Scarlet Ibis Character Analysis

"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.

Pride can be a really good thing that keeps you going and makes you try hard, but it is also a very destructive force that can hurt you and others. Doodle was one of those people who got hurt because of someone's pride. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the story shows that the narrator is guilty of Doodle’s death. These are my two reasons supporting this claim. First off the narrator was ashamed of Doodle, and second He just simply did not like Doodle.

Doodle and the narrator are affected by self-esteem negatively. When Doodle is being helped by the narrator, he has troubles keeping up at the narrator's pace and ends up getting frustrated and deterred: “Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry” (Hurst 164). Since the narrator continued to walk quicker than Doodle, it clearly shows that Doodle lacks enough self-esteem to tell his brother to advance slower or to stop. Not only does this clarify Doodles self-esteem deficiency, but it shows that he’s not even strong enough to stand up to his own brother. In the end, Doodles lack of self-esteem leads to his demise because he pushed his body too far without protesting.

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

Doodles brother was embarrassed to have a not all there brother. It was very clear at the beginning of the book that the brother wanted doodle dead. His brother never wanted to be around him because he was scared to be made fun of. He wanted doodle to run and swim and play like all the other children

As well as discouragement like “ When Doodle was 5 years old , I was embarrassed of having Him as a brother” (paragraph 7, page 2) and “ man up it's just a dead bird” (paragraph 5, page 6) Brother was a witness in Doodles death, we don’t know if Doodle was struck by lightning But brother admitted leaving Doodle right before he died, “ he ran as fast as he could, leaving Doodle behind”(paragraph 4 page 6) and “ I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind , cry out , Brother!, brother! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!(paragraph 3, page 6).

It's the narrators fault for the following reasons: he was selfish, he was embarrassed of him, and he pressured him. The narrator was being selfish as he admitted that he did it for himself because he was ashamed of Doodle being crippled. Doodle looks up to his brother and would do anything for his approval. The narrator knows that his brother's heart is weak, forces Doodle

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.

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.

Lastly on page 6 paragraph 3 or 4 “bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.” This goes to show how he already knew that he was going to leave Doodle in the dust just like in the beginning when he wanted to smother him in the pillow. After this all happend Brother regrets his life decisions that he and Doodle ever did. In conclusion I hold him accountable for the death of Doodle.

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.

The narrator didn’t really love Doodle, was cruel to him, and thought him how to stuff out of his own selfishness, so thank to the gift of pride, the narrator is guilty for the murder of his brother Doodle. The narrator despised Doodle. When Doodle was born and alive- against what the doctor said- the narrator says, "I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" (Hurst 345). The narrator wants to kill his brother because he realized he would not die and because of that, won't be able to do anything physically like brothers do together.

“Brother, Brother don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” I turned around I would never leave my brother, I apprehensively turned around keeping the hope that Doodle wasn’t hurt. Even though Doodle was kind of a virulent to me, always following me around being my shadow; I still love him even though he can irritate me. I had inferred that Doodle was hurt when I couldn’t see him anymore, I had lost all hope so quickly.

He wished to be selfless and loving and always aimed to be the best brother he could. Brother never struggled while helping Doodle, it was his first nature. Though he struggled to help Doodle out of compassion and more for his personal prosperity and

Brother treated Doodle like a toy. He made Doodle do things that he didn’t want to do .For example, Doodle didn’t want to start walking. He was just fine of being pushed around in his cart.