Nathan Smearsoll
Mrs. Porter
English 9 Honors
October 7, 2015
“The Scarlet Ibis” – Symbolism and Simplicity “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, is a wonderful tale. One might read through it, finish, and weep with rage at the ending, but in the end they will love it. One might read through, and see it solely as literal, and in the end they will love it. One might read through, and see it all as allegory, taking nothing literal, and in the end they will love it. They then can read through with a different attitude and pick up an entirely different tale. This is the beauty of “The Scarlet Ibis”. It is the plot and theme that initially appear to most readers. A terrific tapestry of events and ideas, as the story progresses so too does the reader’s …show more content…
Fewer among those develop them throughout the story. James Hurst does this so well that it’s as if they are real. Most books’ characters become worn stretched-too-thin-for-too-long shadows of what they are meant as. Most books’ characters become old, as they repeat mistakes over and over again. Hurst, with this tale, yells ‘No More!’ to the world, and challenges everyone to aspire higher. The narrator, though readers never hear his name, becomes such a human it is hard to look at him as simply a character. With statements like “I thought myself pretty smart at many things”, and “There is within me a knot of cruelty” readers feel like he could, and probably does exist, in all his evil. (Hurst) But that is just the start of the story, in the end readers hear him respond, “Who says so?” when Doodle says he can’t walk, and feel his good. (Hurst) Readers feel the narrator change and morph as the story develops, and at the end he feels entirely different from the beginning. This is the beauty of “The Scarlet Ibis”. Perhaps a reader felt the tale unfair towards humans, but is it, or does it simply portray humans so honestly and true that it seems
Mrs. Porter
English 9 Honors
October 7, 2015
“The Scarlet Ibis” – Symbolism and Simplicity “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, is a wonderful tale. One might read through it, finish, and weep with rage at the ending, but in the end they will love it. One might read through, and see it solely as literal, and in the end they will love it. One might read through, and see it all as allegory, taking nothing literal, and in the end they will love it. They then can read through with a different attitude and pick up an entirely different tale. This is the beauty of “The Scarlet Ibis”. It is the plot and theme that initially appear to most readers. A terrific tapestry of events and ideas, as the story progresses so too does the reader’s …show more content…
Fewer among those develop them throughout the story. James Hurst does this so well that it’s as if they are real. Most books’ characters become worn stretched-too-thin-for-too-long shadows of what they are meant as. Most books’ characters become old, as they repeat mistakes over and over again. Hurst, with this tale, yells ‘No More!’ to the world, and challenges everyone to aspire higher. The narrator, though readers never hear his name, becomes such a human it is hard to look at him as simply a character. With statements like “I thought myself pretty smart at many things”, and “There is within me a knot of cruelty” readers feel like he could, and probably does exist, in all his evil. (Hurst) But that is just the start of the story, in the end readers hear him respond, “Who says so?” when Doodle says he can’t walk, and feel his good. (Hurst) Readers feel the narrator change and morph as the story develops, and at the end he feels entirely different from the beginning. This is the beauty of “The Scarlet Ibis”. Perhaps a reader felt the tale unfair towards humans, but is it, or does it simply portray humans so honestly and true that it seems