In “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst we are told the story of Doodle from his brother’s perspective. We’re told just how crazy Doodle could be, how delicate he was and how he cared for a certain bird. Moreover, in “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst uses imagery to show the connection between Doodle and the scarlet ibis. The said bird is originally from the tropics but was found badly wounded in Doodle’s own backyard. It ended up falling out of a tree and dying.
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst indicates how thinking only for one person or a group can potentially hurt or destroy others lives, through the use of the Older Brother’s characterization. In the middle of the short story when Older Brother and Doodle were in Old Woman Swamp Older Brother said “‘I'm going to teach you to walk, Doodle’ I said. He was sitting comfortably on the soft grass, leaning back against the pine.
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
Towards the beginning of the story, it was made known that Doodle had a great fear of abandonment and being left alone. “Doodle was frightened of being left. “Don’t go leave me, Brother,” he cried, and he leaned toward the coffin” (line 112). The reader may notice the foreshadowing in action in this paragraph. The concepts of death and abandonment are introduced at this point.
Here is my evidence. First reason the narrator is guilty of Doodle’s death is because he was ashamed of him. This is clearly shown when brother makes the statement on page 347 “I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” This clearly shows the narrator's shame in Doodle. Another statement
Narrator runs ahead, leaving Doodle behind. When Narrator realizes that Doodle hasn't come home yet, he goes back and discovers that Doodle died underneath a red nightshade bush. Narrator had put Doodle through too much physical activity, and had ultimately killed Doodle. One reason why Narrator killed Doodle is that he completely disobeyed the doctor's orders. Doodle has survived, but he is still handicapped.
Special treatment due to a physical or mental challenge reveals the strength and true character inside, When a challenge, or adversity comes up, a good character is usually revealed, although in some cases a person isn’t caring or selfless inside. Adversity can cause the bad inside someone to come out. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator teaches his physically disabled brother to walk. “Once I succeeded in teaching Doodle I began to believe in my own infallibility, and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy of course” (Scarlet Ibis, Hurst). After succeeding he keeps trying to get Doodle to be more like everyone else.
The narrator is responsible for his brother’s death because he allowed his own pride and embarrassment drive him to push Doodle because he was not the same as the other children, he was aggressive toward Doodle and at times abusive, and pushed Doodle too far and didn’t understand his limitations.
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.
The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is an exceptional story which demonstrates several separate examples of foreshadowing. The author James Hurst most strongly uses foreshadowing in order to predicts the death of Doodle. Now to elaborate on the examples and importance of foreshadowing in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. The first chance we get to see the brilliant foreshadowing used is quite early on when Doodle is named William Armstrong.
In the story, Doodle’s brother was going to leave Doodle alone unless Doodle touches the coffin that was meant for him “Doodle was frightened of being left. ' Don't go leave me, Brother,' he cried and he leaned toward the coffin.
In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst shows that one should not take the easy way out by submitting to one’s obstacles because in the end, it won’t be worth it. “I heaved him up again collapsed… ‘I just can’t do it.’ [Doodle says]” (Hurts 598). An example of the theme is when Doodle submits to his obstacle, which is his brother setting a goal for him he doesn’t care to achieve. By not facing his problems, The narrator’s younger brother’s problems get worse, and somewhat lead to his death.
His parents made the narrator take Doodle outside with him all the time and he hated it. “Take Doodle with you. He was a burden in many ways”(3). Brother would pull the cart as fast as he could making Doodle bump around in the cart, sometimes he would purposely tip the cart over making Doodle fall out. Even though the narrator did that, Doodle never told their mother because he loved being outside with his brother.
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
Due to his hurtful actions, inflicted upon Doodle throughout his life, the Narrator feels deep shame for what he has caused. Through the elements of foreshadowing and dialogue, Hurst’s narration reveals the protagonist’s guilt, emphasizing his deep regret over his actions regarding his crippled brother. The Narrator foreshadows the eventual climax of the story through his words regarding his views of pride. He states, “But all of us must have something to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.
