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Thesis about the scarlet ibis by james hurst
Literary devices in the scarlet ibis
Metaphorical meaning of the scarlet ibis
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“Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy could ever have, he wasn’t a crazy crazy…. but was a nice crazy, like someone you meet in your dreams”(Hurst 416).These brothers loved each other. They were closer than most brothers are. Doodle might have been crippled but he tried his hardest to impress his brother. They were close because Doodle was taught everything from his older brother. This made a close friendship. The mood of the Scarlet Ibis is very somber and that is shown by the symbols that were used by the author. In the Short Story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, there were many types of figurative language including hyperbole and personification. One of the pieces of figurative language is hyperbole. “Aunt Nicey said that, after so much
talk, if we produced anything less tremendous than the resurrection, she was going to be disappointed. (419)” This is an example of figurative language because it is a hyperbole. A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken seriously. The last piece of figurative language is personification.“Hope no longer hid in the dark palmetto thicket, but perched like a cardinal in the lacy tooth brush tree, brilliantly visible.” (419)This is an example of figurative language because it is a personification. A personification is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. The tone of the Scarlet Ibis is very somber and that is shown by the symbols that were used by the author. One symbol that is shown by the author was the scarlet ibis. It is introduced when the dad in the story says “It’s a scarlet ibis,,” He said, pointing to a picture. “It lives in the tropics- south america to florida.” (Hurst 424). The reason the scarlet ibis gives the story a somber tune is because it struggled to fly then died. Just how Doodle tried to be better but died in the end. Another example of a symbol is the bleeding tree in the beginning of the story. It is shown when the narrator says “That the ibis lit in the bleeding tree” (Hurst 416). The reason this is a symbol is because it shows how the tree is dying just like Doodle.
The title of the short story, “Four Directions” is symbolic for Waverly’s inner misconceptions. As she goes about her life, she is pulled in different ways by her past and her present. She is torn between her Chinese heritage and her American life. She never thought that instead of being pulled in four directions, she could take all of her differences and combine them. In the end she realizes this with the help of her mother. “The three of us, leaving our differences behind...moving West to reach East” (184), thought Waverly. Her whole life she misconceived her mother’s intentions. Lindo never wanted Waverly to solely focus on her Chinese heritage, but rather combine it with her new American ways. The idea of being pulled in four
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.
Figurative language is when you use words or a phrase that do not have a regular, everyday literal meaning and is used by almost all authors in their writings. Authors use figurative language to make their works more interesting and more dramatic. Examples of figurative language include metaphors, similes, personification and hyperbole. Helena Maria Viramontes uses figurative language all throughout her novel Under the Feet of Jesus. In the opening paragraphs of the novel Viramontes uses imagery to set the scene for her readers, she really makes us feel as if we are riding along in the station wagon with Estrella and her 6 other family members. In this scene she describes to her readers reflects on the hardships that this family, and people
Doodle’s brother is presented as a cruel person in “The Scarlet Ibis”. For example, when Doodle is born weak and on the verge of death, Doodle’s brother who wants a normal younger brother to play with “began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurst 555). This quote shows that Doodle’s brother is willing to kill his newborn brother because he isn’t strong
There a lot of literary devices used in the excerpt from All the Pretty Horses that convey the true meaning in the scene. The hallway the man walks in has portraits of his ancestors whom he vaguely knows. This is connected to the present day when the man who he has gone to see now is also dead. The paragraph also uses figurative language like “yellowed moustache” and eyelids that are “paper thin” to tell us that the man he went to see is dead. The next sentence following that says “That was not sleeping. That was not sleeping.” putting emphasis on how the man in front of him isn’t sleeping and is truly dead. It also references the way that death is associated with sleep and called the long sleep. The excerpt also mentioned that the man is
In this poem called “Creatures” by the author Billy Collins there are three examples of figurative language helps convey the meaning that the author Billy Collins is conveying. The three examples of figurative language that the author Billy Collins uses are a metaphor, enjambment, and imagery. These three examples of figurative language help illustrate Billy Collins” theme in this poem called “Creatures” that he is writing because these three examples of figurative language help emphasize the theme of the poem. These three examples help emphasize this poem called “Creatures” meaning because it makes the theme of this poem have a deeper meaning. The theme of the author Billy Collins poem called “Creatures” is that the reader has to imagine
Tatiana de Rosnay used different literary tools to assist her writing in order to deepen the story, including figurative language, dramatic irony, and foreshadowing. The use of figurative language helps to clarify a description in order to place an image in the mind of the reader. Similes are the main type of figurative language used throughout Sarah’s Key, allowing the reader to see what is happening. Many images conjured up make comparisons as a child would make them, as much of the story concerns the innocence of a child, such as “[t]he oversized radiators were black with dirt, as scaly as a reptile” (Rosnay 10) and “[t]he bathtub has claws” (Rosnay 11). Other descriptions compare Sarah, and Zoe, to a puppy, a symbol of innocence, as children are known to be
In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, we know that the theme is, one day everything will end, so instead of wanting and wishing for more, appreciate what you have now. This is true because the quote, “I wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with,” displaying that Brother wanted a younger sibling, but soon realized that his sibling William Armstrong (Doodle) would not be able to play like other children. However, he had hope. “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow. However, one afternoon as I watched him, my head poked between iron posts of the bed, he looked straight at me and grinned, I skipped through the rooms, echoing through the halls, shouting, ‘Mama, he smiled. He’s all there! He’s all there!’ and he was,” reveals that the narrator wished that Doodle wouldn’t be crazy, and that he hoped, deep down, Doodle would get better and be able to play with him. Once Doodle
In James Hurst's short story “The Scarlet Ibis” the author describes the life of Doodle and the relationship he shares with his brother. During the story he has some happy moments with his brother, but his brother is also very selfish. Doodle pushes himself to his limits to try to please his brother. Doodle’s brother lets his pride get the best of him and forgets about the wellbeing and feelings of Doodle. (Summary) Throughout the entire story the central message is, Pride can lead people to do terrible as well as wonderful things.(thesis)
An example of Hyperbole in Fablehaven is when Seth says, “Why didn’t you tell us Grandpa Sorenson lived in India?” (1). Hyperbole is when a character exaggerates something. This is hyperbole because Seth is exaggerating how far away Grandpa lives He doesn’t really live in India, he just lives far away. Flashback is when the character(s) remember something from their past with vivid detail.
Humans are never perfect, and their emotions often conflict with their logic. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator receives a physically disabled brother, Doodle, thus trains Doodle physically so that he could live a normal life. Throughout the story, the narrator’s actions and thoughts reveals his true personalities to the audience as he slowly narrates the story of himself and his scarlet ibis, Doodle, whose existence he dreaded. In the story written by James Hurst, pride, love, and cruelty, these conflicting character traits all exists in Doodle’s brother. And the most severe of all, pride.
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.
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the two characters, Doodle and the narrator. Who is never named, are two brothers. Doodle was just born and is not like a normal kid. Everyone thought he was not going to live long. When he was 3 months they finally decided to name him William Armstrong, but after while they deiced that the name they picked did not fit the way he looked so they renamed him Doodle. The older brother love and cared about Doodle. He took good care of him and pushed him to do things so he could be normal.
The Scarlet Ibis bird symbolizes Doodle; this symbolism can be seen by the authors description of both Doodle’s and the Scarlet Ibis’s appearance after death. After the Scarlet Ibis fell from the bleeding tree his “long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out,” (Hurst 4) and he died. After Doodle’s death his brother finds “him huddled beneath a nightshade bush beside the road,” (Hurst 4) where he lay dead. The way Doodle fell made “his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim,” (Hurst 4). Much like the long legs of the Scarlet Ibis, “his little legs bent sharply at the knees,” making them seem “so fragile, so thin,” (Hurst 4). This description of Doodle allows the reader to imagine him like the Scarlet Ibis, with his seemingly long neck and thin, fragile legs. Both Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis have this appearance after they fall to their death. Hurst utilizes very similar descriptive words when describing both the Scarlet Ibis and Doodle’s appearance after death, so that readers can better see the symbolism of the two.
Guetti, James. "Absalom, Absalom!: The Extended Simile."The Limits of Metaphor: A Study of Melville, Conrad, and Faulkner. Ithaca: Cornell, 1967. 69-108.