"Brother, Brother, don't leave me! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" (p.425) This quote from "The Scarlet Ibis" wrote by James Hurst says a lot about Doodle and his brothers fillings towards him. Doodle and his brother have a close relationship throughout the story. The bleeding tree that stood just outside of the kitchen window now where a grindstone stands, now it's like if an oriole sings in the elm, its song seems to die up in the leaves, a silvery dust. (p.416) The bleeding tree and doodle are alike because the bleeding tree is not there anymore, but the memories about it still are just like Doodle because the memories that him and his brother have will never be forgotten. Doodle and his brother have a close
The brother is to blame for doodles death. Doodle was a disabled young child with a selfish brother that only looks out for himself. His brother was ashamed to be with or around him. One of the biggest reasons wanted him dead is because he was embarrassed to be around him. The three reasons I believe that the brother wanted to kill doodle was he was embarrassed, he pushed him to hard, and he was selfish.
Brother often foreshadows that Doodle is a burden to bare with. Brother reckons, “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awaked. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us” (Hurst 6). Just the idea if Doodle in Brother's Plans and the obstacle he would become was too much for Brother to handle.Because if this act Brother is once again showing an act of selfishness. Ironically after Brother has realized that he had abandoned Doodle he goes back to find him face down. Hurst writes, “He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red. ‘Doodle ! Doodle !’ I cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but ropy rain.”After he realized what he had done Brother is suddenly filled with guilt that Doodle was now dead.
One example of this in the story is that, “They did not know that I did it form 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, 355). This shows how the narrator was selfish, and how when he ran from Doodle in the rainstorm, it was his spite that was showing through, which went hand-in-hand with his pride. Another example is, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him” (Hurst, 353). This shows the narrator only cares about himself, and doesn’t really care about Doodle walking; he cares about having a brother who can walk, because he is embarrassed about having a brother who can’t. Also, he only wants Doodle to walk so that the narrator doesn’t have to take Doodle around everywhere. If Doodle could walk, he could walk himself with his brother. All together, the narrator’s pride made him run from Doodle, and eventually killed Doodle. To sum up, the narrator’s pride was the main cause of the downfall of
The character of Doodle’s brother behaves with cruel notions toward Doodle. For example, when Doodle’s brother faces the prospect of possibly having an invalid brother forever, he “…began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow,” (Hurst 555). This demonstrates that the narrator would rather murder his brother than have one that is mentally challenged, which is not at all a humane thought, to say the least. Anyone who chooses to murder their blood relative instead of support them through tough times most definitely has wickedness within them, which supports the statement that Doodle’s brother behaves cruelly towards Doodle. In addition, when Doodle refuses to touch the mahogany coffin that was built for him, Doodle’s brother says, “‘Then I’ll leave you by yourself’
Doodles brother is responsible for the death of his own brother. Three big reasons that led me to believe this is that he always wanted doodle gone from the beginning, he was ashamed and very embarrassed of having a disabled brother, and that he only helped doodle for his own personal benefit. All of those show why he left his brother in that storm to die.
Doodle was not the most ideal brother, leading to turmoil inside the boy. To him, Doodle was an embarrassment, leading to a powerful urge to make him walk (Hurst 112). Sometimes family isn’t perfect, but it is what it is; there is no choice. The boy needed to not let him get ahead of himself. In the story, Doodle was considered a hassle (Hurst 110). Things can get rough, but that is the reason family is there, for support. This was something the boy was not doing. No one is perfect. Not Doodle, not the boy. Through the journey with Doodle, there were constant threats spewed, hoping to have Doodle achieve a certain standard (Hurst 112). This is a scenario of tough love pushed too far. Threats and harsh statements do more harm than
How did Doodle die? Why did Doodle die? Was it his Brother? Doodle was born a disabled kid who was loved by everybody in his family except his brother (The narrator of this story). The narrator wished for a perfect brother that his would be able to do things with but when he wasn’t given that it caused him to do things that no brother should ever do or think about doing to his younger brother. Given all the evidence in the story there’s no doubt about it that Doodle’s death was because of his brother’s dislike for him, self-pride, and decisions when Doodle needed his brother most.
“The Scarlet Ibis” isn't a fairy tale, neither dedicated to entertaining the reader, but nevertheless,
"Pride is such a double-edged sword, self-Worth on one edge and ego on the other.” In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” he writes about an older brother who is overpowered by his pride. Brother has a younger brother named Doodle who is physically disabled. Brother teaches Doodle how to walk, but only because he was ashamed of Doodle not being a normal boy. Brother’s pride had both positive and negative effects.
“It as in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the Ibis lit in the bleeding tree.” “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst is a short story about two brothers who lived on a cotton farm during World War I. In the story, the narrator goes through emotional struggles. The theme of the story is too much pride can lead to positive and negative effects. This theme is developed through the use of foreshadowing, symbolism, and conflict.
Pride can be a positive or negative element in someone's life. It can help them succeed in their efforts or cause them to become greedy and selfish. In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, the main character Brother shows the theme of pride through his persistence and love for Doodle.
for one person or a group can potentially hurt or destroy others lives, through the use of the Older Brother’s characterization. In the middle of the short story when Older Brother and Doodle were in Old Woman Swamp Older Brother said “‘I'm going to teach you to walk, Doodle’ I said. He was sitting comfortably on the soft grass, leaning back against the pine. ‘Why?’ he asked. I hadn't expected such an answer. ‘So I don't have to haul you around all the time.’ ‘I can't walk, Brother,’ he said. ‘Who says so?’ I demanded. ‘Mama, the doctor- everybody.’ ‘Oh, you can walk,’ I said, I took him by the arms and stood him up. He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack. It was as if he had no bones in his little legs. ‘Don't hurt me, Brother,’ he warned. ‘Shut up. I'm not going to hurt you’”(Hurst 6). In this argument between Older Brother and Doodle we see that Older Brother sets out to teach Doodle to walk only because he didn't want to push him around and “embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk.” Even though Doodle kept collapsing every time Older Brother kept on standing his brother up, even
“No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson. This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson truly shows how no matter how hard you want to “fit in” or change something about yourself or others, you shouldn’t force yourself to change who your true character is. The character of Brother from the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, was characterized as someone who does not want to be seen as “different”. The author James Hurst portrays Brother as selfish, yet affectionate throughout the story.
The narrow- mindedness of society in The Scarlet Ibis is portrayed through Brother’s prejudiced attitude towards Doodle. “It was bad enough having an invalid brother..... (pg. 2)” Since the disappointing birth of his younger sibling, Brother has been preoccupied with a major obsessive thought; how shameful it is to have a crippled brother. The need to not be seen as inferior, alongside Doodle, by society motivates Brother to teach his younger sibling to behave normally. Brother’s perspective on Doodle’s condition is the drive behind his choice to teach Doodle how to walk. The result of this choice was that Doodle accomplishes Brother’s goals and is successful in learning how to walk. This advancement in Doodle’s abilities only motivates