The Horseman In The Sky Character Analysis

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Throughout all of the short stories, the characters within the stories all have an internal conflict of fear. These characters, had to endure the struggles of their own mental restraints. One of these "handicaps" was their own fear, towards someone or something. In addition, in certain periods throughout the stories, a character would be stunned by their own mental blocks, and would persevere passed their hardships, or would give up. From the stories of "The Horseman in the Sky", to the “The Scarlet Ibis", then on to the “51st Dragon", characters within the story had to endure their own mental blocks. Within the stories, the internal obstacle of fear is portrayed through the characters of Doodle and his brother, Carter Druse, and Gawaine. …show more content…

Their inner fears consisted of either being looked at in a negative way (because his brother has a mental disability), to fearing that his unsatisfied brother would never be pleased with his progress. For example, after Doodle was finally able to display his ability to walk, Doodle’s brother, the narrator, stated that, "[he] was embarrassed [in having] a brother...who couldn't walk"(Hurst). The narrator became too self-absorbed in what other people would think of him. This was because he was fearful of people thinking less of him because his brother was different than everyone else. This is crucial, as it displays that having the fear of being looked at differently, is a key internal obstacle that many people endure. Equally as important, the narrator was, "ashamed of having a crippled brother "(Hurst). Correlating with the importance of being affected by what others say and think of them, the character isn't able to look past his own fears, as he only cares about what people think of him. Also, after Doodle's brother had continuously pushed Doodle to his limit, "he stepped from [being] stiff [to collapsing into] the mud" (Hurst). Because the narrator didn't satisfy Doodle with the sense of affection, he simply gave up. Doodle feared that his brother wouldn't be satisfied, and wasn't able to persevere. Once again, the thought of what others is quite …show more content…

He was repeatedly pushed to gain self-confidence and work past his fears. Once, "his instructors… discovered that he lacked spirit," he was moved to battle against dragons (Broun). When the instructors did this, they had the intention to help him gain self-confidence by having him slay his fears. However, "the boy was too frightened to speak"(Broun). This exhibits how if one lacks the spirit to be self-confident, he or she will not be able to overcome their fear. When it was finally time to face what he dreaded, he lost confidence, as, "the Headmaster found him cowering in the bed"(Broun). Fear can overturn someone, and make him or her do things that they wouldn’t normally do. In this case, Gawaine was extremely frightened, as his body shut down and he decided to tremble in fear. This is important, as it displays how Gawaine had to endure his internal obstacle of fear. Gawaine was inadequate to push past his fears, as it ultimately killed

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