The Scarlet Ibis Character Analysis

Register to read the introduction… In the beginning, Doodle’s brother is aware of a bad trait inside of him, a cruel streak, and does not fight it, but by the end, his cruelty dissolves as he learns the terrible consequences of pride. The narrator of the story, Doodle’s brother has always wanted a younger brother to play with. When he finally receives a baby brother, he is dismayed to find out that his new sibling is an invalid. The baby is named William Armstrong but is called “Doodle” by the family, and as he grows older, his brother becomes determined to teach Doodle how to walk. It is the belief of Doodle’s brother that “all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death”(Hurst 4). At this point, Doodle’s brother has high self-esteem because he has been able to teach his weak, five-year-old brother how to walk. He is full of determination, which in most cases is a good trait, but fueling this determination is pride and cruelty. The brother realizes that he has this cruelty inside of him, but he does not struggle against it because he does not yet know the dark side of pride. Since the brother does not have this wisdom, he goes on to teach Doodle several skills that would enable him to keep up with the boys at school, sometimes resorting to mean methods to keep Doodle from stopping his program. One afternoon in the summer of training, the whole family witnesses a strange and saddening event: a majestic scarlet ibis falls from their bleeding tree and dies, pushed by storm winds until it was too weak. The whole family is affected by what seems to be a bad omen, Doodle most of all. But Doodle’s brother continues his training of Doodle, pushing him to the point of extreme exhaustion, until a thunderstorm starts up. The brothers try to …show more content…
Angus learns to be accepting of the flaws in his makeup and so becomes more self-assured. Doodle’s brother discovers the double face of pride and loses his inner cruelty. All humans should look inside of them and see whether they are like Angus and Doodle’s brother. If they are, learning the lessons and stories of these two boys can impact the understanding of many people and change how the world works