Brother Doodle Character Analysis

Although there are many factors that contribute to Doodle’s death, the narrator is responsible for his invalid brother’s demise. This is certain because Brother admitted to his own guilt. For Brother understood that all his work was because he was ashamed of having a crippled brother. At the unveiling of the magnanimous feat of Doodle’s ability to walk, Brother cried not because he was overjoyed at Doodle’s accomplishments, but for his pride. Brother said, “they did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices…” Brother was embarrassed at the fact that his younger brother, Doodle was disabled.

The brother leaves Doodle behind. The brother does this since he wants doodle to take care of himself. He wants to make it where he can do what he wants to do and this is his way of saying that Doodle needs to overcome his disabilities. Then As the brother walks back he finds Doodle dead. This was a story about what horrible greed can do.

This led him to wish that his brother was different, and when seeing the opportunity he decided to help his brother walk. Although this may seem as if it was a compassionate and helpful act, the narrator did all of these things not for the well-being of his brother, but instead for himself. In the text, it describes, “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 quote reveals the narrator’s true feelings and the selfishness that hid behind his righteous deeds. Also, the narrator selfishly became mad after not achieving his goal he had set with his brother.

The narrator’s family 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” (469). The narrator kept pushing Doodle even though Doodle did not believe he could walk. The narrator did this because he could not deal with the fact of having a crippled brother. Doodle’s brother did not only want Doodle to walk, he wants Doodle to run, swim, and swing from vines

The narrator had a dark side, he hated taking his brother everywhere he went. He was embarrassed, so he decided to teach his brother without caring the pain his brother was going through. The narrator only did for himself because he didn’t want his brother by his side because the thought his brother was an embarrassment. Evidence in the short story when Doodle could finally walk Doodle’s brother decided to show his parents he could walk and he starts to notice

The relevance of this citation is that since Doodle failed the narrator’s classes he failed the narrator as a brother which shows how pride can make you do unhuman things like leaving your brother. Because of Doodle not being able to reach the narrator's standards, He gave up. Later in the story the narrator gets disillusioned by his pride and does something he would never intentionally do. The narrator in distraught says, “He didn't answer, so I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth.

However, the root of the narrator’s action came from the embarrassment of Doodle not being able to walk at the age of five. “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 468). The narrator was ashamed of his brother who couldn’t do what others around him could. The narrator’s motivation was his selfish pride and shame. The narrator was at times brutal to Doodle because of the embarrassment and shame that blinded him to Doodle’s limitations which led to the dire consequences that arose due to his thoughtless actions.

Is Brother to blame for Doodle’s death? There are different perspectives on the situation. Brother pushed Doodle to much without respect, and left him alone outside with a storm. I think Brother is to blame for Doodle’s death. Brother treated Doodle like a toy.

The narrator wanted a brother who could run and play with him, so the reality of Doodle's condition hit him deeply. It is this disappointment for the narrator that lead him to push Doodle as hard as he possibly could. This shows the narrators character as mean, and selfish. The narrator taught him how to run and do other activities, since his pride cannot handle the disparity between the brother he wanted and the brother he got. "Everybody thought he was going to die—everybody except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him.

The character Brother starts the story out by going back to when his sibling was born. The younger brother Doodle is disabled, the doctor thought he wouldn't survive but he did. Overtime Brother became embarrassed that Doodle couldn't walk. He let his pride get the better of him and made it his mission to make Doodle walk. Eventually Doodle did learn to walk, but Brother was still not satisfied, he wanted his brother to be able to run and swim like all the other kids.