The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Paragraph Analysis

Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movement, senses, or activities. "The Scarlet Ibis," a short story written by James Hurst, focuses on the relationship between two brothers: the narrator and his disabled brother, Doodle. Doodle is born when the narrator, Brother, is only six years old. Since the narrator is young and does not know how to cope with a situation like this, he plans to kill Doodle. The prideful narrator wants a brother he can play with and is disappointed and embarrassed that he will not be like a regular boy. Therefore, the theme of the story is too much pride can be a bad thing; the narrator lets his pride get the best of him and ends up killing Doodle. Three symbols that enrich the understanding of the story and relate to the theme are the Old Woman Swamp, the color red, and the scarlet ibis.

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.

The brother is to blame for doodles death. Doodle was a disabled young child with a selfish brother that only looks out for himself. His brother was ashamed to be with or around him. One of the biggest reasons wanted him dead is because he was embarrassed to be around him. The three reasons I believe that the brother wanted to kill doodle was he was embarrassed, he pushed him to hard, and he was selfish.

“Selfish people tend to only be good to themselves… then are surprised when they are alone”,(unknown).This is how Brother found himself when he abandoned Doodle during a storm. In The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst a child named William Armstrong (Doodle) is born with a medical condition who revokes him the ability to walk. But the selfishness, his Brother has been blinded by makes him want to teach his Brother to walk out of embarrassment “of having a crippled brother.” Therefore Brother is two faced he can be selfish or he can be altruistic to Doodle, which demonstrates how complex brotherly love can be.

In “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, a narrator tells a story in flashback of his childhood experiences with his brother, Doodle. He makes us aware of how Doodle was expected to die because of his weak heart, but he lived. Doodle learned to crawl, but he couldn’t walk or do many of the most common physical activities because of his disability. When Doodle was five, Brother taught him to walk and they decided to set a deadline of when Doodle should be able to box, run, swim, and row a boat. They struggled to reach the deadline and the work was very laborious for Doodle. One Saturday, a few days before the deadline, a scarlet ibis flew into their yard, only to die after coming from the tropics. Doodle seemed to have a special connection and sadness about the bird’s death; he was depressed for a long period of time afterwards. They continue to persevere until the night before the deadline. That

In “Flowers for Algernon” and “The Scarlet Ibis” pride has a big impact on Doodle’s brother and Rose. Rose and brother manipulated and mistreated Charlie and Doodle There are many examples of Charlie and Doodle being mistreated by Rose and Doodle brother in both of the stories.

In a person’s life, many situations transpire and make them feel pride over one’s self. Readers can see this in the short story,” The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. “In his spare time Hurst wrote short stories and plays, but The Scarlet Ibis was the only work of his that become famous “(gradesaver.com)”. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses red to symbolize warning, death, and guilt to show the change the older brother goes through, as he takes care of Doodle.

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a short story full of symbolism between the antagonist Doodle and The Scarlet Ibis. Doodle’s family didn’t really want Doodle because he wasn’t as fortunate as most kids in term of his physical and mental health. The Scarlet Ibis symbolizes Doodle in his struggle to communicate and interact with the rest of society with his disabilities.The death and the color of the Scarlet Ibis represents Doodle and how he was alone just like the bird was alone and far from home. The Scarlet Ibis shows how fragile Doodle was, and how the bird came so far from home like Doodle did when he learned to walk.

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a boy is born crippled and no one thought he would live. The boy lived however, and they named him Doodle. Doodle and his brother were very close and Doodle loved his brother and never wanted his brother to leave him alone. Doodle’s brother was ashamed to have a crippled brother so he attempted to help doodle become normal throughout doodle’s life in the story. Doodle loved his brother, even though his brother was very selfish in his reasons to help Doodle to become normal, and his brother realized how selfish and guilty he was when it was to late for Doodle in the end.

“It's okay to lose your pride over someone you love. Don't lose someone you love over your pride.”(Unknown) Pride is a powerful thing. It can kill and raise up, it can keep you from admitting your wrong. Pride...is something to fear. This quote is directly connected with the story “The Scarlet Ibis”. Brother’s past now haunts him. Pride is a powerful thing and it's not always good.

How did Doodle die? Why did Doodle die? Was it his Brother? Doodle was born a disabled kid who was loved by everybody in his family except his brother (The narrator of this story). The narrator wished for a perfect brother that his would be able to do things with but when he wasn’t given that it caused him to do things that no brother should ever do or think about doing to his younger brother. Given all the evidence in the story there’s no doubt about it that Doodle’s death was because of his brother’s dislike for him, self-pride, and decisions when Doodle needed his brother most.

“When you have expectations you are setting yourself up for disappointment” (Ryan Reynolds). In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle learns how to deal with the unreasonable expectations Brother composes for him. These expectations aid him for the time being, but become useless in the end. Being born into a set of expectations may have benefits, but can ultimately be ineffective.

Soon empty threats displayed during the foreshadowing would present themselves nearly exactly in Doodle’s death “It’s long graceful neck jerked twice into an S”(Hurst 5) compared to “I cried, shaking him… making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim”(Hurst 6). The death of the scarlet Ibis draws many similarities to Doodle’s unfortunate end whether that be when comparing their necks or the brilliant red displayed by Doodle’s blood and the birds feathers. This final quote being so close to Doodle’s expiration leaves little suspense when leading to final act.

As the protagonist unfolds his tale, he paints a picture of himself initially as a malevolent force, planning the smothering death of his crippled brother, to a bully, force-teaching Doodle to walk to satisfy his own ends, and finally a neglectful older brother whose acts lead to Doodle’s demise. It is the central event of his brother’s death that gives full meaning to the title, “The Scarlet Ibis.” In this short story by James Hurst, the author conveys the Narrator’s guilt over Doodle’s life and, more importantly, his death. 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.

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