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Doodle's Death In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

707 Words3 Pages

Death happens all the time; but whether or not it is someone's fault is the thing to question. In James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis", the narrator's pride gets his brother, Doodle, killed. Doodle was a child who was 'not all there' and couldn't do what normal children could. Doodle was forced by the narrator to over-work himself and do a rigorous training to get him on the 'level' he is supposed to be at, which later gets him killed. The only person to blame for Doodle's demise is the narrator. Since the narrator did not follow the rules, Doodle died. The end of summer was approaching, and autumn was beginning to show. It was then that William Armstrong, or Doodle, was born into the world. Doodle was not like most children; Doodle was 'special'. …show more content…

He was so unhappy, he ignored what the doctor said and did whatever possible to discourage Doodle from tagging along. "A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house" (596). The narrator didn't care about Doodle's safety; he just wanted Doodle to leave him alone. Doodle was a burden to the narrator; he didn't want to take care of him. The narrator would rather go and play with his friends like any other eight-year-old. The narrator was inconsiderate of Doodle's feelings and didn't care about his safety; this supports that the narrator is responsible of Doodle's death, because he didn't care for …show more content…

The narrator's pride got the best of him after Doodle could walk and had shown their family. This was when the narrator became arrogant and started to believe he could get Doodle on the 'level' he's supposed to be at. The brothers decided to up his progress by having Doodle go through a rigorous program which included swimming, rowing, climbing trees, and fighting. One day, the narrator and Doodle went to Horsehead Landing to continue Doodle's progress at being like the other children. The narrator made Doodle swim and later, row against the tide, back to the landing. At this time, black clouds were rumbling and about to let the rain pound down on whomever was outside. The narrator and Doodle ran towards the house but didn't get far before a tree crashed onto the ground, blocking Doodle's path. Doodle yelled at the narrator to not leave him. This is when the narrator's pride surged up and helped him to make the decision to leave Doodle behind. "I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us" (604). The narrator left Doodle behind, exposed to the elements, alone, and tired and frightened. Remember, Doodle was a sick, fragile boy who needed to be treated gently and with care. The narrator purposely left Doodle alone when he needed the narrator the most, which caused Doodle to

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