The scarlet ibis serves as an appropriate symbol in the story The Scarlet Ibis because it symbolises Doodle’s death. When Doodle was born he wasn't expected to live so his parents gave him the name William Armstrong for his tombstone. The author refers to that name as a “big tail on a small kite” (316). It can be compared to the Ibis because since the Ibis does not have a big tail the name Doodle’s parents gave him changed to Doodle. When doodle and his family saw the bird on their bleeding tree, the bird’s wings did not function correctly making the bird fall down the tree and dying. That relates to how Doodle could not walk normally which ended up killing him. The story also made alot of references of the birds bright red color with Doodle
