Scarlet Ibis Compare Contrast Essay

Brother gets a little brother and they didn't think he would live long. But after a few months they named him William Armstrong. Then Brother names him Doodle, Doodle was surrounded by death ever since he was born. In “The Scarlet Ibis” Brother was a mean brother who didn't like his little brother at first, than when Doodle got an older, brother wanted to teach him to run, fight, and to swim because of his pride, and then Brother starts to feel regret because he pushed Doodle so hard.

The author of “The scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst, suggests through the actions of his characters and his use of language the theme that too much pride can lead people to do things that can have devastating results. James Hurst quoted, “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.” The narrator has a need to make Doodle better to give himself something to be proud of and receive recognition for his actions. The narrator is talking about an event that happened in the past when he tried to teach his brother, Doodle, to walk. He looks back on it with the insight of an adult who has struggled with the consequences of his prideful actions.

An important factor is that “The Scarlet Ibis” is told in the first person from the perspective of the brother of Doodle, a boy with a heart condition, after Doodle dies. And a change in character happens after Doodle’s death. The narrator’s change isn’t that directly shown but hangs over the rest of the story as commentary to what’s happening. The only way for someone with a

He has been characterized as cruel by making Doodle push himself to death. After a very difficult lesson, a storm arose and the two brothers were separated. “When the deafening peal of thunder had died, and at the moment before the rain arrived, I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind, cry out, ‘Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!’” (182). The narrator has developed into Doodle’s best friend, mentor, and protector. Doodle needed the protection from his brother when he fell behind. At the beginning of the story the narrator would have just left Doodle behind to die, but now that they have grown a relationship, he waited for Doodle to catch up. “‘Doodle!’ I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long, long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain” (183). The narrator has developed into affectionate, knowledgeable young adult. This incident is nearing the end of Doodle’s life, and he did not want to lose him. It is also evident that the narrator has become Doodle’s protector. Doodle later dies, the narrator released many sad

The “Scarlet Ibis” is a short story about a boy born with a medical condition, and his brother, who means well but is self absorbed. The story starts off about a grown man who recalls to the time when his little brother, Doodle is with him. It shows his guilt about Doodle’s death, his sorrow surrounding it, and it reflects on the good times they had together. In the “Scarlet Ibis” Brother is characterized as cruel, caring, and prideful.

The Scarlet Ibis is an intriguing story of a young boy with a medical illness and his truculent older brother. The story displays a diverse relationship between the two brothers, Doodle and Brother. As the older of the two, Brother treats Doodle as an insignificant being. Due to Brother’s embarrassment of Doodle, he sets out to make him normal. Doodle’s actions contradict the treatment given to him by Brother. Despite the ill-treatment he received, he still finds the positive aspects in Brother. Although Doodle was placed on one of the lowest levels of humanity by his own brother, he still portrays an attitude of unforgiving love.

I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him.” This first example shows how Brother set out to teach Doodle, but he was only thinking about his feelings and how other people would think of him and his family. Another example of the similarity is in the following passage, ”Doodle was both tired and frightened. He slipped on the mud and fell. I helped him up, and he smiled at me ashamedly. He had failed and we both knew it. He would never be like the other boys at school.” After Doodle said he was too weak and tired, Brother pushed him too hard to be like the other boys at school, saying he failed. Lastly, “The knowledge that our plans had come to nothing was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us. Soon I could hear his voice no more.” The last quote shows Brother’s true intentions, trying to get him to be like everyone else and when he failed, he felt a cruelty awaken inside him formed from pure

Doodle, a young disabled boy, is a burden to his Brother . Brother, is very ashamed and embarrassed of Doodle. The story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst shows how Doodle is like the Scarlet Ibis. Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis have many of the same conflicts and repeating actions in the story. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst develops the symbolism, which is shown through birds, death, and the color red shows how fragile Doodle really is during his lifetime.

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author, James Hurst, uses indirect characterization, mainly through the narrator’s internal thoughts and feelings, to convey the theme that disabilities are not flaws in an individual, and that they are mere differences that make each individual unique. Early in the story, the author explains that Doodle, the narrator’s brother, has a deadly heart condition which prevents him from participating in activities such as running, jumping, swimming, and even walking. When Doodle is not expected to live when he is born, the narrator says that he does not want an “invalid” brother, but instead, wants a brother who can run around, jump, and play with him. Even the rest of the family does not believe that he is going to survive, and they do not even name him until he lives for three months. Later in the story, the narrator thinks, “...but he learned to crawl

The dangers of cruelty in life ultimately overpower emotions and decisions of higher quality. Difficult decisions are made daily, and the compelling idea of satisfaction leads people to make choices for the sake of themselves. The emotions that potentially can happen because of those decisions are captivating, resulting in cruel outcomes. An author that portrays this idea through a character is James Hurst. In his work, “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst develops a relationship between two brothers using the idea that cruelty ultimately overpowers love. The brothers, Doodle and Brother, experience events that cause them to make valued memories, but also break close bonds. Through these experiences, Brother begins to accept his disabled brother, Doodle, for his limitations. Doodle has to be extremely cautious due to his disability, never letting an emotion or feeling become too strong. Some events lead Brother to show affection towards Doodle, but others prompt him to do just the opposite. Hurst uses Old Woman Swamp and the coffin as symbols in, “The Scarlet Ibis”, to assist in demonstrating the highs and lows of Brother and Doodle’s volatile relationship.

The narrator’s pride benefited doodle in the beginning. From a young age, Doodle was known to not be able to walk, or do anything a normal person would do. The narrator was determined to help. “Oh you can walk.” he said and took him by the arms and stood him up.” (3) Over time Doodle progressed. He then learned to run, swim, climb, and fight. When he failed, the narrator was there

Hurst uses the mood of the story to convey the character's’ feelings and tells the audience, indirectly, how to feel emotionally

The metaphors used in the short story reveal to the reader the insecurity the brother has within himself. The brother works hard with Doodle to try to get him to walk, and once they succeed he feels great confidence in himself. Doodle struggles to move great distances, so getting him to walk further develops the brother pride. After he succeeds in getting Doodle to walk, he learns something new about his relationship with Doodle as well as learning “that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (5). The pride Brother has for himself causes him to push Doodle to work harder to achieve the goal of walking. He tells himself he is doing this for Doodle, that he wants Doodle to feel good about himself. However, the brother wants to feel good about himself by developing a non-disabled brother. While Doodle does start to walk, the reader sees how the brother disregards Doodles’ feelings in the process. Like seeds, which are the start of any vegetable, plant or flower, pride is the start of a life, or a vine, that can lead to one of two outcomes, one that leads to a more self confident life, and another that causes pain and suffering in others. Through the use of metaphors the author reveals the narrator’s own insecurity and how it causes him to make decisions for the wrong reasons.

Hurst utilizes foreshadowing to demonstrate how the brother’s selfishness and pride leads to the death of Doodle. Not long after Doodle was born, the mother explains to the brother that Doodle might be mentally handicapped as well as physically handicapped. The brother could not accept the fact that his brother is different, so he “began to make plans to kill him [Doodle] by smothering him in his sleep” (Hurst 1). From the very beginning, Doodle’s brother is unable to except the fact that his brother is not normal and never will be. His selfishness and pride leads him to want to kill

“The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people” (Chadwick Boseman). In Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator chooses to use his power in a way that hurts his invalid brother, Doodle. While living in a time period where different is improper, the narrator cannot mentally handle the fact that Doodle is different from others. Being the older sibling, the narrator takes on the responsibility to help Doodle become ordinary. He teaches Doodle to walk, run, climb, and swim, because he is ashamed of having a brother with disabilities. As a result, the narrator serves as a villain by forcing his invalid brother, Doodle, past his limitations, which ultimately causes the