The Scarlet Ibis Theme Analysis

Improved Essays
The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst, is a well written book with good plot, and a bunch of symbolism. Symbolism refers to an object that has another meaning to it, showing different ideas and is very prevalent in this short story. Other things that show up in the book is exposition and foreshadowing. In this book, a brother of a young kid named Doodle tries to make Doodle “Normal”, but pays a heavy price in doing so. What Brother forgot is that Doodle was very very sensitive to many things, and that creates the theme: Be careful with fragile things, they make break and devastate you.
The external conflict of the story is very important to this theme. In the exposition, quotes display how Doodle was sensitive. “The doctor said that with his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Before Doodle was even able to come out of the rom Brother was making plans to kill him. On page 345, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who was possibly not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him…”This quote shows that he had planned to kill Doodle since he was a baby. On page 344 the book says,”He was born when I was six and was from the outset a disappointment.” This quote shows that brother thought that Doodle was…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This quote gives us an example of how cruel Brother is to Doodle: "One day I took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how we all had believed he would die. " Doodle's…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the very beginning of the story the narrator is telling about doodle early life before he could walk. “When doodle was five years old, i was embarrassed at having a brother who at that age who couldn’t walk. ”(hurst 466) Instead of showing compassion for his brother who is very ill he despises him for it. Another example is when doodle's Brother is selfish because he puts his pride brother doodle…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Scarlet Ibis is the story of a sickly boy named Doodle. When he was born, everybody thought he would die, but whenever he lived they figured we might as well name him so they named him William Armstrong a name that will only look good on a tombstone. One day, the narrator who is Doodles big brother looked between the bedpost and saw Doodle smiling at him and went screaming down the hallway “he’s all there, he’s all there!” At first, the narrator was planning on how to kill Doodle Bob smothering with him with a pillow at night, but once the narrator saw Doodle smiling back at him, he no longer had those plans. Doodle would start crying after the narrator even so much as picked up his hat or went outside, so mama forced the narrator…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Scarlet Ibis Thesis

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Ibis Why do people claim they love family, but hurt the ones they love. Not everyone is going to turn out to be what they are to some people. The story is called “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. The story is about a boy who has a brother named Doodle. He wants his brother to always be there for him.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The graveyards flowers bloom as they take their last sights of summer, while the oriole sings a dying song up in the bleeding tree. A grindstone turns and crumbles away at the time that was spent between the protagonist, Brother, and his younger sibling, Doodle. It is then that Brother remembers all the time they spent working through his condition. Brother also recalls what happened to Doodle, and how much he is to be held accountable for. In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” Brother is to blame for the cruelties done to Doodle; however, he is not totally at fault because his actions are out of love.…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Scarlet Ibis is the story of two brothers and focuses on the conflict in their stormy Relationship. The younger brother, “Doodle” is physically disabled, and the narrator and older sibling “Brother” is embarrassed by Doodle’s disabilities. Brother’s emotions towards Doodle are conflicted; he loves Doodle, but he is also ashamed of him and pushes him past his breaking point teaching him to talk and walk. Brother’s pride is the real reason that he wants to teach Doodle and this pride is both wonderful and terrible at the same time. He treats him unfairly and without compassion at times, pulling him recklessly in the wagon (335), and walking too fast so that Doodle can not keep pace with him (340).…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst indirectly characterizes the narrator as prideful and sadistic through his thoughts and actions, to convey the idea that an excessive amount of pride causes someone to be deceitful, and act for their own personal gain at someone else’s cost. “The Scarlet Ibis” revolves around the narrator, recalling on his past memory of Doodle, his “invalid” younger sibling. The narrator longs for someone to run with, play with, and fight with; a brother to be proud of. However, the birth of a frail and severely disabled younger brother is a disappointment. When the narrator insists upon teaching Doodle how to walk, he slowly begins to feel proud of Doodle and his accomplishments.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The narrator is also concerned with only himself. Referring to his younger sibling, Brother states, “He was a burden in many ways. … A long list of don’ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house”(Hurst 486). Brother views Doodle as a strain, and he disregards the physical limitations of his younger brother.…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    This shows that you shouldn’t let your cruelty and pride deprive you of your judgement because instead of helping his brother get back home safely, the narrator, out of cruelty, decides to run, leaving his brother far behind. After this act, the narrator returns to find his brother only to learn that Doodle had died. To conclude, the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst proclaims the theme that you shouldn’t let your pride and cruelty deprive you of your…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading the short stories of The Scarlet Ibis and The Most Dangerous Game, the characters of Rainsford and Doodle caught my eye. They have many things that are different from one another as well as many thing that are opposite each other in these stories in so many ways. At first, while reading the stories, one would not instantly realize that these characters would have so many differences, but they do. After analyzing this essay thoroughly, one may realize some of the many differences between Rainsford and Doodle are age, intelligence, and strength.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At this point, Brothers pride is excessive and causes him to abandons his younger brother. When Brother finally went back he discovered his brother dead. “He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red” (354). Brother pushes Doodle too far this time. His actions were helpful before where they were encouraging Doodle to have a better life, later they become so excessive Brothers pride pushes Doodle far beyond his capabilities.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perseverance is Key As Thomas Carlyle says “Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” Both James Hurst, author of “The Scarlet Ibis,” and Edmund Ware, author of “An Underground Episode,” show that part of being human is having the perseverance to survive in spite of society’s limitations. Both Authors use similarities and differences in their writing style. The Scarlett Ibis is a about a boy named Doodle he was born with complications that threatened his life and made it hard for him to fit into society.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Scarlet Ibis

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life, and death.” In this classic short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” the author James Hurst illustrates how pride is beneficial in certain ways and detrimental in other ways. Pride defined, as the trait of persuasion by a dislike of falling below your standards is the theme of the short story. The Narrator consumed by pride, ideology for helping Doodle is only for his own benefit. The author's usage of foreshadowing, symbolism, and paradox coalesce to create a true literary masterpiece with the central theme of pride.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In "The Scarlet Ibis," James Hursts uses vivid imagery to foreshadow how the conflict will affect the end of the story. In the story, we have seen many visual clues that foreshadow the end of the story. In the beginning of the story, Doodle's brother narrates,". 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"(Hursts 1). Not only does this set up the atmosphere of the story, but it was already foreshadowing that Doodle was going to die.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays