The hymn, “Shall We Gather at the River” and “The Scarlet Ibis” have similar themes. One of the themes is, one day everything will end, so instead of wanting and wishing for more, appreciate what you have now. The song and short stories have similar themes and morals of stories.
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
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was five, Brother was ashamed of having a younger brother that couldn’t walk. He took Doodle to Old Woman Swamp and taught him how to walk. Everyone was impressed, however, Brother knew that the only reason Doodle walked was because of his selfishness. One day, Brother took the lessons one step too far, he wanted to teach Doodle to run. On their way home it started to storm, Brother started walking faster and faster, then broke into a run. Doodle cried out, “Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” This reveals that Doodle wasn’t strong enough to run, but because Brother wanted more than he could have, he eventually lost his scarlet ibis, and didn’t appreciate him when he had him. The hymn, “Shall We Gather at the River”, also has the same theme of, one day everything will end, so instead of wanting and wishing for more, appreciate what you have now.
For example, one line, “Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver, with the melody of peace,” which is saying that one day we will die, and you can’t stop that. “Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and a crown,” also reveals that you should appreciate what we’ve had, and what was given to us. This song is telling you, in every line, that you can’t live forever, but appreciate what you have, while you
can.
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
Some people are selfish in such a way that affects only their own selves, but others’ selfishness can hurt those they care about. One of these such people is Brother in “The Scarlet Ibis”. In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother is selfish and only teaches Doodle to walk to benefit himself.
Taking the small details into consideration such as the mention of President Wilson and World War I battle sites, it can be concluded that The Scarlet Ibis was set in the early 20th century. The context of the situation, the early 20th century – with its lack of proper medical care and short lifespan of disabled individuals – also influenced Brother’s perception. As a result of the collective knowledge shared by people then and his physical condition, Doodle’s father had expected for him to die in a short period of time and made the decision to arrange a coffin for him. “They did not know that I did it for myself.”
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.
5. After reading the articles and watching “At the River I Stand,” I believe that the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike was both an economic issue and a racial issue. It was an economic issue because Memphis sanitation workers were paid incredibly low wages as they struggled to get ahead (Honey, p. 1). Black people have been economically oppressed ever since they were slaves. According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “genuine equality, which means economic equality” (Honey, p. 2).
In today’s civil society, we are taught to show compassion and tolerance towards one other, yet the media portrays society in a different perspective, as being intolerant. In the book The Other Side of the River, writer Alex Kotlowitz reflects on the story of a young black male whose lifeless body was found in the St. Joseph river of Michigan. In this story, Kotlowitz reflects on two communities that are opposite from the other in regards to ethnic background and financial well-being, yet both appear to share the same lack of tolerance towards the other. There is a paragraph were Kotlowitz writes,
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.
James Hurst is the author of the heart breaking short story entitled “The Scarlet Ibis”. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story about two brothers; one brother is healthy, while the other is physically handicapped. The short story is centered on the idea that the older, healthier brother’s selfishness and pride ultimately led to the death of his younger brother, Doodle. Numerous quotes throughout the story demonstrate Hurst’s use of symbolism and foreshadowing to portray and predict Doodle’s untimely and heartbreaking death.
In “The Scarlet Ibis,” written by James Hurst, Doodle, a boy born with health problems, experiences cruel actions from his older brother who wishes Doodle would have been born as normal as possible with no health conditions. As Doodle grows his older brother tries to teach him to be as normal as Doodle portrays to be capable to be, such as teaching him to walk, although this affects Doodle’s health severely, which eventually leads to his early death. The narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis” causes Doodle’s death by leaving Doodle in the rain, teaching him things that affects his health, and creating a sense of curiosity.
Looking at verse six, and two, it is easy to see when they are singing “So do we, so do we” that fear takes over as all the injured dying men think that their families will never know what happened to them. They will be lost and forgotten forever. (A Tisket A
The meaning of the first stanza is do the things you need to get done because tomorrow the opportunity may not exist. It states this by saying gather rosebuds while you can because that beautiful flower “tomorrow will be dying” (Herrick 385). The next stanza talks about the Sun’s life from dawn to dusk. By describing it’s race against time it is telling a person that there is not much sunlight so make the most of it To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time and Carpe Diem
I find this poem to be exceptional in its meaning, in fact the verse that comes to mind when thinking of this poem is Psalm 51:17 “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (Holy Bible, New Testament) I believe that the speaker has meaning behind his words he knows that a complete peace and joy come from the awareness of one’s sin, he also believes in the submission of himself to God and the humility of heart.
Everyone is destined to die one day. Some die earlier than others, and some die later than others. Some may die of diseases and some may die of old age. Yet, in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hrst, the main character Doodle was destined to have an early death. Doodle had a frail body and many heart problems. Doodle was not to supposed to live for a long time. And his destiny had come true. The skies had opened up and Brother had started to run faster and faster to get home and Doodle could not keep up. Brother had waited and walked back to see that his little Brother was curled up and lifeless. Many readers have blamed Brother for Doodle’s death, yet that is false. Brother, in fact did not do anything major to cause the Doodle’s demise.
The negative thoughts in our head continue to bring us down, and it might feel like we are at war with ourselves, that’s when we should look up to God and think positively that things will change for the better. “You got a voice that says…You won't get past this one” is personification giving the human quality of speaking to silent thoughts in your head. There are also several symbolisms throughout the song. “Into the light” the light can symbolize God and hope. On the contrary, “Out of the dark”, the dark can symbolize depression or the
The tone in the first stanza is of joyousness and excitement, as people make their way to heaven. Dickinson uses the words “gayer,” “hallelujah,” and “singing” to emphasize the uplifting feeling here. It could be argued that this is the point in the humans’ lives (or deaths, or afterlives, depending on how one looks at it) when they reach the pinnacle of happiness, for they have finally entered heaven. The humans, now dead, would then acquire wings, immortality, and an angelic status that rises far above that of humans. Much like Dickinson’s other poems, this one uses metaphors to represent similar things, such as “home,” which represents “heaven,” “snow,” which represents the “clouds” on which heaven resides, and “vassals,” which represents the “angels” who serve God.