Themes In The Scarlet Ibis

Ego Cannot Accept Defeat

“But a man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed, but not defeated” (Ernest Hemingway). The Scarlet Ibis is about a boy who wants to teach his disabled brother, Doodle, to do normal things, but the boy does not know when enough is enough. Brother pushed Doodle so hard, it eventually led to his death. Brother and Doodle did not accept defeat, but only Doodle was destroyed. In the story, The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, the theme ego cannot accept defeat is revealed through symbolism and rising action. First of all, the theme ego cannot accept defeat is demonstrated through symbolism. Brother had just worked Doodle so hard it had caused him to collapse, Brother started running faster and faster and left Doodle behind. The narrator described, “I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us” (Hurst 6). Brother left Doodle in the rain when Doodle was very vulnerable, Brother completely abandoned Doodle. The storm represents how all of Brothers efforts have failed and now the weight of his failure is coming down on him. The wall of rain is a symbol for Brothers ego because it created a division between him and Doodle. Brother leaving Doodle behind is a symbol for how Brother stopped caring about Doodle and only cares about his pride .

This theme is shown through countless literary devices. One of those literary devices is symbolism, which is apparent with both the go-cart and the final storm. Another literary device is rising action. Rising action shows the theme when Brother pushed Doodle to hard along with when he did not acknowledge his own failure. Evidently, Ernest Hemingway was right, humans are unable to accept defeat, and sometimes infallibility is all that is needed to accomplish a goal, but sometimes it has dire