ipl-logo

Brother Hubris In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

626 Words3 Pages

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis' ' by James Hurst, there are many big ideas that play a crucial role in shaping the relationship between Doodle and the older brother. Many examples of these big idea roles are shown within the relationship, but Hubris creates the greatest impact in determining the relationship between Doodle and his older brother Within the relationship of the brother Hubris is shown in various ways including how the narrator isn’t content with the brother he has and is set out to teach him to the impossible. When Doodle was born no one had faith in him, except Aunt Nicey. Everyone in the family thought Doodle wasn’t gonna make it far in life so they built a mohangony coffin for him. He passed their expectations and lived, but it came with some precautions, Doodle was physically impaired and can not do things …show more content…

The narrator dreamed of a brother that could do all those things but when his parents told him that “he wasn’t all there” he knew he had to do something about it therefore, “When Doodle was five years old, [he] was embarrassed at having a brother of that age that couldn’t walk, so [he] set out to teach him” (Hurst 488). Despite the physical condition with the Doodle , the narrator’s pride wanted him to “fix” him because he was ashamed of the Doodle ever since he was born. The narrator sets time out of his days to help his brother develop physically since Doodle is physically imobile. He goes down to Old Woman Swamp everyday to teach Doodle. It is easy to say that the brother has only good intentions towards Doodle, however the brother knows about his heart conditions and how he is very fragile. Yet, He still wants to put extraneous work on him; this establishes that the brother is only doing this

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Argumentative Essay On The Scarlet Ibis

    731 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though the narrator knew what would happen to Doodle if he attempted to perform simple tasks, the narrator still felt obligated to teach Doodle to walk, swim, etc. Doodle would obviously fall when attempting to walk, but the narrator would pressure him into trying again. Stating that he would still have to push him around in a go-cart when they’re old

    Read More

  • Summary Of Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    this theme is shown throwing the plot of the story and the charters. The brother after feeling ashamed of doodle not being normal does the brother teach Doodle how to walk. “At breakfast on our chosen day, when mama and daddy, and aunt nicely were in the dining room, I brought doodle throw the door in the go-cart just as usual v and had them turn their backs, making them cross their hearts and hope to die if they peaked. I helped doodle up, and when he was standing alone I let them look. There wasn't a sound as doodle walked

    Read More

  • Pride In The Scarlet Ibis And The Stag At The Pool

    186 Words  | 1 Pages

    Brother knows about Doodle’s poor condition and ignores it when he is teaching his crippled brother how to walk. Brother isn’t doing this great act to be kind, he is doing this because he is embarrassed to have a brother with disabilities. “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me

    Read More

  • Most Embarassing Moment In The Scarlet Ibis, By James Hurst

    1149 Words  | 5 Pages

    His brother was getting tired of Doodle because he couldn’t do anything with him. Doodle was different and his own body wouldn’t let him do the activities that normal kids his age were doing. The first time that anyone seeme interested in Doodle was when his brother taught him how to crawl. He wasn’t trying to help Doodle, he was trying to kee himself entertained (Hurst 110). He would lay Doodle on his chest which made it hard for Doodle to move himself, straining terribly.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Quote Analysis

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    In contrast to what his parents did, Doodle's brother totally disregarded him. He was so furious with Doodle that he even went as far as planning to kill him with a pillow. He expects his brother to do fun things with him instead of accepting the fact that he can’t due to his medical conditions. He was so embarrassed about having a brother who couldn’t walk that he tried to change it.

    Read More

  • The Brother In A Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    948 Words  | 4 Pages

    Later on, the Brother expressed disappointment in Doodle; he explained, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk” (466). The Brother was ashamed of Doodle for something he couldn't control; therefore, he only cared about his prosperity and no one

    Read More

  • What Are Some Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Ibis

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brother has always been a selfish and manipulative kid. When Brother was trying to teach Doodle how to run and swim he would ask him if, “[He] wanted to be different from everybody else when [he] start school” (471). This reveals Brother’s true motives for teaching Doodle how to walk. He felt embarrassed to be around Doodle, who was an anomaly in society. The only way he thought to prevent this was to teach Doodle how to do what he wants.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Scarlet Ibis

    259 Words  | 2 Pages

    This evidence shows that Brother loves and cares about Doodle. He is characterized as ambitious because, he tries to train Doodle to walk. After that, he tries to train Doodle to run, swim, climb trees, and fight, even though Doodle’s at a disadvantage

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Pride Analysis

    237 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout Doodle’s life, Brother finds continuously unpitying ways to be merciless and inhumane towards Doodle. For example, When Doodle begins crawling, Brother renamed him, calling him Doodle because, “nobody expects much from someone called Doodle.” (p31) When Brother does this relentless act, he believes

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Character Analysis

    615 Words  | 3 Pages

    While teaching Doodle to walk, Brother didn’t understand “that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 558). Although Brother had pride in what Doodle was doing, “pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices” (Hurst 559). Brother became more prideful of his own accomplishments than Doodle’s, demonstrating that even the good things in life have two sides. Embarrassed by having a crippled brother, being a slave to pride had a hold over him to soothe his discomfort, uneasiness, awkwardness, and

    Read More

  • What Is The Brother's Relationship In The Scarlet Ibis

    349 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brother wanted Doodle to learn that he could overcome anything he believed in. To help him with that Brother tried to teach Doodle how to walk and swim and he did not let him give up even when he was struggling. Brother said “Well, if you don’t keep trying, you’ll never learn.” (Hurst 3). Clearly

    Read More

  • The Death Of Doodle Analysis

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brother was making Doodle do absurd things like swimming much too hard or running beyond his abilities. It became too much for Doodle to continue on living with all of this work he was putting into learning to do things like walking. “I made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn’t lift an oar. Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. ”(Hurst 4).

    Read More

  • Disabilities In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    Doodle’s determination to surpass people’s presumptions is once again displayed when he learns to walk and stops relying on his brother to tow him around in a go-kart. The narrator describes it as “[When] he started crying to be taken out in the yard[,] it ended up being me having to lug him wherever I went,” he was, “a burden in many ways” (85-91). Having to take care of his brother often, something he does not enjoy and wishes would end, begins to feel like a chore for the narrator. Although the go-kart was an important part of Doodle’s transportation and the brother’s

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis: The Complex Relationship Between Brother And Doodle

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    At first the narrator sees Doodle as a crazy frail brother but as we move into the story, we can observe a lot of varying feelings brother has towards Doodle. Brother described Doodle as unbearable, an invalid brother, a brother who was not there at all, so he started

    Read More

  • How Is Pride Shown In The Scarlet Ibis

    520 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Brother Hubris In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

Open Document