The Power Of Cruelty In The Scarlet Ibis

Through Brother and Doodle’s love, their Relationship grows with success and trust. For example, Doodle begins to walk after many weeks of practicing,” He stood alone for a few seconds. When he fell I grabbed him and hugged him, our

Brothers main struggle in the story is between Doodle being a disappointment to him, or his brother that he loves. Through the story he seesaws back and forth between cruel ways of “fixing” Doodle and loving him. This is best shown when the are in the swamp for the first time and Brother says “‘Shut up. I’m

Society has always pressured individuals to meet its unrealistically high expectations and those who did not meet the standards were frequently ostracized and labeled as outcasts. In The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst presents the idea of society manipulating Brother’s perception, which is evident because of Brother rejecting Doodle’s differences and forcefully pressuring Doodle to behave normally. This inevitably results in Doodle to succumbing to the unwanted pressure from his brother to integrate into the norm. Doodle’s family’s perspective on his disability was also molded and influenced by the unreal expectations set by society. The symbolism present in the story was heavily used to represent Doodle’s struggles throughout his journey.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator is displeased about his handicapped brother, as the narrator feels let down by his healthy sibling misfortune. One obvious signal of this mentality is the quote provided early in the story, as the narrator mentions “I made plans to kill him… he was a burden in many ways” (1,2). Although that statement may seem slightly exaggerated to the reader, it still does provide the reader an idea about the feelings that the narrator is demonstrating toward Doodle. However, rather than the narrator remaining eternally perplexed about his brother’s health condition, the narrator eventually decides to help his brother with his quest, and once he accomplishes this task, he explicitly showcases his feelings proclaiming “I cried, and he cried too… the grass beneath us was soft and the smell of the swamp was sweet” (3). As it is clearly stated, the collectiveness between accomplishing the goal was shared amongst both of them, as the descriptiveness of the swamp and grass further indicates this positive nature.

At the beginning of the story, Brother is hateful. Doodle is born and Brother is extremely disappointed by his disabled brother. He always dreamed of having a brother he could run and play with, and

When Doodle was born he is immediately a disappointment to Brother. Brother wanted someone to race with, box with, and someone to perch with in the tree behind the farm. Doodle cannot do these things, so Brother plans to kill him. Brother states, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother: …so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurst 169). With Doodle being a little older and still unable to walk, Brother pulls Doodle everywhere in a go-cart. One day Brother decides to take Doodle up into their loft and show him the casket father had made for him. Doodle studies the box, not believing it is his, and refuses to touch it. “Then I’ll leave you here by yourself”, Brother threatens Doodle, knowing he is afraid of being left alone (Hurst 172). Once Doodle could walk, he and Brother decides to go to Horsehead Landing. As Brother is teaching Doodle more things, a storm heads their way. Doodle is tired and Brother is upset, knowing Doodle failed, the boys head on home. While walking home, Doodle struggles to keep up with Brother but manages. Noticing how Doodle follows his every move, Brother decides to walk faster and eventually he is running. Leaving Doodle behind in the storm, Brother only assumes Doodle is behind him. “I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us” (Hurst 176) Brother informs readers. Brother no longer

Can there be love where there is cruelty? This is the age old question that many books, stories, and movies are based off of, including “The Scarlet Ibis.” In this story, Brother is given a younger brother who was born with a disability. He resents him and teaches him many things out of shame and embarrassment, and one day leaves him in the midst of a storm to die. Though this example seems plagued with cruelty and no love whatsoever, there can be love where there is cruelty. Even though Brother had been cruel to his younger brother, Doodle, for most of his life, there were several times in the story through which Brother shows Doodle love. There are many reasons that there can be love where there is cruelty, including that people can be cruel

Brother tells his story of the damage that Doodle’s death left on his life. The disabled Doodle is helped by his brother, who is embarrassed of him. When he finds a dead scarlet ibis in their yard, Brother does not know that the bird symbolizes him until Doodle dies later that day from the stress on his heart. Symbolism is shown in this story because the scarlet ibis represents Doodle in almost every way. Foreshadowing is shown within the first paragraphs of the story as it hints at what will happen by the end. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, Hurst uses symbolism and foreshadowing to show that disrespecting what you have results in it disappearing.

The Scarlet Ibis Have you ever felt shame for anything- or anyone? Imagine what you would do if all you felt for a close relative was shame. Imagine what you would do if that relative presented a burden for both them and their family, and the only reason to help them was to boost your self-confidence. If you can’t imagine a scenario so void of compassion or love of any kind, if you don’t believe that any story, true or fictional, can possibly exist, than look no further. This is the story of Doodle and his short, horror-ridden life caused by his brother, who is terribly irresponsible, who was constantly a source of cruelty towards Doodle, who wouldn’t even offer a genuine helping hand to Doodle at any point in his life, even at the end, when he needed it most.

The short story “The Scarlet Ibis”,by James Hurt is about two brothers, the older one being the narrator and the younger one named Doodle, which is physically disabled. The older brother was thirteen when Doodle was five. Thus, the older brother wasn’t actually old enought to take good care of him yet. Doodle’s older brother took care of him more than his parents did. The film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, by Peter Hedges is also about two brothers, the oldest being Gilbert and the youngest being Arnie, which is mentally disabled. Gilbert took full responsability for Arnie even when he got in trouble.This is because his mother is obese, she is unable to be a mother to Arnie, she can barely walk, and can’t go up the stairs to her room. The older brothers tell their story. They mostly talk about the relationship with their younger brothers, which involved kindness and cruelty. Siblings tend to be harsh and amiable at the same time, in the following paragraphs the kinship among the two brothers in each story will vary.

The first and one of the most important literary devices you can detect in this writing, is the usage of flashback. Hurst uses flashback to develop the whole story, relationship between Doodle and Brother, and explain what happened to Doodle. A majority of “The Scarlet Ibis” is told through this flashback and past tense. The flashback improves the story and is used in a way to show Brother at the beginning and how much his past with Doodle still affects him. We really get to see that guilt and even his maturity when he is older, because he goes back to all these places where him and Doodle played and grew up. Yet even though it's so far in the past, going to his old home and fields brings back painful memories. *

Hurst’s diction at the beginning of the short story foreshadows the later death of Doodle. Hurst starts by setting a gloomy scene as the narrator is speaking. The narrator, Doodle’s old brother, soon states, “But sometimes, as I sit in the cool…I remember Doodle” (Hurst 1). Hurst uses the word “remember” to emphasize the fact that Doodle is no long around. Readers do not know what happened to Doodle, but begin to suspect the answer. In the next paragraph the narrator says, “Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy ever had” (Hurst 1). In this quote, Hurst uses past tense words such as “was” and “had” to once again show that this was in the past. Hurst’s word choices foreshadow Doodle’s death and sparks interest in the readers at the very beginning. Foreshadowing is used at the beginning of the story to draw readers into the story and help keep their interest.

“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

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story written by James Hurst. The story is about two brothers, one has paralysis. The eldest is not happy that his little brother is paralyzed, so he sets out on a journey to teach Doodle, the youngest brother, how to walk. At the end of the story Doodle dies. Many may say that Doodle’s death was not caused by his brother, however Doodle’s death was caused by his brother, the narrator, because of his selfishness, hatred, and cruelty.

Acceptance is a basic principle taught at a young age. Ever since birth, our parents and teachers have told us acceptance is a positive thing, and to obtain it from another person we must first accept them along with ourselves. James Hurst's “The Scarlet Ibis” is an exemplary illustration validating the idea of taking the first steps toward acceptance. The story depicts a boy struggling throughout his life, only to die due to his brother’s own pride. A reader could easily infer the theme of "The Scarlet Ibis" to be about an excess of pride, but it can be argued an excess of pride is not the only theme. The contents of the story would suggest it is also a story of acceptance. This becomes unambiguous when the reader becomes cognizant of the fact that the narrator never truly accepted Doodle, nor did Doodle himself. In "The Scarlet Ibis," the scarlet ibis and Doodle both display symbolic similarities in their endeavor to be accepted.