“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.
The usage of foreshadowing develops the theme of pride and establishes a reminiscent tone. As the main character and narrator of The Scarlet Ibis, the Narrator reflects on his childhood, he chooses to focus on a part of his life that he shared with his younger brother, William Armstrong, whom he called Doodle. Doodle's brother feels ashamed of his “invalid brother” and feels the need to push Doodle into normality, which leads him to his ultimate regret. Hurst uses words and phrases such as “dead autumn…rotting brown magnolia…graveyard flowers,” as a peripatetic sense of enclosure in the perpetual darkness, and gloominess that surrounds the Narrator. The sentence, “...speaking softly the names of our dead” initially adds eeriness; moreover, when used in the end it adds a final melancholy statement of isolation which Doodle felt prior to death. The imagery throughout the story helps to facilitate an eerie swampland surrounded by death and depressing memories this melancholy setting foreshadowing death. Hurst's foreshadowing correlates to the events that played out over the course of Doodle's life. The foreshadowing of abandonment, death and scarlet ibis all translate to the fate that Doodle encounters, due to the pride and neglect his brother emits. Moreover, the use of symbolism in the story also helps develops the theme of pride. The symbolism of the scarlet ibis is mysterious, but it signifies Doodle. “He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.” The symbolism uses imagery to visually depict and compare the frailness of Doodle with the ibis; thus, examining their legs which symbolize their health predicament. “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying …show more content…
Blood for many when it spills means somebody is hurt, blood is scary, even horrifying; consequently, the author creates a paradox by elucidating it can also be beautiful, as we see in the scarlet ibis. “He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red.” This is disconcerting because we realize Doodle is dead; however, it is also beautiful because the word brilliant is positive and describes illustrious items. Hurst creates a paradox by comparing a dead boy’s blood to something as brilliant as a gem; hence, the narrator uses a coping mechanism to deal with grief. “Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its beauty.” The author uses another paradox by observing Doodle’s lifeless body as a painting; hence, he will not recognize the horror his unrelenting pride caused. The theme of pride in “The Scarlet Ibis” develops by the use of
The usage of foreshadowing develops the theme of pride and establishes a reminiscent tone. As the main character and narrator of The Scarlet Ibis, the Narrator reflects on his childhood, he chooses to focus on a part of his life that he shared with his younger brother, William Armstrong, whom he called Doodle. Doodle's brother feels ashamed of his “invalid brother” and feels the need to push Doodle into normality, which leads him to his ultimate regret. Hurst uses words and phrases such as “dead autumn…rotting brown magnolia…graveyard flowers,” as a peripatetic sense of enclosure in the perpetual darkness, and gloominess that surrounds the Narrator. The sentence, “...speaking softly the names of our dead” initially adds eeriness; moreover, when used in the end it adds a final melancholy statement of isolation which Doodle felt prior to death. The imagery throughout the story helps to facilitate an eerie swampland surrounded by death and depressing memories this melancholy setting foreshadowing death. Hurst's foreshadowing correlates to the events that played out over the course of Doodle's life. The foreshadowing of abandonment, death and scarlet ibis all translate to the fate that Doodle encounters, due to the pride and neglect his brother emits. Moreover, the use of symbolism in the story also helps develops the theme of pride. The symbolism of the scarlet ibis is mysterious, but it signifies Doodle. “He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.” The symbolism uses imagery to visually depict and compare the frailness of Doodle with the ibis; thus, examining their legs which symbolize their health predicament. “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying …show more content…
Blood for many when it spills means somebody is hurt, blood is scary, even horrifying; consequently, the author creates a paradox by elucidating it can also be beautiful, as we see in the scarlet ibis. “He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red.” This is disconcerting because we realize Doodle is dead; however, it is also beautiful because the word brilliant is positive and describes illustrious items. Hurst creates a paradox by comparing a dead boy’s blood to something as brilliant as a gem; hence, the narrator uses a coping mechanism to deal with grief. “Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its beauty.” The author uses another paradox by observing Doodle’s lifeless body as a painting; hence, he will not recognize the horror his unrelenting pride caused. The theme of pride in “The Scarlet Ibis” develops by the use of