Symbolism In The Scarlet Ibis

In the scene where the narrator has finally disclosed to his parents that Doodle is now able to walk, he “ began to cry” and the father asks him why he was crying. He keeps to himself that he “ did it for himself” and he “was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (559). Hurst also utilizes flashback in order for the narrator to recall his past actions which he now regrets doing. In the story, the narrator constantly performed cruel actions on his brother which he does not realize himself until that scene where notices that the only reason Doodle was actually able to walk was because he was ashamed of his incompetence. This results in him having flashback later on and led to him realilzing this

In the “Scarlet Ibis” Hurst uses symbolism to cast an eerie feeling to the reader. In the text one of the main characters is born with a heart disease and the doctors tell the parents he probably will not live long. The parents do not have hope in the baby surviving so “ Daddy had Mr. Heath, the carpenter, build a little mahogany coffin for him” (Hurst 158). It is an example of symbolism because it symbolizes the theory of Doodle dying later in the story. Therefore, it creates and eerie feeling by letting the reader know that he is not likely to live and his dad does not believe he will live either. Another example of symbolism later in the story is when a beautiful bird fell out of a tree near the house and landed

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 Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a short story about how one special child named Doodle who when her was born the doctor said he would not live; but he did live even though he couldn’t walk. His brother got tired of him not being able to walk so he pushed and pushed him so he wouldn’t be teased about having a cripple brother. This short story expresses the idea that a rare red bird called the Scarlet Ibis symbolises the young brother Doodle. He was said to be cripple at birth and couldn’t walk but as he tried and tried he was able to prove them wrong and walk. Doodle tried his hardest to achieve his goal to walk, climb trees, and swim. Throughout the story Doodle’s brother/the narrator is a little mean to Doodle, but does it out of affection he believed that Doodle could do so much more and that he was destined for great thing in the future.

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, Symbolism plays an important part in this story. There are so many symbols comparing Doodle to the examples in the story. The Scarlet Ibis symbols those who are lost and out of place. Doodle is a crazy little brother that has a weak heart condition. All of his family believed he was going to not make it except for Aunt Nicey.

He leaves Doodle in the rain to taunt him. He runs back when he sees that Doodle is no longer in sight, finding his dead body. Crouching over him, Brother tells the reader, “I began to weep… ‘Doodle!’ I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever” (12). The storm is “pounding”, meaning it is powerful and hurtful. Brother shields Doodle from this, attempting to shield him from the death that has already occurred. Brother finally wants to protect his brother from harm. He regrets the hateful acts he forced upon Doodle. He says this moment feels like it is “forever.” He feels time move slowly because he is miserable, and his misery seems to never end. After being hateful, then guilty, he has become remorseful and regrets his

James Hurst, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis”, uses death and birds as symbols to show how Doodle is fragile and could die at any moment. Red is a color that is often associated with evil and other times it represents love. Birds also represent death and fragility, but they also mean freedom and change. This shows how Doodle’s and Brother’s paradoxical relationship changes from Brother being evil and selfish, to him being an extremely helpful and caring brother.

I ran as fast as I could, leaving him behind with a wall of rain dividing us”( ). The narrator leaves Doodle behind in the storm, and from exhaustion, Doodle

Brother decides to help Doodle learn how to walk. He helps him be a “normal brother” by teaching him how to swim, walk, run, and etc. When Doodle dies, Brother shields his body from the rain. He cries when Doodle dies.

(346) Doodle then begs Brother not to leave him. This may be a foreshadowing of Doodle's death, as both circumstances were brought about by a streak of cruelty on Brother's part and Doodle died only because Brother left

In fact, Doodle’s death is caused by his own brother’s selfishness. Near the resolution of the story, Doodle fails to complete Brother’s training program and collapses into the mud. Brother declares, “ He had failed and we both knew it, so we started back home, racing the storm. We never spoke, but I knew he was watching me, watching for a sign of mercy” (182). The narrator ignores Doodle’s plead for forgiveness and begins to sprint.

Symbolism is the use of symbols with the objective of showing a quality or idea, and it is used frequently throughout the story. First, another example of symbolism is that the rain towards the end of the tale symbolizes society’s opinion and social norms. When there is a treacherous storm, Brother runs and leaves Doodle in the storm. In the story it is said is said that there was a “wall of rain” dividing the two siblings. As Brother sprinted away, the wall of distance grew between the two of them, representing how it was a more common choice for people to keep their distance from Doodle. It is shown, “I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us,” (6). The social norm of walking and being active caused Brother to start his “program” to teach Doodle to accomplish these tasks. This is not the only example of symbolism in the tale. Next, the scarlet ibis is the main symbol of the story, and it has earned the title. A beautiful, exquisite scarlet ibis was found in the family’s yard. It swayed unsteadily on the branch it was resting on, then it fell to the earth and died. Although its passing was tragic, the bird was delicate and beautiful. With careful research, one can discover that scarlet ibises typically live in numerous parts of

James Hurst’s piece of literature, “The Scarlet Ibis,” is a short story that is complete with death, cruelty, brotherhood, and love between a boy and his younger, disabled brother. Hurst placed various examples of symbolism on common items and beings throughout his featured work. Such were meant to explain certain ideas that the item or creature was connected to. Symbolism is a style of writing that uses specific images and indirect suggestion to express ideas, places, qualities, and emotions. Symbols are used to explain and simplify such that are complicated or confusing. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses the bleeding tree, the scarlet ibis itself, and a mahogany casket that belongs to Doodle, the younger brother, as symbols to offer greater insight into abstract ideas that are difficult to understand on their own.

In the end it began to rain, signifying that Doodle was pure and innocent. All of his worries were washed away in the rain and put on the shoulders of his brother. I think this is actually pretty fair because Doodle is dead because of his brother. Granted he was born prematurely and has several heart issues that were a huge part of his death.

The Scarlet Ibis bird symbolizes Doodle; this symbolism can be seen by the authors description of both Doodle’s and the Scarlet Ibis’s appearance after death. After the Scarlet Ibis fell from the bleeding tree his