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The Scarlet Ibis And The Color Red Analysis

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In the short story The Scarlet Ibis, the author declares that a bridge exists between the color red and the suffering of life through a variety of allegories. And it’s intuitive: what first comes to mind when one hears red? What correlates with red is blood. Doodle is the first to notice a suffering bird outside in the garden. “How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree. (Hurst 9)” It had circumnavigated Earth for such boundless lengths, however it suffered, and ceased to go to its death. The scarlet ibis is a type of bird which has a red coat. In addition to the bleeding tree, which immediately can be linked to blood flowing, the scarlet ibis may likewise summon feelings associated to suffering. …show more content…

“Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush beside the road. (Hurst 12)” Doodle had been injured in some way. The author does not inform the reader on what happened. It is, however, safe to say that Doodle may have passed away by the shock that his beloved brother had left Doodle stranded. Moreover, perhaps by mere coincidence or not, Doodle had obscured himself beneath a red nightshade bush. It was not the scarlet ibis which was full of pain at this point in time, but rather Doodle. Hurst may have performed foreshadowing by mentioning that Doodle held a relationship with the scarlet ibis.
Through an assortment of lines, the author showed the reader that suffering and death is directly tied with the color of

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