Have you ever worked so hard for something no one thought you were capable of doing, just to fail? In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle, who has a serious medical condition, is expected to never be able to walk, let alone live. With the help of his brother, he does something preposterous and astonishes everyone he knows. The scarlet ibis has also traveled thousands of miles to escape the storm chasing him, just like Doodle’s disease. Throughout the story, you get to know Doodle and see that he is much more skillful than he is said to be, which surprises both his family and the readers. Doodle and the scarlet ibis pushed themselves to their max just to fail and die.
The scarlet ibis and Doodle have traveled a long way just to perish. In the beginning of the story, Doodle is expected to die and pushes himself to his breaking point, but surprises everyone. The narrator describes Doodle’s progress, “I helped Doodle up, and when he was standing alone I let them look. There wasn’t a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at his place at the table,” (Hurst ll. 172-174). When Doodle was first born, he wasn’t expected to live, but once he …show more content…
Doodle had lived a very successful life compared to how he was expected to live. The narrator describes his brother’s death by comparing him to the scarlet ibis, “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 the ropy rain,” (Hurst ll. 383-386). Doodle and the bird both died in a similar environment and the red on Doodle and the scarlet ibis symbolizes the tragedy that they each experienced. As a result of facing the ‘storms’ in their lives, they both learned to overcome it and move on but they weren’t strong enough to accomplish those
The scarlet ibis and Doodle have traveled a long way just to perish. In the beginning of the story, Doodle is expected to die and pushes himself to his breaking point, but surprises everyone. The narrator describes Doodle’s progress, “I helped Doodle up, and when he was standing alone I let them look. There wasn’t a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at his place at the table,” (Hurst ll. 172-174). When Doodle was first born, he wasn’t expected to live, but once he …show more content…
Doodle had lived a very successful life compared to how he was expected to live. The narrator describes his brother’s death by comparing him to the scarlet ibis, “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 the ropy rain,” (Hurst ll. 383-386). Doodle and the bird both died in a similar environment and the red on Doodle and the scarlet ibis symbolizes the tragedy that they each experienced. As a result of facing the ‘storms’ in their lives, they both learned to overcome it and move on but they weren’t strong enough to accomplish those