Who Is The Narrator In The Scarlet Ibis

The narrator of the story, The Scarlet Ibis, Doesn't give his name, but he tells about his time with his brother, Doodle. Doodle is a complex character in many ways, he was born a cripple but was, by some accounts, blessed, and Doodle also had the element of being a genius for his circumstances. On October 8, 1911 Doodle was born with a heart condition that left him physically and mentally disabled, and wasn't expected to live past infancy, but, by defying the odds, Doodle survives his first few years of his life. Some of the characters believe that this is because when he was born, he had been born in a caul. Which leads to the fact that, Doodle, was very smart and soon learned to talk and even walk.

“Two brothers, one mistake” Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. In "The Scarlet Ibis," a short story by James Hurst, the two main characters,"Brother" who is the narrator of this story, and Doodle who is the victim of Brother's cruel yet loving behavior. In the story the narrator has a brother with disabilities such as walking, and a heart problem. When the narrator's brother, Doodle turns five and he still cannot walk and he is starting school after summer.

This disability prevented Doodle from walking or standing which meant that most of the time, Doodle's brother was required to carry Doodle anywhere he needed or wanted to go. Without a doubt, this aggravated Doodle's brother, greatly. In his mind, and with his gigantic ego, Doodle's brother was too good to carry his physically challenged brother anywhere, especially in public where they could be seen by others, so guess what Doodle's brother did to get out of helping Doodle? He actually forced Doodle to walk, which was detrimental to Doodle, both physically and mentally. Considering the overwhelming strain this action forced upon Doodle's frail, fragile heart, it easily could have been too much for it to take.

Such ending of The Scarlet Ibis is surprizing for both the narrator and the reader. In fact, the death of Doodle after growing up is unexpected by neither the narrator nor the reader. (Hamdi, DeAngelis, 2008, Page

James Hurst, the author of the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” uses the scarlet ibis to symbolize Doodle. Both the bird and Doodle both stand out in their own ways. Doodle was born with a bad heart, and his parents were told, when he was first born, that most likely he wouldn’t live and if he were to live, he would never be able to walk. Doodle’s brother is ashamed of having a crippled brother, that he can’t play with, and tries to help Doodle learn how to walk for his own pride and ego. After many months of constant success, Doodle’s brother tries to push Doodle a little more than Doodle can endure by leaving him, after he has fallen, on the way home during a strorm.

He is sickly and frail at birth, and is told, “with his weak heart this strain [learning how to crawl] would probably kill him.” (page 1). This heart condition means that Doodle is unable to stand long periods of physical strain. During the story, his brother pushes him very hard to learn how

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst, creates a story about a boy named Doodle who was born with disabilities and his brother makes plans to kill him. In paragraph 5 on the first page of the story, Hurst writes, “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.” This clearly makes readers think that the narrator wants him dead, and the narrator isn’t grateful for what kind of brother he has. This clearly brings up that it was the narrator 's fault that Doodle died. He left Doodle out in the storm on purpose and ran away, the narrator had plans to kill him earlier on in the story, and everyone expected Doodle to die right when he was born.

People with disabilities are no less than regular people and they deserve the same love and respect. Brother obviously does not understand this because he is constantly acting like he is bettering Doodle’s life when his intent is his own personal gain. Brother feels the guilt of teaching Doodle to walk for his own personal gain when he reflects, “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” Brother finally learns what karma can do to a person when Doodle dies. The scene of Doodle’s death is depicted as “bleeding from the mouth, and his neck, and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red.”

First, imagery in “The Scarlet Ibis” is used to make people mindful towards the adolescence that are challenged. After brother talks of how awful Doodle is, he states,

He could not walk at all because of his birth defects, but his brother slowly but surely taught him how to first stand up, and then walk. Doodle accomplished an impossible feat. Even then he did not bask in the glory but “told [his family] that it was[ the narrator] who had taught him how to walk,”(206). Another instance of Doodle being selfless is when he is being trained by his brother. If someone made a person” swim until [he or she] turned blue and rowed until [he or she] couldn’t lift an oar”(209)

James Hurst in "The Scarlet Ibis" uses the brother to illustrate that both selfish and caring motivations can help someone succeed. Not only caring acts, but also selfish acts can help people succeed. The brother actions leave positive and negative results that affect Doodle’s life. In spite of his natural feelings of pride, or perhaps because of them, the brother cares and loves Doodle.