ipl-logo

The Scarlet Ibis Literary Analysis

820 Words4 Pages

The Power of Love: Passion or Pride?
Why do we hurt the ones we love? What causes our sweet, light hearted personalities to become black with anger and frustration? These questions are brought into focus in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. In this short story, a boy tries to teach his handicapped younger brother to blend in and act normal. The older brother tries to teach Doodle, his younger brother, to walk instead of crawl but there are many obstacles to overcome. As events unfold, the older brother becomes frustrated and angered with Doodle’s issues. Little does Doodle’s brother know, mistreating his brother can have serious consequences. Throughout the story, Doodle’s older brother shows many different characteristics …show more content…

When the story begins, Doodle is born with many complications. The doctors said he would die and the family of which Doodle belonged too thought the same. Doodle’s older brother, who was six at the time, overheard his mother talking about how Doodle might never be truly aware of his surrounding or be able to function in general. After hearing this, the older brother thought it was best to put Doodle out of his misery before it got any worse : “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but one who possibly was not there was unbearable, so I planned to smother him with a pillow” (Hurst 464). The actions and characteristics that Doodle’s older brother shows the reader is very clear. He was so uncertain of his brothers future that he would kill his younger brother so then Doodle wouldn't be in …show more content…

The older boy loved his younger brother, but sometimes hurt him too. Whether he was doing what was best for Doodle or letting his emotions get the best of him, it was these two factors that complicate the older boy’s character as well as complicated the story itself. As seen by Doodle’s older brother, we hurt the ones we love sometimes because they are a burden and stress on us, however it can also be because we want them to succeed. So what makes you hurt the ones you love? Could your vulgar behavior toward loved ones hurt them beyond repair

Show More
Related

  • The Scarlet Ibis And The Cask Of Amontillado By James Hurst

    599 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short stories “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “The Cask Of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe have the similar theme of man's inhumanity to man. The theme man's inhumanity to man means people being rude or mean to each other. The brother of Doodle in “The Scarlet Ibis” displayed this very prominently by always saying Doodle was not good enough. He always tried to make Doodle “normal” by making Doodle feel like he is not a normal kid. Obviously, the brother is showing indecent behavior towards Doodle.

    Read More

  • Guilty Of Doodle's Death In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    383 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Scarlet Ibis

    472 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brother is loving and attentive for Doodle but unfortunately, this is not the only side Doodle sees from Brother. On the flipside of Brothers personality, he is not always so sweet to Doodle and can often be seen as evil. Brother explains how he was quite disappointed in how his new little brother didn’t really know how to do anything. “So begin making plans to kill him in his sleep by smothering him with a pillow”.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Pride Quotes

    604 Words  | 3 Pages

    The moment when the brother considers smothering Doodle with a pillow shows the dark side of pride and how it can completely control someone. The brother thinks “It was bad enough having an invalid brother but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” The brother is ashamed of the thought of having a brother that was not all there was unbearable. This clearly shows that even at a young age pride got the better of him and shows the dangerous end of pride. His being ashamed of his brother shows his pridefulness

    Read More

  • Annotation In The Scarlet Ibis

    450 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of many different elements. It takes a lot of contemplation to thoroughly understand it. At first thought, the narrator seems sinister with no notion of remorse. By looking closer, one can see that is not the case. The problem, however, is that he doesn’t really accept that his brother is different.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Theme Analysis

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    The narrator didn’t really love Doodle, was cruel to him, and thought him how to stuff out of his own selfishness, so thank to the gift of pride, the narrator is guilty for the murder of his brother Doodle. The narrator despised Doodle. When Doodle was born and alive- against what the doctor said- the narrator says, "I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" (Hurst 345). The narrator wants to kill his brother because he realized he would not die and because of that, won't be able to do anything physically like brothers do together.

    Read More

  • Outline For The Scarlet Ibis Essay

    442 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis Statement Despite the fact that pride is considered an incredible feeling of motivation and happiness, the author James Hurst through his characters, Doodle and the older brother, in his story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” proves ,it is in fact, a masked detrimental and beneficial feeling of selfishness and guilt. II. First Thesis Point- Topic

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Theme Essay

    707 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pride is Ignorance 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.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis: The Complex Relationship Between Brother And Doodle

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Brother's Pride In The Scarlet Ibis

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    Guilty Without a Doubt In The Scarlet Ibis, Brother and Doodles story is a perfect example as to why pride can be a destructive force. Doodle was pushed to the extreme by his brother. His brothers selfish pride took over his life and he just lost control, he couldn't handle it and his pride, and as a result an innocent life was lost, therefore Brother is guilty of Doodles death.

    Read More

  • Pride Quotes In The Scarlet Ibis

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    Losing Doodle “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.

    Read More

  • Why Did The Brother Kill Doodle

    591 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Doodle's Death In The Scarlet Ibis

    706 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. The Narrator is responsible for his brother, Doodle's, death because he never really liked him to begin with. William Armstrong (Doodle) was born a disabled child when the narrator was 6 years old. The narrator was wishing for a brother that he would be able to do things with and have fun with, but when the narrator was

    Read More

  • How Is Pride Shown In The Scarlet Ibis

    520 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brother planned to spend his entire life with Doodle, They "decided that when [they] were grown [they'd] live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue" (Hurst). He wanted Doodle to have pride in himself and be able to do everything Brother wanted to do with him. Brother had pride in Doodle since he was first able to stand on his own and walk. He taught Doodle out of his own selfishness, he was ashamed of having an "invalid" brother and wanted to have "someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea" (Hurst). Brother was ashamed of the way he felt and his self-indulgent efforts for Doodle.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Symbolism Essay

    770 Words  | 4 Pages

    The quote “He seemed all head with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man’s”, Gave the reader a view of how fragile Doodle’s body is. They thought at first, he was not going to make it, but he ended up surviving. When the mom explains to the older brother, Doodle is different and will not be able to do things that other kids do, he is then disappointed at having Doodle as his brother. He wants to be able to do things with Doodle, like he would be able to do with the other kids,

    Read More

More about The Scarlet Ibis Literary Analysis

Open Document