The Scarlet Ibis Comparison Essay

Improved Essays
Two Vines: Satisfaction & Lust Love and cruelty simply don’t combine due to pride, eventually one will prevail in the end. Most come to a point where either two of those emotions show simultaneously or individually. Eventually, a person will reach a consensus to realize which sentiment is true to them. James Hurst is able to convey this in his short story. Hurst, the author of, “The Scarlet Ibis,” tells the tale of two Brothers. Brother and Doodle have quite the special relationship due to Doodle’s limitations. In addition, Doodle tries to please Brother to the best of his ability. The journey of becoming “normal” is long and painful. In the end, one clear emotion is shown through Brother. Hurst, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis,” uses the two symbols of the hurricane and the scarlet ibis to demonstrate that pride blinds people from compassion and results in a catharsis. The symbol of the hurricane shows a direct correlation to Brother and how his destructive manner allows pride to control him and create a film over the empathetic aspects of himself. While the family is eating dinner a home, they see the scarlet ibis in the tree. Intriguingly, all of them walk over to the mysterious bird. Making an inference based off his observations and his bird book Father says, “It lives in the tropics- South America to Florida. A storm [brings] it here” (Hurst 5). The …show more content…
Having too much self confidence will shield you of reality and veracity. Exquisiteness is something that is hard to find but when someone finds it, it is already gone. Throughout the story, Brother battles embarrassment and prospers in the end but in an unforgettable way. Relationships aren’t always torn apart by pride but the lack of trust and confidence in a

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed, “[f]amily love is messy, clinging, and of an annoying and repetitive pattern, like bad wallpaper.” This ‘bad wallpaper’ perfectly describes the family dynamic created in Bernice Frieson’s short story, “Brother Dear.” Consequently, the family of the protagonist, aside from her brother, can be classified as the antagonists of the story. Sharlene, the protagonist, and her older brother Greg both have differing aspirations; however, they both face a similar obstacle in the way of their goals, their family. It is not a single member of their family that presents these challenges, but rather all of them in dissimilar ways.…

    • 2137 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Scarlet Ibis, it wasn’t the narrator’s fault Doodle died. The narrator, James Hust talks about he wanted to kill his brothers sometimes and how hes actually glad he had a brother in the end of the story. Doodle had health problems and was probably born premature. Doodle health problems in later life could have affected his death.…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Scarlet Ibis Argument

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Ibis Argumentative Essay In The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst the story suggests that the brother is guilty of Doodles death because he thought Doodle should die, he taught Doodle for his own selfish reasons, and he ignored the doctor’s warnings. For my first reason why I said the brother is guilty is because he thought that Doodle should die. The reason for why I said that is because on page 345 the brother said “I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.”…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” and movie Simon Birch, this quote not only becomes relevant, but it continues to be a theme in the lives of everyday people. “The Scarlet Ibis” tells the story of Doodle, a young boy battling with a disability all his life, and his older brother, who is damaged by his own pride and a longing to be “normal.” On the other hand, Simon Birch is a film about a boy, also with disabilities, named Simon and his best friend Joe.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "The Scarlet Ibis" depicts a young, crippled boy named Doodle. His lack of physical ability leaves him out of place. Brother pushes him to extents in order make him fit in. Brother does not accept Doodle's limitations and causes his death. Characters like Doodle…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 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

    For a long long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain" (163). In this tragic story of "The Scarlet Ibis", the main character named Brother recalls his memory of his younger brother named Doodle and his mixed feelings of love and anger towards him. Doodle, being born as a caul baby, is physically challenged compared to other babies at his age. Brother, having wanting to have a brother to hang out with so much, is let down by the news of his disabled brother and decide to teach him how to overcome his physical boundaries. Beautifully crafted by author James Hurst, the three types of ironies could be found interweaved in the story.…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved 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
  • Decent Essays

    In the short story The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst it shows Doodle and the narrator (his big brother) having a good relationship. For instance they do a lot of things together. “Doodle and i often went down into Old Woman Swamp. I would gather wildflowers, wild violets, honeysuckle, yellow jasmine, snake flowers, and water lilies, and with wire grass we’d weave them into necklaces and crowns.” This shows they like to spend a lot of time together and like being with each other.…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent 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

    The similarities between both The Sniper and The Scarlet Ibis are important because they have good points to their stories. The similarities between a brother and his own brother is important to both stories, because you have the same similarities of losing the other. In both the The sniper and The scarlet Ibis, the main characters all have a goal in mind. The main characters will do anything to reach it. Both of them feel trapped, because they can’t get out of a difficult situation so they try to fix it, but find they should have thought of another way other than their way.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a short story about a child born with a serious medical condition and he is not able to do the same things as other children. This boy tries to overcome his challenges. In the end, however, his older brother abandons him in a storm and he ends up dying. There are two main characters in this story: the narrator (the older brother) and the little brother (Doodle). These two siblings are quite fascinating as they are very different from each other but at the same time share some similarities.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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).…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    But he survived. The narrator taught Doodle to walk and was training him so he could go to school and be a normal kid. But then a Scarlet Ibis comes to their house after a hurricane had hit. A Scarlet Ibis lives in South America and had came all the way over to North Carolina. The bird was also crippled and fell out of their tree, and had died.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Scarlet Ibis by James hurst, shows how the narrator's irresponsible actions have a harmful impact on Doodle. Responsibility is a big a thing and obviously the narrator does not have this aspect of life, clearly, this is why Doodle’s brother is the cause of Doodles…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays