The Scarlet Ibis Literary Analysis

Have you ever been pushed to accomplish a goal that you know is unreachable? Believe it or not, there are some goals that cannot be met. Physical and mental disabilities make it impossible for millions of children to keep up with their so called “normal” peers. For example, a child with Down syndrome cannot learn the same material as a child not affected by this genetic condition. Not all people develop the same therefore; we should not push others to do something that is obviously beyond their reach. In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, a mentally challenged boy named Doodle is pushed to keep up physically with his peers. This young disadvantaged boy was pushed by his brother to the point of death because of his brothers need

This statement is supported by the quotation “The doctor said that he must not get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired, a long list of do’s and do not’s all of which I ignored once we got outside the house” - lines (75-78). This quote shows that brother was warned to treat Doodle gently and ignored that warning. Brother should have known that climbing trees and fighting were not “gentle” activities and therefore should have stayed away from them. If brother was warned that Doodle was gentle and fragile what did he expect would happen if he treated Doodle so rough? Another quotation that supports the statement that Doodle is unfit to be pushed so hard is, “When Doodle was five years old I was embarrassed at having a brother that could not walk”- lines (119-120). This quote shows that Doodle is far behind the developmental curve of other children. In normal circumstances a baby can walk at about one year of age, the fact that it took five years for Doodle to learn to walk shows that Doodle is far behind the other kids in terms of his physical development. Brother should have realized that Doodle was developing far slower than the other kids and was not nearly as