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The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Character Analysis

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“The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, demonstrates the motivation and determination that Brother and Doodle have to accomplish their goals. Brother always wants a brother to play with. However, he finds out that Doodle was a cripple, and that crumbles his hope of having a brother physically capable of being a companion. Brother dislikes carrying him around and taking care of him. As a result, Brother’s prideful nature and his shame of Doodle motivates him to teach Doodle how to walk. Both Brother and Doodle begin to be convinced that hard work would allow Doodle to surpass his disabilities and to not give up so easily. Soon, they both begin to discover that Doodle can do much more than just walking, thanks to Brother’s decisions. Brother, powered …show more content…

“Time was short, and Doodle still had a long way to go if he was going to keep up with the other boys when he started school” (Hurst 492). Brother wants Doodle to keep up with his classmates. He doesn’t want all of his hard work to go to waste, and wants Doodle to feel normal, instead of being the odd one out. Brother believes Doodle can accomplish anything if he put in hard work. Brother feels as if Doodle has enough confidence to work on new things, such as running. Brother does not want Doodle’s accomplishments and mindset stop abruptly. “Success lay at the end of summer like a pot of gold, and our campaign got off to a good start” (Hurst 489). They both believe that Doodle will have accomplished the impossible by the end of summer. Brother has faith in Doodle that he can do anything he wants, as long as he has the right work ethic. They both are excited for when all their hard work pays off. “We decided to double our efforts, to make that drive and reach our pot of gold. I made him swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn’t lift an oar” (Hurst 490). Brother feels as if he and Doodle spent too much time and work into this for it to all go in vain. Brother is confident in Doodle that he will succeed. As summer comes to a close, Brother feels bittersweet. He had enjoyed spending

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