Compare And Contrast Scarlet Ibis And Simon Birch

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a boy is born crippled and no one thought he would live. The boy lived however, and they named him Doodle. Doodle and his brother were very close and Doodle loved his brother and never wanted his brother to leave him alone. Doodle’s brother was ashamed to have a crippled brother so he attempted to help doodle become normal throughout doodle’s life in the story. Doodle loved his brother, even though his brother was very selfish in his reasons to help Doodle to become normal, and his brother realized how selfish and guilty he was when it was to late for Doodle in the end.

Have you ever been so ashamed of who you are associated with, that you push them past their own physical limits for your own good? In the short story, The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst makes you think about what is truly from the goodness of the brother character’s heart or if he is just being selfish. Ever since Doodle was born, he had no hope from anyone. Brother was the first one to look past his disabilities and see that he had the potential to be normal. Although Brother has to care for Doodle and teach him how to walk, run, swim, and row, it was only because he was sick of giving all of his personal time to the little disabled boy who could not walk.

“There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life,no matter what location, age, gender or disability.”~ Sharron Angle

There are countless stories that have sappy endings where the hero saves the day and everything goes well, but in James Hurst’s short story ‘The Scarlet Ibis’ the main character makes mistakes that costs his little brother his life. Doodle, the little brother, has many different facets of his personality similar to a real person. It is because of these many facets that we, the readers, could connect to him.The most notable personalities that Doodle has is his selflessness, dependence on others, and his creative imagination.

“The Scarlet Ibis” Essay Have you ever known a person to be responsible for his own brother’s death? That’s what happened in “The Scarlet Ibis”. The narrator (whose name is not known) inadvertently caused his brother Doodle’s death, when the narrator ran from Doodle in a rainstorm, even when Doodle called out to his brother and told him not to leave him. Doodle had a condition which caused him to be different from everyone else, and his brother helped him learn to walk, and tried to teach him other things, such as swimming. In the rainstorm, the narrator ran from Doodle, and Doodle must have fallen and died somewhere, because when his brother came back for him, Doodle was dead.

The family realized that Doodle's disabilities undoubtedly make him different from other people, but this story questions whether these differences even matter. His brother insists and continues to push him right past his breaking point in the interest of conformity. He gives an example of the theme Do not let pride overrule love. A bird called the Scarlet Ibis appears, it forms a strong connection with Doodle. The ibis's death and Doodle's response to it, is the most impactful piece of foreshadowing in the story.

Brother was determined to teach Doodle how to run, swim, climb trees, and do all things that a healthy boy can do. "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death." (p.419) The brother stresses on pride. He pushes Doodle to make him fit in at school. When he took Doodle to Horsehead Landing before the first day of school he fills shame of failure but he doesn't stop trying even when he knows it's fatal.

“The Scarlet Ibis,” written by James Hurst, is a bittersweet story. A weak autistic child is born into a family of cotton farmers. They name the child Doodle, which was given by his older brother. His brother was often cruel, but he pushed Doodle to work to fit in. They fail in their efforts at the end of summer.

“I did not know then that pide is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 354). Unfortunately in the “Scarlet Ibis” Doodle was killed at the hands of pride owned by his own brother. When Doodle was born he had a condition that made him extremely fragile. His older brother was very ashamed of him. When Doodle was older the narrator thought that despite what the doctor had said he would teach him how to do things that a regular boy could do.

In the story “Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator is flawed in his inability to let go of his desire to have a normal brother. The narrator has a little brother named Doodle, with an extreme amount of disabilities. Before Doodle was born, the narrator fantasized about having a little brother who would be his playmate. Doodle, however, was not the ideal brother. He could not walk or do much on his own.

Do you ever feel like you are out of place? Do people behave differently towards you? In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” a character by the name of Doodle is disabled at a young age. This results in his elder brother, also the narrator, to behave with conflicting personalities toward Doodle. In his short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses Doodle’s brother in order to show how he is both cruel and kind towards his younger brother Doodle.

“He was born when I was six, from the outset, a disappointment”. (Hurst, 350) from the moment Doodle was born he was viewed as not good enough for the narrator. The narrator had longings of what a brother would be like, when his new brother was physically incapable to live up to his desire he tried to change him out of pridefulness. Embarrassment and pride were the only reasons that Doodle was taught to walk, not because the narrator thought he was able. “Shut up, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to teach you to walk” (Hurst, 354) Doodle’s disability was not something he could ‘fix’, and on account of his brothers ego, Doodle was pushed too far, thus ultimately he could be pushed no

Brother put lots of his time, effort, and care into Doodle even though "It's a miracle [he] didn't give up" (Hurst). His efforts showed the pride he had, or at least wanted to have in his younger sibling; even if it was rooted in selfishness. Pride is what motivated Brother to help him, though he wished it was his family which gave him the grit to always push Doodle to success. Brother

Brother didn’t want Doodle as a brother because of his disabilities. “I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” (2) In other words, just when Doodle was a

James Hurst’s short story ” The Scarlet Ibis” tells a story about two brothers who have mixed feelings for each other. Doodle, crippled and mental, really loves his brother and all he wants is to please his brother and his family. Unfortunately, his brother doesn’t like him because he wanted a brother he could play with. He also believes that Doodle is a burden to him because he has to take him wherever he goes and has to take care of him.