James Hurst Essays

  • Symbolism In Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    297 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbolism The author of the short story “Scarlet Ibis” is James Hurst. This is a story about a boy that was born with a heart disease. His name is William Armstrong, he was born prematurely. Even though he was slower than others his older brother helped him out. There are two symbols in this story. One of the symbols is Scarlet Ibis, the other is Doodle. There are a lot of similarities between Doodle And Scarlet Ibis. One similarity is that they are both fragile. They are both rare to the area

  • Brother In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did you know that the scarlet ibis species of bird can live up to 25 years? In “The Scarlet Ibis”, a short story by James Hurst, the main character and narrator, Brother, receives a younger invalid brother, Doodle. Doodle dies of an extreme tragedy at the end of the story, only living 6 years. This story teaches readers that it is important to have gratitude for what you have, and to not let pride take over your life. The author implements this theme strategically with the help of characterization

  • Symbolism In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    459 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Hurst creates The Scarlet Ibis with an abundance of many literary devices, but a main device is symbolism. Nature and the Color red are the main symbols that Hurst uses throughout his short story. Hurst provides many symbols in his story and they all have a significant meaning, mostly relating to death. Throughout the story, the author makes multiple references to the color red, not only symbolizing death, but also provides hints of Doodle’s Death. The first encounter with this dreadful

  • Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Ibis, By James Hurst

    1239 Words  | 5 Pages

    Family is an essential thing in life, especially for siblings. Sometimes siblings get mad at one another. But what if getting angry at your sibling caused their life, and their death was on your hands? What would you do? “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about two brothers, Doodle and Brother. Doodle was born with a condition and can not walk. Brother made it his job to teach Doodle how to walk, which was successful. One day he makes Doodle row the rowboat even though he is exhausted. Brother

  • Depression In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    1362 Words  | 6 Pages

    story about two young brothers depressing, but “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst shows that it is in fact possible. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a tale of two brothers, named William Armstrong, nicknamed Doodle, who was born disabled, and the narrator who doesn’t have a name. The tale follows the brothers through the adventures and hardships of their childhood that they got to experience together. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” author James Hurst uses Character actions, POV, and foreshadowing to enhance the story's

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    Author Shannon L. Alder once said, “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” This is evident throughout the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst. The story starts with the birth of a physically ill brother who has heart problems and is predicted to die. Surprisingly, he survives and his older brother nicknames him Doodle as they set out on their crusade to help Doodle become a normal kid and overcome his health symptoms

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    501 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator is not responsible for Doodle death. Doodle is introduced as the narrators little brother and he is described as invalid, meaning he is sick or weak. On page 485, it says “He was born when I was six and was, from the outset a disappointment. He seemed all head, with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man’s.” In this quote, it is obvious that Doodle is abnormal which causes his family, with exception of the narrator

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Brother exemplifies the true character assets of determination and goal-setting as well as pride because of his will to help his crippled brother become healthy. At the start of the story, Doodle, the brother of Brother, was a very weak and frail little boy. Brother, who was embarrassed about having a brother who possessed assets unlike no other. Due to this, Brother wanted to help Doodle become more He never looked back as his primary focus was to advance Doodle’s

  • Selfishness In The Scarlet Ibis, By James Hurst

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scarlet Ibis “Selfish people tend to only be good to themselves… then are surprised when they are alone”,(unknown).This is how Brother found himself when he abandoned Doodle during a storm. In The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst a child named William Armstrong (Doodle) is born with a medical condition who revokes him the ability to walk. But the selfishness, his Brother has been blinded by makes him want to teach his Brother to walk out of embarrassment “of having a crippled brother.” Therefore

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    274 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, there are many kind and helpful actions done, but the torturous ones that Doodle’s older brother plans and executes surpass them all. For example, Brother starts to realize his feelings for Doodle soon after he is born and decides “ to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (175). Not only is this cruel, but it is horrible to think that someone would want to harm a relative in that way. Being so young also means that Doodle would not be able

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    254 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a short story about a man looking back on his childhood experiences with his little brother, Doodle. The author uses symbols related to death to affect the tone. The words death and dead are used nine times and subjects related to death seems to sneak into the narrative very often. For example, when naming their son, the protagonist’s parents decide on the name William Armstrong. The narrator says that “such a name sounds good only on a tombstone” (Hurst 1). Death is

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    781 Words  | 4 Pages

    The short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst tells the story set in the rural area of North Carolina at a small farm. The narrator tells the story of his younger brother Doodle. Doodle is physically impaired and unintentionally creates hardships for him. The narrator attempts to help Doodle participate in normal activities. In the end, Doodle dies as a result of over exhaustion, and his brother leaving him stranded out in the rain. In the story, the author uses many different types

  • Compassion In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    297 Words  | 2 Pages

    The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst informs us that compassion comes easily to someone who is less advanced than others. In the beginning, Doodle had many disabilities growing up as a kid. When he got older Brother decided to teach him how to walk. Once his family knew about these disabilities they built him a coffin knowing that he wouldn't make it far in life. Secondly, Brother sparked an idea, so once they were at Old Woman Swamp he decided that he would teach Doodle how to walk

  • James Hurst Doodle Character Traits

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    success can be harming to them, although you may not see it because you are blinded on only helping them rather from just enjoying their presents instead of thinking and caring of what other people say. For example, A short story by James Hurst “ Scarlet Ibis”. Hurst tells a tragic story of doodle a disabled child and his brother. Doodle’s life is like a series of love and complication. Doodle doesn't give up because he is shown desirement although he goes through occasional cruelty by his brother

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    403 Words  | 2 Pages

    Doodles dream The Scarlet Ibis, a short story by James Hurst, explores the theme that pride can lead to both life and death. The narrator’s actions throughout the story highlight this theme as he becomes increasingly fixated on the idea of making his disabled younger brother “normal.” In the end, this obsession leads to tragedy, demonstrating the dangerous consequences of pride. The narrator, who is ashamed of his brother's condition, decides to teach Doodle to walk, swim, and run, in an attempt

  • Selfishness In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    442 Words  | 2 Pages

    Why do we help others for the wrong intentions? In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis’ by James Hurst the topic of the story is selfishness. In the story there is a boy named Doodle who has a major heart issue. Doodle’s older brother is kinda embarrassed of him because he can not do what the other kids are doing, so Doodle’s brother trains him so he can be like the other kids. In this story the theme is revealed by important statements. Doodle’s older brother only helps him for himself. He’s Embarrassed

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    257 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the protagonist is cruel to his brother, Doodle, because of his unexpected disability. For example, when the narrator and his brother go to the barn together, the narrator forced Doodle to touch his own coffin that was built for him, as everyone believed he was going to die. It is incomprehensible why the narrator chose to remind Doodle of his almost certain death, because as his brother, he should be happy that Doodle is alive considering what

  • Summary Of Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story, “Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses characterization to demonstrate the idea that if pride isn’t controlled, it can take over a person’s life and blur out the needs of others during one’s pursuit of success. Pride, the satisfactory feelings that one experiences after an achievement of some sort, is a two-way street; it both fills a person with gratitude, and confirmation that they succeeded, but it also is the driving force behind the guilt that quickly follows after one ceases to

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    270 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story "the Scarlet Ibis" is written by James Hurst. Doodle is a boy who has a condition which makes him not able to walk. His older brother known as the "Narrator" teaches hi to walk. The Narrator pushed Doodle too hard... The character Doodle can best be described as sensitive and hopeless. Doodle is sensitive because Doodle cares for people and animals feelings. For example, when mama said the bird was dead Doodle did not want to come back inside and finish eating lunch. This shows

  • Summary Of The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    269 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst the character Doodle often tells lies that seem to tell about his inner life. The lies become stories about people that can fly and of a boy named Peter who has a gorgeous pet peacock. The characters he creates are free to go wherever they want since they can fly; they flying characters represent Doodle's longing for mobility and freedom. His characters not only have working legs, but they also have wings to fly them wherever they wish to go. One of Doodle's favorite