The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

1677 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thesis about the scarlet ibis by james hurst

Have your parents ever told you that you needed to improve at something? It could be a sport, activities, or even how well you do in school. This is a vile thing for parents to do to their children. Sometimes parents just need to back up a few steps and let you be yourself. The same can happen with an older sibling! That is the case in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. The narrator of this story has a younger brother called Doodle, who has some health issues. Big brother pushes little brother to be better than he is. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle strives for the goals that his brother sets for him for many reasons, which reflects the conflict in the story.

To begin, in The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle strives for these goals because he wants to make his brother proud. Every little sibling wants to feel accepted by their older brothers or sisters, as well as by their parents. When something is expected from you, it is human nature to want to fulfill those expectations. Doodle’s brother says some things that make him want to be a sufficient brother. For example, he writes, “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” (Page 389). This shows how the narrator’s attitude about helping Doodle creates internal conflict between his desire for pride and his knowledge that it is wrong.

Comparatively, in The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle strives for these ambitions because he wants to fit in. He knows that he is antithetic, and like everyone else in the world, Doodle just wants to feel like he corresponds with the world. Most children start to walk when they are around a year old, but Doodle only...

... middle of paper ...

...is going to try to improve the disabled one that he has. He was willing to teach him to walk, willing to take him to the swamp every day and collect flowers and also push him around in his little cart for the longest time. Therefore, the goals set for Doodle reflect the conflict that the narrator was having.

In conclusion, in the text of “The Scarlet Ibis” there are multiple reasons why Doodle strives to reach the competitive goals and what ways they reflect the narrators feelings. First, Doodle has a sense to be like his elder brother and pushes himself in that direction. Another goal that he strives to reach is to be self-sufficient, he is tired of being pushed around everywhere and not being able to be left alone. And you can see the reflection of these goals in the narrator because he is the main one to push and help Doodle complete these goals.

Show More
Related

  • Scarlet Ibis And Simon Birch Comparison

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Ibis is a story about two brothers the older brother who is a “ normal” boy and his younger brother Doodle who was born with complication and wasn't expected to live. Doodle wasn't able to walk or do anything physical. His older brother was embarrassed by this and set out to teach him how to be like every other kid his age. While in the movie Simon Birch two young boys Joe had a bestfriend named Simon who was born small. Everything about Simon was tiny and he experienced physical issues because of this. Through

    Read More

  • The Scarlett Ibis by James Hurst and A Separate Peace by John Knowles

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some people in society are judgmental toward people who belong to a minority. This unwanted prejudice and unfair treatment is, for many affected people, impossible to fully escape. In The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst and A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene and Doodle are able to detach themselves from society’s cruel interpretation of unique individuals. Doodle, crippled from birth, retreats to Old Woman Swamp. The secluded swamp is the only place he and his brother can forget the rest of society and view each other as equals, but ends up leading to Doodle’s death. Gene withdraws himself from the death and destruction that accompanies the ongoing war by living in the peaceful Devon School. Gene later experiences disastrous events because he hides from the prejudices. Doodle and Gene escape the constant war of society and inequality in Old Woman Swamp and the Devon School, respectively, but these havens ultimately lead to their downfall.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Ibis Pride Quotes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    The narrator reflects,”I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two things life and death,”(Hurst 3).This quote showed that at first the narrator thought pride was good but later he became self centered and ashamed of his disabled brother and pushed him far beyond his limit.The short story called The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst is a drama where the narrator, or older brother, wishes his younger brother wasn’t disabled. Because he is so fueled by pride, the older brother ends up pushing his brother beyond his capabilities to his death. In this story, we will learn how the narrator’s pride led to the tragic death of Doodle.

    Read More

  • Doodle's Brother In 'The Scarlet Ibis'

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The scarlet Ibis” A kid and his little brother,Doodle could walk,but not run but for his brother who was perfectly fine, had pushed him to walk,run,swim,and to do things like an ordinary child. Because his little brother who couldn’t do any of those things, he tried to help his brother because he didn’t like having a brother who couldn’t walk,so he forced his brother to try and to do things that he has never,done or never did.Doodle was not excited that he couldn’t walk because he wasn’t trying hard enough and died all because of his brother.

    Read More

  • Pride In 'The Scarlet Ibis' By James Hurst

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Why the Brother in The Scarlet Ibis is Selfish

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, Brother shows his self-interest in how he treats his younger brother. He treats his younger brother, Doodle, as something to ‘fix’ and he cannot accept his brother as he is. When Doodle finally learns to walk, Brother’s selfish need for a more ‘ideal’ little brother is not satisfied for long. Soon he demands a little brother who can run, jump, climb, swim, swing on vines, and row a boat. When he gives Doodle lessons for these activities, he does not do so for concern about Doodle wanting to be able to do them, but because he wants Doodle to be able to be a ‘normal’ brother.

    Read More

  • Doodle In The Scarlet Ibis

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    (pg. 6. Showing the consistent motif throughout the story was the reason behind Brother’s actions – his pride and his need for his younger brother to fit society’s expectations. In The Scarlet Ibis, Brothers thoughts often revolve around one major objective: to make Doodle normal. As Brother narrates the story he recalls himself repeatedly pushing Doodle away from his comfort zone because Brother had wanted to make sure that Doodle would be seen as normal. When Brother convinced Doodle that learning how to walk was important, Doodle and he would frequently go to practice.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante Alighieri once said, "Avarice, envy, pride, three fatal sparks, have set the hearts of all on Fire." In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, it shows how pride can be beneficial in some ways, and harmful in other ways. The story starts out as the narrator of the story has a recollection of his past when his younger brother Doodle was still alive. The narrator tells how everyone believed Doodle is crippled mentally and physically. However, Doodle is a normal human being mentally, but has some difficulties physically. The narrator wants Doodle to become a "normal" boy, so he teaches him to practically all the activities any boy Doodle's age would do. One day, Doodle and the narrator were playing in the fields. A large storm came and both had to run home before it became too hard to handle. Doodle started running after his brother, but couldn't withstand it, and eventually, his stamina died down and had to rest. The narrator felt ticked off by Doodle and deserted him. A few minutes later, the narrator discovered Doodle under a tree, blood trickling from his mouth, dead. In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, it shows how pride can be beneficial in some ways, and harmful in other ways.

    Read More

  • James Hurst's The Scarlet Ibis

    497 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pride And Pride In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to represent that the narrator's pride caused him to act with ill manners towards Doddle, Hurst creates the internal conflict which portrays the narrator’s struggle to choose what is more important, his pride or his brother. As the narrator confessed his past to the reader, he described a memory about how Doodle walked and he announced to the family that the narrator was the one who taught him. The narrator thus responds with: “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (Hurst 419). It is important to note how the author compares the narrator to a “slave” of pride, the word slave connotes that the narrator is imprisoned by pride and creates the appearance that the force is inescapable. Throughout the story pride dictates the narrator, if

    Read More

  • Thesis For The Scarlet Ibis

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Support) He states, “ 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.” (166)(Textual support- 2). This shows that brother didn’t want to teach Doodle how to walk to help him, but he wanted Doodle to walk so Doodle wouldn’t embarrass him. Brother is selfish and doesn’t care about Doodle, he cares more about himself and this is a character trait for Brother that runs throughout the entire story. (Commentary)

    Read More

  • How Does Brother Is Responsible For His Death

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” (Hurst 50). This supports the claim that this is Brother’s fault, because if he were never ashamed of Doodle in the first place, he wouldn’t be given all of the extra stress running has brought his body. The narrator was very strict, and hard on Doodle because he wanted a brother that was “all there.” Brother would have been much nicer, and understanding if his decision to teach Doodle to do things like the other children was based on

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Character Analysis

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Ibis Analysis

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare vs Henrik Ibsen

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    and do things themselves. One of the women gets her own job and the other leaves her daughter for adoption. Thus showing they are making their own decisions in life. This is unheard of in the 1800's and shows Ibsen trying to have a society in which women do have an identity in society and can be heard. Throughout the play, a women is shown doing her own thinking and not listening to what men have to say even though that is not how it used to be. Ibsen creates this new society in which anyone, no matter the gender, should be able to make their own decisions about life and how to live it.

    Read More

More about The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

Open Document