama, he smiled. He’s all there! He’s all there!

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Pride can be a really good thing that keeps you going and makes you try hard, but it is also a very destructive force that can hurt you and others. Doodle was one of those people who got hurt because of someone's pride. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the story shows that the narrator is guilty of Doodle’s death. These are my two reasons supporting this claim. First off the narrator was ashamed of Doodle, and second He just simply did not like Doodle.

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Doodle taught Brother the lesson that people mistreat the ones they love most. Even though Brother loved Doodle, he would push his anger on him, without thinking about it. He made Doodle touch the coffin that was made for him as an infant, because no one thought he would live. Brother did this just because he was frustrated “One day I took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket”(4).

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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”.

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it can lead to selfishness and guilt) Support #1 Older brother thinks “pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” Support #2 Older brother leaving Doodle to die Concluding Sentence Hurst is an incredible writer through his literary devices and ideas, especially through his theme of pride in his story “The Scarlet Ibis.” V. Conclusion Restatement of your thesis in different words James Hurst is widely recognized for his powerful theme of pride which is an involuntary feeling of selfishness and guilt that is beneficial and detrimental that is represented by Doodle and the older brother.

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When brother says, “that pride whose slave I was” he implies that he is being controlled by pride and only doing things for himself rather than for the significant people in his life. It is clear that Brother’s pride is prominent throughout the story. Without Brother’s pride, Doodle would have never believed in himself, but then again, Doodle also wouldn’t have been pushed too hard leading to his

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While pride can be a good thing, it can also be an unattractive quality to possess. “I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn’t let me. It was too late to turn back now for we both wandered too far into the net of expectations and left no crumbs behind (pg174).”The article shows that pride can be a driving force in achieving goals no matter the situation and the older brother wouldn’t give up trying to train Doodle, Doodle was getting hurt and that pride can cause pain to someone you love. “When Doodle was five years old I was embarrassed at

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"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.

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Brother planned to spend his entire life with Doodle, They "decided that when [they] were grown [they'd] live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue" (Hurst). He wanted Doodle to have pride in himself and be able to do everything Brother wanted to do with him. Brother had pride in Doodle since he was first able to stand on his own and walk. He taught Doodle out of his own selfishness, he was ashamed of having an "invalid" brother and wanted to have "someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea" (Hurst). Brother was ashamed of the way he felt and his self-indulgent efforts for Doodle.

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The actions that people do should attempt to be beneficial for more than just one person, or it will conclude in a downfall. The concept of self-righteousness is shown in both texts, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. It can be seen that both Okonkwo’s and Brother’s complacent decisions lead to the tragic downfall of Umuofia and Doodle, ultimately resulting in complete disaster for both characters. The main antagonists of each text are the characters themselves, both gradually building up a worse karma for their self-centered actions that would eventually lead to their downfalls.

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The Complex Relationship between Brother and Doodle Pride, will always be the longest distance between two people, the reason of betrayal, and even death. In the Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst describes Brother as a slave of pride unable to establish a real relationship with Doodle. The Scarlet Ibis, narrates the complex relationship between the narrator and his physically ill brother Doodle. Pride always invades the weak bond between the two brothers and leads them to a tragic end.

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