Who Is The Narrator In The Scarlet Ibis

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst describes the characterizations of the narrator as demanding and self-centered to indicate how people who value their pride over others tend to make regretful choices. The narrator has always wanted to have a brother who can play and interact with him like any other normal kid. However, his younger brother, Doodle, is born with a physical disability where he can’t move independently. In the beginning where the author and Doodle are at the barn loft near the baby coffin, the narrator states, “‘And before I’ll help you down from the loft, you’re going to touch it’… ‘Then I’ll leave you here by yourself,’ I threatened” (6). The narrator knows that Doodle is fragile and can’t do anything from his severe conditions yet still forces him to do …show more content…
As the story proceeds to the end where the narrator leaves Doodle alone and runs ahead, the narrator comes back and finds Doodle dead on the ground. He falls to the ground and “cried, shaking [Doodle] but there was no answer but the ropy rain. [He] began to weep… and screamed above the pounding storm and threw [his] body to the earth above [Doodle]” (20). Through this quote, the narrator sees how he has failed in teaching his brother which causes his pride to overtake his actions. He feels ashamed and furious at Doodle to see how all his plans went down the drain when Doodle couldn’t move on. Instead of being patient and not giving up, he leaves his crippled, weak brother who is afraid of being alone in the thunderstorm to die. Through the phrase “[he] began to weep… and screamed,” it shows how the narrator is regretting his actions because one only cry when he or she feels remorseful for doing something that results with a bad consequence . All in all, Hurst’s characterizations of the narrator displays how people might make poor choices if they doesn’t manage their pride