...The Destruction of Doodle “The knowledge that Doodle and my plans has come to naught was bitter and that streak of cruelty within me awakened.” Brother, a character in James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” is narcissistic and treats his little brother Doodle poorly. Brother is cruel to Doodle causing him to die. Doodle was treated terribly by Brother from the beginning of his life. Brother has to bring Doodle with him wherever he goes. Brother would “run with [Doodle] across the ends of cotton rows and careen him around corners.” Doodle was a burden to Brother. Brother does this so Doodle won’t enjoy being with him anymore. Brother is too selfish to realize he is affecting Doodle negatively. Brother’s cruelty continues Doodle’s whole...
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...A Fatal Consequence of Selfishness in the Scarlet Ibis How often does one act without regard for those around them? It is incredibly easy to become selfish in one’s actions. “The Scarlet Ibis” shows this in Brother’s actions in regard to his younger brother, Doodle. He only assists him when it benefits himself, and throughout his life Brother forces Doodle into activities and abandons him with no thought as to why this is inconsiderate. James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” uses foreshadowing and symbols to show how selfishness leads to severe consequences, even fatal ones, and the overall maltreatment of others. The family of Doodle commits many selfish actions which foreshadow the demise of Doodle. Early on in their lives, Brother takes Doodle...
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...Excessive pride causes devastating ruin and can be deeply harmful, not only to the person in which pride in habits, but also to those surrounding them. Through the elder brother’s pride and shame of having an invalid brother, he pushes Doodle to his breaking point, and therefore is a contributor to Doodle’s tragic death though that is not his blunt goal to murder his own brother. This is very evident in James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis”. The elder brother of any family has the highest rank among the siblings and holds the most responsibility for the younger children. The elder brother in “The Scarlet Ibis” is no exception. His “pride, whose slave [he] was, spoke to [him], louder than all [his family’s] voices” (2) and the brother...
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...fallen Scarlet Ibis from the heresy of rain.” In James Hurst’s short story; “The Scarlet Ibis”, two brothers create a good relationship over a short amount of time. There are three main concepts within the short story. Pride, love and death. Pride; there’s not much to say. Brother ends up doing anything to Doodle for his own pride. Brother has done actions for his own pride instead of doing it for Doodle’s well-being. When Brother and Doodle showed Mama, Daddy and aunt Nicey that Doodle can walk brother thought, “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride.” When Brother taught Doodle how to walk he did it for his own pride. Little did Doodle know Brother wasn’t...
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...Naomi Long Madgett’s meaningful poem “Women with Flower” makes a marvelous companion read to the heart heavy short prose “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, with its methods of figurative language that allow the poem to reflect Hurst’s prose therefore emphasizing the meaning behind Hurst’s words and the dangers of pride. The extensive use of personification and metaphors in Madgett’s poem, make it easy to understand. Nevertheless it still allows her to get her point across. The personification “let the soil rest from so much digging” has clearly given human qualities to the non-human object, soil, as it has no need for rest, for soil simply does not get tired (Magett 619). However Madgett’s line can quickly evolve into an extraordinary metaphor...
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...Naomi Long Madgett’s short poem “Women with Flower” is a marvelous companion read to the heart heavy short prose “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst because of its clever method of figurative language that allow the poem to reflect Hurst’s prose and emphasize the meaning behind his words and the dangers of pride. The personification “let the soil rest from so much digging” has clearly given human qualities to the non-human object, soil, as it has no need for rest, for soil simply does not get tired (Magett 619). Madgett’s line can quickly be evolved into an extraordinary metaphor comparing the soil to Doodle when Hurst describes Doodle drained of energy after finishing the exhausting task of rowing a boat into a storm, then labored by his brother...
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...James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” has a theme, pride is egregious, which Hurst demonstrates through a series of quotes with the main ideas of offering help only due to pride, the belief of infallibility, and pushing someone farther than their limits. The theme can be first expressed when Brother only teaches Doodle to walk only because of his pride. After Brother teaches Doodle to walk, he reflects upon his reasons of doing so in the excerpt,“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,”(Hurst, 4). In the previously mentioned situation pride is egregious because Brother is embarrassed about Doodles...
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...Guilt is an emotion caused by an action. These actions may be used for bad, or used for good, but for the wrong reason. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, a boy and his crippled brother, Doodle, create a good, but unhealthy relationship that causes problems in both lives. In James Hurst’s flashback, the most powerful emotion the narrator, Brother, expresses is guilt because at the end of every conflicted event, the narrator feels guilty. Brother feels guilty for his actions and strongly expresses the emotion guilt. While the narrator wants to kill his brother, he has a realization, “…’Mama,’ he smiled. ‘He’s all there! He’s all there!’ and he was” (Hurst 2). Brother is too young to understand what death is, but he knows...
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...short stories “He Hid Behind the Stove,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” and “Harrison Bergeron” all used the literary device of symbolism to augment the story with extra layers of depth, contributing to the overall theme. Firstly, “He Hid Behind the Stove” by Walter Lewis Wilson has the most prominent symbol of the work in...
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...Who is responsible for the death of Doodle? In “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle was not “all there”. Everyone thought he would die at birth. In James Hurst’s short story, the narrator is responsible for Doodle’s death. The following are the evidence: he over worked him, treated him badly, and left him in the storm. The doctor did not want Doodle to strain himself or he would die. The narrator is responsible for Doodle's death because he made Doodle over work himself. He made Doodle learn how to walk so he would not embarrass him. He let him do most of the things the doctor said not to do. He let him get excited and let him tired. He also let Doodle get hot. The narrative threatened him. The narrator threatened...
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...Everybody dies. Sometimes someone is responsible for the death, and other times it was something that couldn't be stopped. For example, if someone murders another person, then that person is responsible for the death. If a person dies from a heart attack or cancer, then it was something that couldn't be stopped. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the older brother is responsible for Doodle’s death. The older brother pushed Doodle to walk and run, showed him no mercy, and left him. Doodle, the younger brother, had a heart condition and if he got overly stressed, or did too much, he could die. The older brother was ashamed to have a five year old brother who couldn't walk. So, the older brother decided to teach Doodle...
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...Children born with birth defects or “slower” than others are usually criticized more. Children who are disabled have to be treated with a lot of care and can’t do the things normal kids can do. In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle is born different from other people. All his brother ,the narrator, wanted was a brother to run and fight with. Doodle was a disappointment for his brother. Doodle spent his whole day laying in a room since he couldn’t walk or talk. The narrator set out to teach him to walk because he was ashamed of him. The Narrator is guilty for Doodles death because he pushed him to his limit, knowing he could only do certain things. The Narrator was ashamed of his little brother because he had been born different....
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...Brother and Doodle in James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis”. Doodle, a physically and mentally handicapped character is constantly pushed to his limits by his brother’s pride. With a noble cause pride can be beneficial to one’s goal, however a corrupt impetus can have detrimental effects. Doodle overcame his physical impairment of walking because of Brother’s pride. His pride began when Doodle was just a baby, where his pride sparked, “He looked straight at me and grinned... ‘Mama, he smiled. He’s all there!...
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