The Scarlet Ibis Character Analysis Essay

In “The Scarlet Ibis” one of the most important characters was the brother of Doodle. He is also the one telling the story. He is really important to the story because in a way he shaped Doodles personality. He took care of Doodle, pushed him to walk and killed doodle. He is very determined, somewhat careless, and selfish.

Do you ever feel like you are out of place? Do people behave differently towards you? In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” a character by the name of Doodle is disabled at a young age. This results in his elder brother, also the narrator, to behave with conflicting personalities toward Doodle. In his short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses Doodle’s brother in order to show how he is both cruel and kind towards his younger brother Doodle.

The story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” is written by the author, James Hurst. In the story, the narrator’s little brother is born with a disability. However, as the story progresses the narrator tries to teach his little brother, Doodle, how to walk, row, and other skills that he thinks that Doodle should know. The narrator has very high expectation for Doodle, but in the end, they’re not fulfilled. The author uses symbolism and metaphors to reveal Doodle’s uniqueness and sensitivity.

Throughout the world, more than eighty five percent of people have or are affected by low self esteem. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, it clearly shows the theme that others should not influence all of one’s thoughts and actions. Doodle is a child born with disabilities and his brother, the narrator, supports him and helps him find a place to fit into society and to achieve self-esteem throughout the story. Self-esteem is found negatively and positively in both the narrator and Doodle.

Doodle brother was trying to help doodle out by teaching him to walk even though doctors said if he walks he could very easily fall and die. Doodles brother was only helping him walk because he was ashamed of having a crippled brother but doodle's brother wanted doodle to walk so he can produce better everything so he wouldn’t be as badly crippled. “They did not know I did for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all of their

When he was two he learned how to roll over, and in the story “The doctor said that with his weak heart this strain would probably kill him, but it didn’t.” Then he eventually learned to crawl backwards, and that was his mode of transportation unless he was being carried or pulled around in his cart. Doodle began to talk soon after and, as described in the book, would not stop talking. Then one day Brother, the narrator, decided to teach him how to walk. And Doodle did learn how to walk, and also skip and run. Doodle was also a skilled at lying which is basically storytelling. He would make up lies all day long and tell his family so many that they eventually stopped

The narrator loved Doodle. In the beginning of the story, Doodle had little chance to survive, and ”Everybody thought he would die-everybody except aunt Nicey, who delivered him.” The narrator, Doodle’s own brother, did not believe he would live, until Doodle was three years old lying on the bed. The narrator peeked through the iron bars of the bed, and Doodle looked right at him and smiled. The narrator skipped through the halls yelling, “he's all

The story "The Scarlet Ibis" was written by James Hurst. The short story is about a boy with an invalid little brother named Doodle. In the beginning, the narrator hated his brother and thought of killing him because he could not do much. By the end, he had gained lots of love for Doodle and taught him many things like learning how to walk. The character Doodle can best be described as a creative and loyal person.

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. “Sometimes I accidentally turned him over, but he never told Mama….I could see I was licked. Doodle was my brother and he was going to cling to me forever”(3). Even though Brother thought Doodle was a nuisance he still loved him, even if he sometimes didn't show it

Embarrassment was the one element which motivated the narrator to faithful in Doodle. The use of indirect characterization is clearly visible through the show of pride from the narrator to Doodle. Later on, when the two brothers headed of to Horseshead Landing to train Doodle, for he had “long way to go if he was going to keep up with the other boys”. In the middle of skiffing, a massive rainstorm was approaching them, requiring to fled the site.Both the brother one a foot step ahead and the other trying to keep up. Suddenly, “that streak of cruelty within me awakened”(19). The narrator kept on speeding away from Doodle leaving him farther and farther behind in the pouring rain, later to detect that Doodle was nothing but a “ Fallen Scarlet Ibis from the heresy of rain”. Rupture of the narrator’s own cruelty had caused Doodles life who once was the item of his pride. Through the actions of the narrator, Hurst makes it self evident that the narrator is been described as an indirect character. Throughout the story Hurst communicates that being enslaved to pride can lead to selfish thoughts no matter if their for

Would you leave your invalid little brother behind for dead? The narrator of “The Scarlet Ibis” sure did. Doodle was born when the narrator was six years old. Doodle was a very fragile child who could not participate in many activities and this disappointed the narrator. After growing up a little together, the narrator tries to “help” Doodle become more normal so he could have a brother to go on adventures with. The narrator is responsible for Doodle’s death because he didn’t care about him and didn’t help him, he let his pride get the best of him while with Doodle, and he left him behind after Doodle begged him not to.

Significant relationships can cause us to romanticise or uphold the memories of our loved one. Big Brother, in The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst, teaches us that the significance that a person had over us can change how we look back on their memory. Brother shows us this when he guides us through the relationship and memories he and Doodle had.

Within every story, there lies two points of view. Behind every meaning, there lies two outlooks. All aspects of life are more complex than how they may appear; the case of Doodle’s death is no different. Doodle is a miracle. He is born with rear disabilities that limit the life he can fulfil. Brother, Doodle’s older and more capable sibling, believes that Doodle’s impairments are not as severe as everyone may think. Because of this, Brother works hard with Doodle to ensure Doodle becomes as successful as he can possibly be, despite his disabilities. Doodle’s physical limitations, along with Brother’s drive to see Doodle succeed and overcome the challenges he is faced with, lead to Doodle’s downfall. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by

This story is called “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. This story is about a child named Doodle who has disabilities. It is also about brotherhood, pride, and how they learn to treat others. This is a story where the narrator and Doodle about the life he and Doodle had. Throughout the story, the narrator feels too prideful and too ashamed to realize how cruel he treated Doodle.

Author Shannon L. Alder once said, “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” This is evident throughout the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst. The story starts with the birth of a physically ill brother who has heart problems and is predicted to die. Surprisingly, he survives and his older brother nicknames him Doodle as they set out on their crusade to help Doodle become a normal kid and overcome his health symptoms, but Brother instead takes a dark turn to achieve his goal no matter the cost and the consequences. Brother’s cruel and unforgiving persistence pushes Doodle to the limit both physically and mentally throughout the story to the point of Doodle’s passing.