Symbolism
Symbolism can be defined “as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense” (C. Bavota). James Hurst gives us many examples of symbolism in his short story “The Scarlet Ibis.” James Hurst was born in 1922 and was the youngest of three children. He attended North Carolina State College and served in The United States Army during World War II. He had originally studied to become a chemical engineer, but he realized he had a passion for music and became a student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Wanting to become an Opera singer he traveled to Rome to further he studies. He soon realized he no talent for singing and settled for being a banker by night and a writer by day (James Richard Hurst). “The Scarlet Ibis”, the short story Hurst is most famously known for, contains several important symbols including, Doodle’s go-cart, Old Woman Swamp, and the scarlet ibis.
“The Scarlet Ibis” is a story of two
Doodle’s go-cart represents the burden that is placed on his older brother, Brother. “If I so much as picked up my cap, he’d start crying to go with me and Mama would call from wherever she was, “Take Doodle with you” (Hurst). Brother had wanted a little brother that he could go race with, box with, and climb trees with. Instead, Brother got someone that he could not do any of these things with. He had to pull him around on his go-cart day after day. Brother tried to discourage Doodle from coming with him by running with the go-cart and sometimes tipping it over on him. Doodle was such a burden on Brother that he was embarrassed to have a brother of that age that could not walk. It would be this pride or embarrassment that would be such a burden to Brother, that it would ultimately kill Doodle. This is a great example of symbolism that Hurst gives us, but it is just one of
Why do authors use symbolism in their literature? Many authors use symbolism in their literature to create or to add deeper meaning in the context of the whole story. They often use objects, people, actions and words to symbolize a deeper understanding of their story and to develop their themes. They also use symbols to give clue/hints for the story in which they also develop their main characters. In the story, “It Had to be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich, the author uses symbolism to develop his story and to send a message with a deeper understanding of the story to his readers.
The narrator’s pride had a negative effect on Doodle. The narrator said, ”Shut up, I’m not going to hurt you,”(Hurst 3). Here the narrator is telling his little brother to shut up, but that is cruel and an ineffective way to deliver the message. Next, “‘I won’t touch it,’ Doodle said, ‘Then I will leave you here” the older brother replied (Hurst 2). The situation is that when Doodle was little, the family did not think Doodle would survive, so Doodle’s family made the decision to
When Doodle was born, the narrator "...wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn..."(595). Upon discovering Doodle was not only crippled but also not "'all there'", the narrator selfishly decides to kill his little brother by suffocation. His plan was halted when he watched his brother grinned right at him. Though the narrator didn't kill Doodle, the narrator treated his little brother with cruelty to advance his own desires. Two instances are the reason Doodle walked and Doodle's training in his brother's program. Firstly, the reason that the narrator is determined to teach Doodle to walk was not solely out of kindness. "When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him"(597). The narrator is embarrassed that he has a brother that's physically unable to meet the narrator's expectations as what his brother should be. Yet, the narrator successfully taught Doodle how to walk, but in doing so, the narrator gained a false sense of infallibility that's equal only to his pride. The narrator thus created "...a terrific development program for him, unknown to mama and daddy, of course” (599). Several obstacles impeded the progress of the program, resulting in the brothers to double their efforts. The narrator made Doodle"...swim until he turned blue and row until he couldn't lift an oar. Wherever we went, I purposely walked fast, and although he kept up, his face turned red and his eyes became glazed. Once he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry"(601). Blinded by his desire to satisfy his pride, he became ignorant of the fact that as a sick child Doodle is unable to overexert himself, but the
... all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (337). The narrator says “(…) I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (337). He looks back and realizes that he was embarrassed of Doodle, that his selfishness drove him to teach Doodle to walk. He acted without thinking of his actions and consequences. Doodle’s brother was embarrassed and even planned to kill Doodle when he was younger because of the humiliation. Consequently, his selfishness would not let him see the possibility of his brother’s future.
“Symbolism.” Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York: Philosophical Library, 1943. 564-9.
The narrator was not satisfied with his brother’s huge milestone, so he made him push even harder. The concept that the narrator helping his brother because he wanted the self-gratification demonstrates that he valued his own pride over his brother’s health. This character vs. self conflict about his pride dramatically affects the story and it’s theme, for it is the main reason why the narrator continually pushed Doodle into boundaries that could possibly cause more harm than good. Moreover, an additional significant factor of the theme is the symbolism of the scarlet ibis representing Doodle. One day when the two brother’s were walking, they noticed a bird, later identified as a scarlet ibis, who had just fallen to the ground; the bird and Doodle have similar tributes. Likewise, Doodle and the scarlet ibis are in the world that they cannot survive in, they are frail, as well as neither of them fits in. The symbolism between the two grows even greater the next day; there is a rainstorm that the brothers get
Doodles Brother was very strict. He kept making doodle walk when he was born not to. But somehow he managed to teach him. “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed to have a brother who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him”. (204) Doodle’s brother did not feel sorry for Doodle because he cannot walk. Doodle’s brother did it for his reputation because like he said, it was embarrassing.
We first see Doodle's conflicting emotions when Brother is first teaching him to walk. Doodle thinks, "[He] just can't do it. [He wants to go] make honeysuckle wreaths." (Hurst 112) When you first try honeysuckle, you are reluctant at the thought of sucking on a flower, yet you want to find out how sweet it is. In the same way, Doodle doesn't want to learn how to walk, yet he wonders how much better life would be if he knew how to walk. Therefore, the honeysuckle symbolizes Doodle's conflicting emotions of reluctance at the idea of walking, yet he wants to learn when he thinks of how much better life would be if he could walk. Brother and Doodle "went to the pine beside the stream of Old Woman Swamp, and [Brother] put [Doodle] on his feet at least a hundred times each afternoon." (Hurst 112) This shows that no matter how many times Doodle fails, Brother will always pick him up. In addition, it seems that even when Doodle feels bad, Brother helps him get back up and move on. Determination is not something that comes t...
Neither did the burden from his brother nor the harsh defeats in training Doodle took away the narrator’s born-within pride. Throughout the entire story, the narrator’s actions toward his brother were either cruel or loving, such contradicting emotions did make him suffer in the end. Whereas the narrator regrets his actions of leaving Doodle behind, which resulted in Doodle’s death and he now have to bear the pain and shame for losing his brother his entire
Do you have many things in common with someone? Maybe you even know twins. Well, Doodle and the ibis in James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis have many similarities. We learn early in the story that Doodle was expected to die at a young age. When he was born he had many complications. His brother was determined to help him and eventually he had surprised his family and the people who had doubted him. The ibis was very alike Doodle in the way that they had both done things that amazed people, especially Doodle’s family. The ibis was looked as small and frail. Come to find later in the story, the ibis was very strong at heart just as Doodle was.
The wagon is used to carry Doodle around when he was unable to walk. “It was about this time that Daddy built him a go-cart and I had to pull him around. At first I just paraded him up and down the piazza,8 but then he started crying to be taken out into the yard, and it ended up by my having to lug him wherever I went” (Hurst 2). The quote is used to help add symbolism to the wagon and have it represent responsibility, burden, and dependency. In the story the wagon is used to push Doodle by Brother, similar to Brother pushing Doodle to his limits of overcoming his handicap. “Within a few months Doodle had learned to walk well and his go-cart was put up in the barn loft (it's still there) beside his little mahogany coffin” (Hurst 5). When the wagon was left in the barn loft that was related to when Brother crossed the line and didn't give Doodle the dependency he needed. The wagon/go-cart shows responsibility, burden, dependency, and Brother pushing doodle too
“-, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” This quote shows that the author began to appreciate his brother too late. Throughout the story, it's noticeable that the author overlooks Doodle’s disability, which he admits he was ashamed of and it is this shame that leads to him pushing his brother too far. For, on the day of Doodle’s death he had done many strenuous things and even told his brother, he was feeling tired. The author, ignoring his brother’s pleas and then purposely leaving him behind, is what lead to his death. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle is symbolized by the bird in many ways, such as them both having a disability, dying alone, and their deaths being caused by overexertion.
Blood is thicker than water, but sometimes pride is thicker than both. Such is the case with James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis." This is a dramatic short story about two brothers, in which the older brother manipulates and is later responsible for the death of his younger brother, Doodle. These actions proved that he did not love Doodle.
Doodle was like a shooting star in the night sky. He was rare and special. Doodle was a unique person that was different and didn’t fit in. Doodle was born sick and no one thought he would live, but he did end up living and his brother spent much of his time helping Doodle become stronger and learn to walk. Over time in the story Doodle got stronger, but in the end he eventually died. In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses creative symbols such as the color red, the scarlet ibis bird, and the seasons to represent the life of Doodle.
...verything” (Hurst 1). The brother only cared about himself and having fun, and did not think about the affect his actions had on Doodle. The brother decides to “teach him [Doodle] to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight” (Hurst 3). Readers can begin to infer that the brother’s careless actions will later lead to serious injury or the death of Doodle.