Scarlet Ibis Short Story Quotes

The work, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a realistic nonfiction short story.

In this work, a boy Doodle is born with major disabilities, and his brother (the narrator) is ashamed of him. However, he also loves him. Doodle cannot walk, but the narrator teaches him, and goes further into the “net of expectation” and pushes his brother too far. Eventually, Doodle dies tragically in a storm, and his dead body resembles a scarlet ibis that has made an appearance in the story before. The author uses Doodle’s death and the brother’s reaction to show the theme that people never know what they have until it is gone. Many things support this thesis, which is revealed at the beginning of the story. When the narrator’s brother is born, he has a

The narrator was cruel and made him touch it, with major accomplishments the final quote “Don’t leave me brother, don’t leave me.” (Hurst) [Doodle]

Fully out of self pride, the narrator was fed up with his brother, he hated hauling him around all day and he truthfully in the narrator’s eyes “A burden in many ways” (Hurst)

The day that the narrator started teaching his brother to walk, was a memorable one, he acted as if it was out of love, but it was truthfully out of self pride.

It was grueling to force Doodle’s body to move correctly and not falter,

The narrator acted as if it was to help his brother, and have a better outcome for the world, but he truthfully did it out of pride because he didn’t want the humiliation of an invalid brother. Doodle learned out to walk, but the narrator wouldn’t stop there. He forced his brother to do more grueling tasks. “Do you want to be different from everyone else when you start school?” (Hurst) [Narrator]

“Does it make a different?” (Hurst) [Doodle]

The narrator forced his brother into something that they couldn’t find a way out, “The net of expectations” (Hurst) The tasks were too hard for little Doodle, he became