Empathy And Selfishness In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

Have your parents ever told you that you needed to improve at something? It could be a sport, activities, or even how well you do in school. This is a vile thing for parents to do to their children. Sometimes parents just need to back up a few steps and let you be yourself. The same can happen with an older sibling! That is the case in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. The narrator of this story has a younger brother called Doodle, who has some health issues. Big brother pushes little brother to be better than he is. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle strives for the goals that his brother sets for him for many reasons, which reflects the conflict in the story.

Have you ever despised your sibling/s at one point, but later started to appreciate them in your life? In James Hurst's short novel, "The Scarlet Ibis," Doodle is a disabled child and the narrator is his brother, who despises him. The narrator, known as Brother, wanted to murder Doodle due to his disability, but learns that Doodle is not much of a burden. He sets out to teach Doodle abilities that he could never do before, but instead, he pressures him too far and ends up leading him to his tragic death. Thus, in "The Scarlet Ibis," Hurst uses diction, symbolism, foreshadowing, and similes to establish a horrifying mood during the coffin scene part of the story, a melancholic mood during the death of the scarlet ibis, and a dreary mood during the death of Doodle part of the story.

The narrator of James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” feels proud of Doodle’s accomplishments, but at the same time his pride makes him disappointed because of Doodle’s disability. “The Scarlet Ibis” has many dark and complex metaphors and similes in a “heart warming” story. For instance, "It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead, but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree." This is one of the darker examples because, this metaphor is explaining how the narrator describes summer as being "dead" and autumn soon to be "born." The seasons dying and coming back to life fits with how death surrounds the story.

Hurst develops the idea of death, and it is symbolic towards Doodle and his family. The idea of death has come over Doodle’s family. Doodle is the smell drifting across the cotton field into the room. “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead”

The dangers of cruelty in life ultimately overpower emotions and decisions of higher quality. Difficult decisions are made daily, and the compelling idea of satisfaction leads people to make choices for the sake of themselves. The emotions that potentially can happen because of those decisions are captivating, resulting in cruel outcomes. An author that portrays this idea through a character is James Hurst. In his work, “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst develops a relationship between two brothers using the idea that cruelty ultimately overpowers love. The brothers, Doodle and Brother, experience events that cause them to make valued memories, but also break close bonds. Through these experiences, Brother begins to accept his disabled brother, Doodle, for his limitations. Doodle has to be extremely cautious due to his disability, never letting an emotion or feeling become too strong. Some events lead Brother to show affection towards Doodle, but others prompt him to do just the opposite. Hurst uses Old Woman Swamp and the coffin as symbols in, “The Scarlet Ibis”, to assist in demonstrating the highs and lows of Brother and Doodle’s volatile relationship.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is the story of two brothers and their complicated relationship. The younger of the two, Doodle, is developmentally delayed and struggles with everyday tasks. His eldest brother teaches Doodle how to accomplish these tasks. Brother’s initial intentions to teach his invalid little brother to walk start out of love, but soon are formed from prideful motives. Despite his brother’s pride, Doodle strives to please him by cooperating, because he loves his older brother. After Doodle’s passing, Brother’s tangled web of pride is straightened out again to reveal his pure brotherly love and how much he misses his little brother. In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis”, the most prominent emotion is love because of the powerful role it plays in the brothers’ interactions with one another.

Doodle cries to him, “ Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me”, which is what he says in the end of the story when he dies. Another example mentioning death is when Aunt Nancey says, “ Dead birds is bad luck, specially red dead birds!” Through everything Brother put him through, Doodle still loved him. Brother mixed his feelings for shamefulness and love, eventually leading to Doodle’s death. He left him to die in the storm huddled beneath the red nightshade bush.

Learning to Appreciate How does one gain appreciation? The definition of appreciation is the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something. People gain appreciation and respect by doing things that please others. Doodle did many things to please people, and make himself the way others wanted him even though they should have accepted him the way he was.

Brother tells the story in the form of a flashback. As he looks back on his childhood, he is reliving the events of when his disabled little brother, Doodle, dies. He is feeling guilty for what happens and thinks he is to blame. In this story, Hurst uses symbolism to foreshadow Doodle’s untimely, yet beautiful death.

Hurst first builds sympathy for Doodle by establishing a strong connection between the reader and Doodle. In the beginning, Brother says, “He was born when i was 6 and was, from the outset, a disappointment” (Hurst 1). Even as a newborn, Doodle

James Hurst wrote a short story entitled, “The Scarlet Ibis” In “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator tells the story of his brother Doodle. Doodle began his life with everyone having low expectations for him. As the story progresses Doodle’s growth is described through his brother’s eyes. The author uses characterization and conflict to reveal Doodle’s empathy and impressionability.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst. It revolves around a disabled boy named Doodle and his older brother, who is also the narrator. The narrator pushes Doodle to his limit because of his own personal pride. Despite his impairment, Doodle strives to satisfy his brother’s requests, even if it physically harms him at times. The author uses indirect characterization and symbolism to reveal Doodle’s determination and singularity.

Understanding and MmMaturing can beis good orand bad, very much like the pain from exercising, which, in turn, can forceuses one to become stronger. Likewise, the narrator of James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” experiences this same idea when he pushes his physically handicappedtroubled little brother too far. Afterwards, he learns and matures from the experience. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, the here are two main characters Doodle, the little brother who is physically disabled and the narrator big brother, who is ashamed of Doodlehis little brother’s physical disability. Due to the shame from his little brother, it causes the narrator big brother engages in teachesing his little brother physical activities, bringing both of them to their downfalls.

The short story “Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst is about a boy who narrates the adventures of his young brother William Armstrong, otherwise known as Doodle, and himself. Doodle is different than any other brother or you would find in a book, and his physical ability along with appearance in this story are considered a ‘’burden’’. After spending an abundance of time during class reading and extracting examples of figurative language in this story, we were given the task to find the theme of “Scarlet Ibis”. The theme I have found within this story which is that pride and infallibility don’t result in but often regret and despair. Furthermore I have found multiple quotes from the story that back my theme up.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” there are two main characters throughout, Doodle and his older brother. The entire setting of the story was based around Doodle’s brother, when he comes back home, he remembers Doodle, and how he blames himself for Doodle’s death. Doodle’s older brother; though not mentioned how old he is, and where he is now; is portrayed as a mean, naive teenager, who ¨killed¨ his younger brother, but he is still just a teenager. Majority who have read the story, have different perspectives/opinions about the characteristics of the brother. The author, James Hurst, of the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” uses social qualities and moral qualities to prove the character of Doodle’s brother, is caring, insecure, and very driven.