...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...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...In the story “Scarlet Ibis” by Hurst we read about a special needs kid who resembles a rare bird called the Scarlet ibis. We see how the kid they call Doodle take on the world despite his abilities. Near the end of the story we see a bird that resembles Doodle in a lot of ways. These ways will be told in the following paragraph. In the following paragraphs I will be talking about ways Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis are similar, ways they are different, and how they're more alike than different. Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis are alike in many ways. One way they're alike is they both seem to be out of place. “ The Scarlet Ibises natural environment is in a tropical area and when the bird got caught up in the storm and ended up in Doodles backyard...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about William Armstrong, also known as Doodle, who had a physical and mental condition. When he was born William’s brother was six years old, and when William died his brother was thirteen. The story is called “The Scarlet Ibis” because the family saw a bird dying in their backyard which was far away from its native land, and William died away from his home. Mr. Hurst was born in North Carolina at a farm by the sea. He studied singing and in Italy and he became a banker. During his thirty four years as a banker he also published a few short stories including “The Scarlet Ibis”. I personally did not like how the story went but I do like how Mr. Hurst wrote it. I also like how he referred the scarlet ibis...
Words: 1444 - Pages: 6
...Sneaky Symbols “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is full of abstract symbolism to help the audience understand the passage clearer. This story is about a disappointed boy who finds out his brother is invalid. The baby by was thought to die at birth, but he ends up living. They named him William Armstrong, but the brother believed that that was a terrible name for a disabled child. Doodle, William’s nickname his brother gave him, could not walk. The boy was determined to teach Doodle how to walk because he thought of Doodle as an embarrassment. The doctors believed Doodle could not be overworked, or he would die. During the training, Doodle could not keep up with his older brother. Doodle fell to the ground from being tired, and slowly died...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...beautiful things is nature. The Scarlet Ibis, written by James Hurst, is told by Doodle the main character’s older brother. The narrator tells about Doodle’s childhood. Doodle was a delicate little boy who had to overcome many challenges in his short life, willing to do anything to be like a normal boy. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle personifies nature because of the unique characteristics he carries with him. Doodle and the narrator have a connection to a special place, Old Woman Swamp. In the story the author says, “He was a burden in many ways. The doctor had said that he mustn’t get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired and that he must always...
Words: 681 - Pages: 3
...The scarlet ibis is a deep and meaningful book about a disabled kid that is push to his limit and is then taken out of his limits the result of which is death. The Scarlet Ibis it has a incredible amount of symbolism, imagery, and similes. In addition you have a touching story that will touch many hearts and minds. Symbolism is one of the main parts in this book it is engraved in it the title the Scarlet Ibis, the scarlet ibis is a bird that originates from Florida. When taken out of its natural habitat the bird will die. This symbolizes Doodle who when taken out of his natural habitat he well die. The color red is also an important key symbol in the story and can be seen throughout the story. The color red has always symbolized death. This...
Words: 497 - Pages: 2
...The Scarlet Ibis by: James Hurst In “The Scarlet Ibis”, the older brother is coaching his younger brother, who has physical disabilities, on how to fit in, mostly for his own sake. The story brings up all sorts of questions such as, why is it that we sometimes fear people who are different? Why do many people think it's so important to fit in? If someone doesn't mind being different, why do we often still pressure them to conform? This story shows that pushing others too hard to fit in can end in tragedy. Most people think living life a certain way is the most important thing. When they see someone acting a strange way or a way that is different, they react negatively. They get confused because they aren’t used to people not caring about how...
Words: 543 - Pages: 3
...and can sometimes be harmful. The tale The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a great example of how pride can be harmful. The Scarlet Ibis revolves around two brothers, Doodle (who is disabled), and his older brother, the narrator. In the story, the narrator tries to teach Doodle to do things like an abled person. He succeeded with teaching Doodle to walk, so then his ego/pride starts growing...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience”- J.F Clarke I agree with the quote that the bravest ones are the ones who follow what they follow not what other go with. They go with their conscience. In the book the odyssey and in the scarlet ibis they both can relate to because Odysseus had to be brave for many things in the odyssey. In the scarlet ibis doodle had to be very strong from the hard tasks that his brother William put him through. In the book the odyssey Odysseus was away from his home in Ithaca but while on his voyage he had to be very brave many Times. One time when he was at Cyclops Island where he stayed for a little while cheating on his wife many times. Odysseus was ready to go home. Clypos told him if he stayed with her that she would give him immortality. Odysseus was brave and told her no and he went home to his wife. A second time when Odysseus was brave was when him and his men traveled to Cyclops Island and he almost died. But Odysseus was brave and stabbed the Cyclops in the eye with a stick. Then left off to go home safely. Until Odysseus had to be brave one more time at Sicylla Island where him and his men ran into the sex headed beast. Six of Odysseus men were eaten and killed. But Odysseus was brave and got away safely from the sicylla’s on Sicylla Island. That’s how Odysseus had to be brave in the book the odyssey. In the book the scarlet ibis William one of the main characters. William is doodles brother. In the book doodle had to be very...
Words: 497 - Pages: 2
...” Acceptance and tolerance mean appreciating the differences in people and respecting people for who they are. When one is tolerant, they understand and reverence others that have a different gender, ethics, feelings, and behaviors than them. In the stories “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst, and “Raymond’s Run” written by Toni Cade Bambara, the authors depicted the relationships with disabled siblings. These relationships could have a significant impact on these siblings’ life later on. Notwithstanding bearing the fact that Doodle’s brother and Squeaky previously displayed infinitesimal tolerance towards their younger siblings’ incapacity, the differences that it unfold in their stages of tolerance as the stories continue are relatively remarkable. Initially, a similarity relating to tolerance found in “The Scarlet Ibis” and “Raymond’s Run” is how both Squeaky and Brother both take care their disabled sibling. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” Doodle was the younger brother who was born with physical disabilities. The narrator, who was known as Brother in the story supervises Doodle because he was determined to make Doodle to become his ideal brother. Specifically on paragraph 10 Brother remarked, “ When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him.” This indicates that Brother teach Doodle how to walk because for his selfish motives. Brother was worried about his own reputation because...
Words: 880 - Pages: 4
...“I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet Ibis from the Heresy from the rain.” All the narrator wants is a “normal” brother. He tries his best the change his brother; all that leads to is death. Doodle is his brothers Scarlet Ibis, and Doodle dies because of his brother. His brother tries so hard to change who Doodle is and all that it leads to is a death. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses conflict, symbolism, and irony to develope the message that everyone needs to accept others for who they are, and not try to change them or the outcome will be negative. James Hurst uses internal conflict to show that changing others for selfish reasons can lead to tragic consequences. The main reason that Doodle can walk is because of the narrator’s selfish attitude of caring what others think. When the narrator says “I was embarrassed at having a brother who couldn’t walk”(336), his egotistical personality defiantly shows through; he is more concerned of what others think rather than the fact that his impaired brother is unable to walk (CS2). The only motivation to...
Words: 700 - Pages: 3
...wear a different outfit, but she wouldn’t budge. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle's older brother was irritated by Doodles disability, because he wanted a normal brother. Because of this, he tried to make Doodle more normal by teaching him to walk. But Doodle's brother should have accepted him from the start In the story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the theme, people don’t accept others who look different, is shown through tone. In the first place, people who are unique are...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...The Boy with the Scarlet Heart Murder: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. This crime can be committed by a pull on a trigger, a stab from a knife, an addiction birthed by the deadly dance with drugs, a signing of a tear-stained letter, an attempt to fly from a tree too high…... or the abuse of power one presents over a fragile human; neglecting what struggles they face in order to push them to the edge. With every murder, there is a body left with no soul, a killer hiding somewhere dark, and the inevitable destruction of the senses. The latter happens not just to the victim, but their loved ones as well. All they can smell is fresh dirt from the graveyard. All they can hear is their own thoughts drowning in the abyss of their mind. All they can taste is the metallic flavor of blood in their mouth. They touch everything but feel nothing. It’s only their sight that doesn’t fail them. They see everything crystal clear, just painted in a different color: red. It’s the one color that won’t leave their mind, haunting and confusing them with its’ ambiguous nature. Red could mean something...
Words: 1014 - Pages: 5
...was especially hard for doodle in “the scarlet ibis” and Simon in Simon birch because they were both physically disabled; however, they both handled their situations bravely. For example, Doodle was born with a weak heart and couldn’t walk. This was proven when in the story scarlet ibis doodle was born in like a manger and his family said he was a disappointment. Doodle accepted himself but no one else did. He accepted he was special needs. Next, although Simon was not institutionalized, he was picked on for being short and disabled. All he did was back talk the people he didn’t like their comment because everyone picked on him. At the time no one accepted disabled people so they were mean to...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...The Scarlet Ibis Have you ever let your pride overcome who you are? Pride allows us to enhance the way we act and look. However, it can cause us to look down upon others when things don’t turn out the way we want it. For instance, “ The Scarlet Ibis” shows how pride can motivate us to strive for achievements and still be the source of harm towards ourselves and our loved ones. The story is told through the brother’s eyes in which he continuously persists his brother, Doodle, into doing “normal kid things,” despite Doodle’s physical limitations. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story that revolves around pride. To begin with, Doodle’s brother wanted to teach Doodle how to live like a “normal boy.” Doodle’s brother was resolute as he...
Words: 529 - Pages: 3
