The brother was easily the guilty suspect in this case. The question here is whether or not Doodle’s cause of death was his brother’s own pride. Throughout the book, The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle’s brother gives us a plethora of quality examples as to why the death of his brother was surely his to bear.
Pride can be a really good thing that keeps you going and makes you try hard, but it is also a very destructive force that can hurt you and others. Doodle was one of those people who got hurt because of someone's pride. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the story shows that the narrator is guilty of Doodle’s death. These are my two reasons supporting this claim. First off the narrator was ashamed of Doodle, and second He just simply did not like Doodle. Here is my evidence.
(Hurst 354) When Doodles life was ended prematurely Brother realized after all of this time, how horrible he had been to poor Doodle and how much he truly loved and will miss him. In the end he may be .upset and all of his emotions came out, but he still is the one that made Doodle do all of the things. He is the reason that Doodle is gone and therefore is guilty.
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.
C.S. Lewis once quoted, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of, course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” This exemplifies the genuine idea of what pride can do to a soul. Many never fully acknowledge the sincere people who sit around them, and the beauties these individuals hold. Similarly, in Hurst’s, “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle’s older brother, the narrator, is driven to push Doodle to succeed in various activities, because he cannot seem to see Doodle’s “inner beauty.” As the thought of making Doodle the best he can be, and displaying his “inner beauty,” eventually leads to a horrific tragedy. To clarify, in “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator is introduced as a conceited, self-centered boy, who forcefully
Doodle and Brother were out practicing to make Doodle more normal. The storm started to come down, so they took off for home. I heard Doodle who had fallen behind, cry out, “Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” (Hurst 6). Good brothers would come back and get their brother if he was screaming. Brother leaving Doodle behind when he was screaming just shows that he wasn’t being nice enough to his brother. Leaving your brother behind is really mean. If he wouldn’t have left Doodle behind maybe the outcome would’ve been different. Brother wouldn’t have gone back and seen Doodle all bloody. Brother caused Doodle
A brother making his younger sibling touch his casket is very cruel Then threatening if it is not touched you would be left alone, which is Doodle's biggest fear. The brother manipulates Doodle on purpose. This shows cruelty from an older sibling making their own blood suffer for matter enjoyment. This point could be considered "tough love" to some and make him mentally stronger as a person.
Brother often foreshadows that Doodle is a burden to bare with. Brother reckons, “The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awaked. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us” (Hurst 6). Just the idea if Doodle in Brother's Plans and the obstacle he would become was too much for Brother to handle.Because if this act Brother is once again showing an act of selfishness. Ironically after Brother has realized that he had abandoned Doodle he goes back to find him face down. Hurst writes, “He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red. ‘Doodle ! Doodle !’ I cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but ropy rain.”After he realized what he had done Brother is suddenly filled with guilt that Doodle was now dead.
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. He wished to be selfless and loving and always aimed to be the best brother he could. Brother never struggled while helping Doodle, it was his first nature. Though he struggled to help Doodle out of compassion and more for his personal prosperity and
James Hurst short story "The Scarlet Ibis" the narrator is responsible for Doodle's death. During the story, the narrator complains about his brother and how he is an embarrassment. The narrator forced Doodle to walk, run, swim, fight, and climb when he was already sick. It puts so much pressure on Doodle that it made him give up. It's the narrators fault for the following reasons: he was selfish, he was embarrassed of him, and he pressured him.
The narrator from "The Scarlet Ibis", causes Doodles death because he left him off in the rain. The brother was angry doodle had failed his expectations. Doodle stepped off the boat and collapsed onto the mud. (p.425) They both felt like they had failed. “Brother, Brother, Brother, do not leave me! Do not leave me!” (p.425) Brother left and he did not come back to save him till it was to late because he was disappointed in Doodle for not running fast enough to keep up with him. All these reasons on how Brother was mad a Doodle comes to a conclusion on why he causes Doodles
In conclusion, the narrator in "The Scarlet Ibis" causes his brother's death by getting him too excited, pushing him too hard, and by leaving him when he knows how bad his condition is. The narrator did not realize it but, life can change in a split second. In the end, the narrator shelters Doodle just like Doodle shelters the Scarlet Ibis when it
Him as a brother” (paragraph 7, page 2) and “ man up it's just a dead bird” (paragraph 5, page 6)
Have you ever killed someone because your pride was hurt? The narrator in the short story "The Scarlet Ibis," by James Hurst, has always wanted a brother so bad. He finally gets a brother that everyone expects to die before being born. By some miracle the little brother didn’t die, so they decided to name him Doodle. At the end Doodle does die and this essay is to say if the narrator is guilty or not. 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.
Once again, it is obvious that Doodle’s death is because of his health condition, and therefore not because of the narrator. Also, opponents may argue that the narrator exploited Doodle’s loyalty to him, by maintaining high expectations and over-exerting Doodle, leading him to his death. The previous statement is not plausible as the narrator did not make Doodle’s decision to fall prey to his brother’s pressure. An individual will be held accountable for the decisions he or she makes. Thus, one cannot place the blame of Doodle’s death on the narrator. Doodle decided, whether out of loyalty or personal aspirations, to force himself to learn how to do what his brother could actively do. Furthermore, critics of the brother, will state that Doodle’s death was caused by the narrator abandoning Doodle in the storm. At first glance, one would agree with the above statement. Nevertheless, one must take into consideration the fact that the narrator is a young boy who is still coming to terms with his brother’s invalidity. He is still not able to decipher Doodle’s special needs. It is illogical to blame the young narrator for Doodle’s death, since one cannot anticipate that the narrator will have sufficient life experience to foresee the outcomes of abandoning