scarlet ibis theme essay

The Scarlet Ibis

by James Hurst

The scarlet ibis themes.

Throughout this story, the narrator allows his pride to cloud his compassion and blind him to Doodle 's limitations. He is too proud to accept having a disabled brother, and this is why he takes every measure he can to teach Doodle to do able-bodied things. Because of his pride, he does these things more with his own benefit in mind than his brother's. This story is a clear condemnation of blinding and debilitating pride, since the narrator's pride brings about the eventual death of Doodle.

Differences

Doodle is different from everyone else right from the start of the story, and the narrator has trouble accepting that. He cannot cope with the fact that Doodle does not fit with his image of a perfect younger sibling. When he pushes Doodle into learning physical skills, he threatens him with the thought of being different from everyone else when he starts school. But "different" does not necessarily have to be bad; Aunt Nicey is the one person who consistently claims that Doodle's differences make him special, not a pariah.

Recognizing Limits

It can often be tempting to push ourselves and the people we love past their limits in the hopes of achieving a goal, just like what happened with Doodle and the narrator. Sometimes this produces great results; after all, Doodle did learn to walk after working extremely hard. But it is important to be able to recognize when too much is just too much. The narrator was not able to see this, and he continued to push Doodle to his breaking point.

Family and Brotherhood

This story illustrates the importance of family bonds, particularly those between brothers. Doodle clearly looks up to the narrator, but many times over the course of the story the narrator fails to be the caring and compassionate brother he should be; instead, he is more concerned with the implications of having a disabled sibling. Without the support of his family or his brother, the person he looks up to most in the world, Doodle's strength was bound to leave him. At the end, following Doodle's death, the narrator realizes just how important his brother is to him, but by then it is far too late.

Because this story is framed as a retrospective, there is a lot of room for the narrator's guilt to come through. The narrator flashes back to this time in his life with a wistful, guilt-ridden tone; it is clear he blames himself for Doodle's death, even though Doodle was extremely unhealthy to begin with and other factors came into play as well. Though readers are not given further information about the narrator's current life, they are left with the question of whether or not he will ever be able to overcome his guilt, move on, and be happy.

Appreciating Beauty

From the very first time the narrator takes Doodle to Old Woman Swamp, Doodle has an eye for all things beautiful. Natural beauty plays a huge role in this story, from the vivid descriptions of the house and its surroundings, the swamp, the storm, the creek, and so much more, right to the beauty of the fallen scarlet ibis itself. Both boys appreciate the beauty around them, but Doodle does especially; the natural world serves as a kind of therapy for him, a means of healing himself and moving forward in the face of his disability.

Breaking Expectations

Doodle's life, though short, was all about taking people by surprise and exceeding the expectations that others had for him. First, everyone believed that he would die, since caul babies usually do. Next, they believed that he would not be entirely sane because of his condition. Finally, they believed that he would never be able to walk.  Every time, he proved them wrong. Even though Doodle ultimately could not overcome his physical limitations, his life was still an impressive story of beating the odds.

The Scarlet Ibis Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Scarlet Ibis is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The scarlet ibis

The author uses weather as a form of foreshadowing. Storms and natural occurrences, foreshadow from the very beginning what will happen at the end. The narrator and Doodle face a huge obstacle in the way of their goal when they experience a...

Which of the following quotes from the text best reflects how the author uses nature to enhance the dark tone of the story? Answer choices for the above question A. “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton fiel

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The surprise was Doodle walking across the room to the table on his birthday.

At breakfast on our chosen day, when Mama, Daddy, and Aunt Nicey were in the dining room, I brought Doodle to the door in the gocart just as usual and had them turn...

Study Guide for The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis study guide contains a biography of James Hurst, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Scarlet Ibis
• The Scarlet Ibis Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst.

• Brotherly Injury: The Scarlet Ibis
• Character Comparison Essay: "The Scarlet Ibis" and "Thank You Ma'am"

Wikipedia Entries for The Scarlet Ibis

• Introduction
• James Hurst

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis

Analysis of James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 12, 2021

The only work of James Hurst’s to gain widespread recognition, The Scarlet Ibis  was originally published in the Atlantic Monthly in July 1960 and won the Atlantic First award that year. Rising quickly to the status of a classic, this story has been a standard feature of high school and college anthologies for more than 40 years. In 1988, and then again in 1998, the story was published in book format (only 36 pages) with illustrations by Philippe Dumas. It continues to be popular with students and is the subject of numerous Internet study guides.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is the story of two siblings, the narrator—known only as Brother—and his disabled younger brother, nicknamed Doodle. Told in retrospect by the now-adult Brother, the story seems to be at least partially confessional, describing the narrator’s childhood conflicts between love for his brother and his own pride, as well as the tragic consequences of discriminatory familial and societal expectations. Toward the end of the story, an exotic scarlet ibis appears and, as does Doodle himself, dies.

“The Scarlet Ibis” has received little or no serious critical analysis, but in those reviews that do exist various possible subthemes have been suggested, including the biblical story of Cain and Abel, Doodle as a divine or even Christ-like figure, and the specter of World War I with its loss of life and all the philosophical questions that it raised. It is clearly, however, the use of nature that guides the narrative and its metaphors. Hurst himself has said that there are three “characters” in the story: Doodle, Brother, and the setting. The story opens with Brother’s describing the Eden-like childhood that he shared with Doodle and comparing it with the sterility of his adult world. Over the course of the story, told in flashback, Brother is shown to have a country child’s awareness of and delight in nature; in fact, part of his disappointment at Doodle’s disability is that he had “wanted someone to perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and the swamp you could see the sea” (10). Doodle cries the first time Brother shows him the beauty of Old Woman Swamp (perhaps a pseudonym for Gaia?), the only place where the two brothers are really in harmony, where they make plans to live forever, and where societal expectations do not interfere. Even the narrative itself turns along with the cyclical movement of the seasons, Brother’s successes and failures with Doodle measured by nature’s changes.

When the scarlet ibis appears, both the psychological and the physical similarities to Doodle are made clear: It is alone—despite being a colonial nester— and has clearly strayed, or been blown, far from its natural environment (“Ibises”); it is a brilliant red, as Doodle was at birth, and has an awkward, ungainly body that takes on grace only in death. Doodle is the only one of the family moved enough by the bird’s demise to care about burying it, and when Doodle himself dies the following day, his body in death is described much as the bird’s, and Brother calls him “my fallen scarlet ibis” (36).

BIBLIOGRAPHY Hurst, James. The Scarlet Ibis. Hadley, Mass.: Creative Education, 1988. “The Scarlet Ibis.” Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2006.

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The Scarlet Ibis

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The Scarlet Ibis

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Coming of Age: Pride and Social Acceptance

World War I occurred between July 1914 and November 1918. The narrator was 13 when the war ended, and the national climate surrounding the war indirectly informed his formative years and his actions during that time. The story intertwines the narrator’s feelings of fear, pride, shame, and guilt to parallel the social atmosphere of his rural North Carolina community. By 1918, North Carolinians had served in all major battles at the Western Front, resulting in thousands of injured and killed soldiers. Although the narrator does not fully understand that the “strange names” his family discusses are battle locations, his mother’s prayers for a slain neighborhood boy situate the war within reach of the Armstrong family. The social expectations of the period shape the narrator’s reactions to his and Doodle’s “failures.”

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The Scarlet Ibis Essay

The Scarlet Ibis is a short story written by James Hurst. The story is about a boy named Doodle who is born with a heart condition. His brother, an unnamed narrator, tries to help him survive and grow up.

The saying goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone”. The narrator’s feelings in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst alters after his younger brother Doodle passes away. The speaker, who we only ever refer to as Brother, never shows kindness towards Doodle during their childhood because of Doodle’s struggles with physical disabilities.

It is not until Doodle dies that Brother realizes how much he loved and needed his brother. The saying “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” is significant to the story because it helps to illustrate the point that people do not always realize the true value of something until it is gone.

The Scarlet Ibis is a short story that was published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1960. The story tells the tale of two young brothers growing up in the early 1900s in the American South. The older brother, who is never given a name, is unkind to his younger brother Doodle because of Doodle’s physical disabilities. The brothers are very close in age, and they spend a lot of time together.

One summer, the older brother is determined to teach Doodle how to walk. The brother is patient with Doodle, and eventually Doodle is able to take a few steps on his own. The brother is thrilled with Doodle’s progress and the two of them spend more time together than ever before.

However, one day when they are out playing together, Doodle has a seizure and dies. The older brother is devastated by his death. It is only then that he realizes how much he loved and needed his younger brother.

The story ends with the older brother reflecting on his memories of Doodle. He remembers all of the good times they had together, and he regrets that he was not always kind to his brother.

The Scarlet Ibis is a touching story about the love between two brothers. It is a reminder that we should always cherish the people we love, because we never know when they might be gone.

The younger brother, scared that he might be mocked at school for having an disabled sibling, begins training and teaching Doodle physical activities in order to protect him. The emotions of the older brother change from childhood hatred to remorse as he remembers the circumstances that triggered his distaste.

The story concludes with Doodle’s funeral and the brother’s newfound guilt. The Scarlet Ibis is a short story written by James Hurst. Themes in The Scarlet Ibis include love, family, death, and regret.

The Scarlet Ibis is a very heartwarming story that teaches valuable life lessons. The main theme of the story is love. The brother in the story loves Doodle very much, even though he may not realize it at first. The brother is willing to do anything for Doodle, even if it means putting himself in danger. The second theme is family. The brother and Doodle are extremely close, despite the fact that they are not blood related.

They are more like friends than brothers. The third theme is death. The story ends with the death of Doodle, which causes the brother to feel great remorse and guilt. The fourth and final theme is regret. The brother regrets not spending more time with Doodle and not appreciating him while he was alive.

Brother begins to form a dislike for Doodle when he cannot meet the expectations that Brother has set. All Brother ever wanted was “[s]omeone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone tot perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn” (Hurst 30-34), but no matter how hard he tried, Doodle could never fulfill those wishes.

The first real sign of Brother not wanting Doodle around was when he left Doodle behind at the junkyard. The second sign was when he refused to let Doodle go with him and Red Sammy to the pond to fish. The third sign, which is also the climax of the story, is when Brother shouts “I hate you. I wish you were dead” (Hurst 41).

Doodle did everything he could to try and please his brother. He ran with Brother even though it made him tired. He tried to perch on top of a tree even though he was scared of heights. The final straw for Doodle was when he tried to fly like a Scarlet Ibis and ended up breaking his neck and dying.

When Brother clutches Doodle’s body, it’s evident that he is sorry. He hangs on to Doodle’s remains and tries to protect them from the rain and the rest of the world, as opposed to leaving him behind in the past. His feelings for Doodle have changed from childless loathing to remorse for his actions since Brother altered his behavior.

The most important change that is seen in Brother is his relationships with others. The first sign of this is when Doodle starts to walk. He teaches Doodle how to walk, despite not wanting anything to do with him. The second sign is when they go out into the fields and Doodle gets stung by a bee. brother runs to get the medicinal supplies, even though he had been planning on leaving Doodle behind. The final sign is when Doodle dies. Initially, Brother wanted nothing to do with Doodle, but by the end he was remorseful for his actions.”

The tone of guilt is also evident in the afterthought in the story after Brother finishes telling an event. For example, he reveals that he “taught Doodle how to walk for himself… and that Doodle walked only because [he] was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (182-184). Because he regrets treating Doodle the way he did, he laments about his past actions and paints an ashamed tone over the events.

The story also features a few short sentences which also emphasize the regretful tone. The words “I am sorry” are repeated six times throughout the story, always in connection to Doodle (193, 196, 198). The last time these words appear is just before the climax of the story. The phrase appears three times in succession, each time getting softer until they nearly become a whisper (198).

The narrator uses this soft language to contrast the loud way he used to speak to Doodle, emphasizing his guilt over how he used to treat him. The final example of language choice that reveals the theme of regret is James Hurst’s use of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is defined as “the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named” (Merriam-Webster). The sound of rain is described as “pattering gently on the leaves and tapping softly on the window panes” (200).

The use of soft words like “gentle” and “softly” again emphasize the regretful tone of the story. The sound of rain has always been seen as soothing, and its presence in the story provides a moment of silence for Doodle and Brother to reflect on their actions. The sound of rain also calls back to an earlier event in the story.

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Theme of Pride in The Scarlet Ibis Essay Example

What do you think of pride? Is it a good trait to feel often, or one that does more harm than good? “The Scarlet Ibis” is about a young boy who is embarrassed by his challenged brother and pushes him to become something he is not just because of his own pride. James Hurst uses characterization to highlight the central idea that pride can be both positive and negative.

The author writes “But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine” (3). This information emphasizes the positives of pride and directly characterizes Brother as prideful of Doodle. Due to Brother’s pride, he has something to be fulfilled by while helping his brother accomplish the most that he possibly can. As brother decided he would teach Doodle to walk amongst other physical activities, he no longer felt an immense amount of hatred for Doodle as he once had at the beginning of the story. This highlights how brother being prideful of Doodle was able to change his original opinions of him and realize how special of a brother he is. The text states “Finally, one day, after many weeks of practicing, he stood alone for a few seconds” (3). This statement highlights how pride was able to be a positive factor at the beginning of Doodle's life. As brother’s own pride pushed Doodle to walk, he would become capable of many different things that without this motivation he could only dream of. Doodle's life had been elevated because of brother's pride and his constant belief that Doodle could always improve physically on behalf of his medical condition. This information further highlights the indirect characterization of Doodle as he never gave up despite his challenges. 

The author continues to use characterization to highlight the negative qualities of pride. According to the text “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices” (3). This statement highlights how pride has become a negative factor in Brother's life. As Brother had just taught Doodle to walk and showcased this phenomenon to their family, he realized that he had begun to lose control over what was wrong and what was right because of his pride. When the author describes Brother as a slave to his own pride, readers are able to understand the severity of his pride which later turned to infallibility. The evidence is able to indirectly characterize Brother as self-centered due to the fact that he only helped Doodle in an effort to be less embarrassed by him. The author states “He had failed and we both knew it, so we started back home [...] We never spoke (What are the words that can solder cracked pride?)” (6). This information displays how Brother’s pride ultimately led to Doodle’s downfall. As he and Doodle had just finished a training exercise, Brother’s pride quickly became annoyed when Doodle was not able to finish the task. This fact led Brother to begin running away from Doodle despite there being a traumatic storm in their midst and ultimately killing Doodle in the process. This evidence from the text further highlights the negative traits of pride as in a situation, Brother was unable to swallow his own pride and help his brother when he needed it most. The statement indirectly characterizes Brother’s selfishness caused by his pride and contributes to the negative attributes of this emotion. Pride, in the end, made Brother crueler than he ever could have been and led him to his brother's own death.

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