In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses nature imagery to symbolize the narrator’s mixed emotions, supporting the theme that selfish pride generally causes more harm than good. In the story the narrator doesn’t know whether to care or be proud of his brother, or to be ashamed and careless.
He has befuddled emotions towards his brother and he just wants him to be normal. In the story, the narrator teaches Doodle how to walk. Not because he cares about Doodle, but because he is embarrassed of him.
“They did not know that I did it for myself”, (pg434, L181-L184).
He only helped Doodle for his own selfish reasons. The narrator didn’t want to be seen with a handicap brother, so he encouraged or forced Doodle to walk and act like a regular kid. So he didn’t help Doodle out of brotherly love but out of being egoistic and caring what people thought of him and his family.
James Hurst use of the scarlet ibis is a representation or symbol of Doodle. Both are fragile and rare, but special and exotic as well. “Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic beauty”,(pg439, L304-L306).
The scarlet ibis just died right in front of the family after traveling so many miles from home. The scarlet ibis is similar to Doodle, they both were in a place that was not suitable for them, and both were pushed to their limit. The scarlet ibis foreshadows Doodle’s death in the story.
The Essay on The Scarlet Ibis 7
James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis" reveals that the brotherly bond between the narrator and Doodle is an essential component in the story. If Doodle was a ... Doodle was a girl the narrator probably wouldn't spend as much time with Doodle. A brother-brother relationship is very different than a brother-sister relationship. Doodle ...
Towards the end of the story, the narrator is disappointed in Doodle because they didn’t finish their intentions for the summer. . The narrator pushes Doodle to his limit, to his full extent, to make sure he becomes like the “regular kids”.
He was so angry with Doodle that words couldn’t express his feelings; he was probably thinking about how people would think about him and his crippled brother. “The rain was coming , roaring through the pines, and the, like a bursting candle, a gum tree ahead of us shattered…… and in the moment before the rain arrived, I heard…….. ‘Don’t leave me’”, (pg. 441, (L366-L370).
This storm represents the narrator’s mixed emotions toward his brother. He was so angry, and upset with Doodle, that it forces him to leave him behind.
The narrator was so vexed with Doodle that he left him back at Old Woman Swamp in the storm. Just because their plans were not complete, that does not leave him any reason to leave Doodle, his brother, who has the same flesh and blood as him.
“The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught……..that streak of cruelty within me awakened……soon I could hear his voice no more”, (pg. 441, L371-L375).
Because he was so angry, he left running away, leaving him behind, where death rested upon Doodle.
If he didn’t have such an intense cruelty in him, he would’ve gone back and helped Doodle. The narrator didn’t know what to do he was so confused, sometimes he felt hatred towards Doodle and sometimes he didn’t, he had unbalanced emotions.
He cared about what people thought of him, that what caused him to pressure Doodle to do things and push him to his limit. The narrator was so inconsiderate which supports the theme that selfish pride generally causes more harm than good.
