The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Paragraph Analysis

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst we are told the story of Doodle from his brother’s perspective. We’re told just how crazy Doodle could be, how delicate he was and how he cared for a certain bird. Moreover, in “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst uses imagery to show the connection between Doodle and the scarlet ibis. The said bird is originally from the tropics but was found badly wounded in Doodle’s own backyard. It ended up falling out of a tree and dying.

Twisted Pride "Pride is such a double-edged sword, self-Worth on one edge and ego on the other.” In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” he writes about an older brother who is overpowered by his pride. Brother has a younger brother named Doodle who is physically disabled. Brother teaches Doodle how to walk, but only because he was ashamed of Doodle not being a normal boy. Brother’s pride had both positive and negative effects.

In the story ‘Scarlet Ibis’ by James Hurst. The narrator is characterized as greedy and prideful to communicate the thought that too much pride can cause us to treat loved ones in cruel ways. At the beginning of the story, when the narrator and doodle are both young, the narrator seeing no matter how hard he tries, Doodle would “never do these things with me” Under frustration the narrator attempts to kill the baby by smothering him with a pillow. He stops and sees Doodle smile at him and realizes that he is smart and abandons the plan. "Mama, he smiled.

When we think of siblings we all think of someone to play, run, fight, and talk to with but, narrator wasn’t able to do those things with his little brother Doodle The narrator often failed to appreciate Doodle. Doodle was very small and fragile. He was born with a very weak heart so, he couldn’t do much. The narrator thought that because Doodle couldn’t play, run, fight, and talk to him his brother was “crazy”. One time he even

In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst elucidates the conflict between pride and compassion, and ultimately demonstrates that pride overcomes compassion. “The Scarlet Ibis” illustrates a tale of the narrator and his brother, Doodle, who had a physical disability and wasn’t expected to live after birth. Often, Brother resents the fact that he has a brother unable to do the same things he does; sometimes he loves and cares for his brother, taking Doodle everywhere with him, but other times he can only be mean, forcing Doodle to touch the coffin made for him. When Doodle turns five, Brother sets out to teach Doodle how to walk—even though the doctors said he wasn’t able to walk—and his family was joyous when they learned that he taught

Out of all of the seven deadly sins, pride is one of the deadliest. It is a strange sin because sometimes it can be used for good, and others times it is used for evil. We are supposed to take pride in the way we look and act. Pride can take over someone fast. It is nice to be proud of the people one cares about but if one pushes him/her too far, pride could destroy the relationship between them.

Thesis Statement Despite the fact that pride is considered an incredible feeling of motivation and happiness, the author James Hurst through his characters, Doodle and the older brother, in his story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” proves ,it is in fact, a masked detrimental and beneficial feeling of selfishness and guilt. II. First Thesis Point- Topic

In the story “Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator is flawed in his inability to let go of his desire to have a normal brother. The narrator has a little brother named Doodle, with an extreme amount of disabilities. Before Doodle was born, the narrator fantasized about having a little brother who would be his playmate. Doodle, however, was not the ideal brother. He could not walk or do much on his own.

In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst shows that one should not take the easy way out by submitting to one’s obstacles because in the end, it won’t be worth it. “I heaved him up again collapsed… ‘I just can’t do it.’ [Doodle says]” (Hurts 598). An example of the theme is when Doodle submits to his obstacle, which is his brother setting a goal for him he doesn’t care to achieve. By not facing his problems, The narrator’s younger brother’s problems get worse, and somewhat lead to his death.

When the storm hits, the two brothers run back to the house but Doodle can not keep up and brother taken over by pride leaves him there alone. That powerful pride that brother has, always breaks his bond with Doodle, after the failed lesson they just had, he gives up on his brother. The narrator, clearly has a lot of things going on inside his head, lost he just leaves him there because of his failure and an inside pride. “I began to weep and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. Doodle I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his.

I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (p.558). With these words, the Narrator reflects on the events and the insights that he gained

Do you ever feel like you are out of place? Do people behave differently towards you? In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” a character by the name of Doodle is disabled at a young age. This results in his elder brother, also the narrator, to behave with conflicting personalities toward Doodle. In his short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses Doodle’s brother in order to show how he is both cruel and kind towards his younger brother Doodle.

Doodle decided, whether out of loyalty or personal aspirations, to force himself to learn how to do what his brother could actively do. Furthermore, critics of the brother, will state that Doodle’s death was caused by the narrator abandoning Doodle in the storm. At first glance, one would agree with the above statement. Nevertheless, one must take into consideration the fact that the narrator is a young boy who is still coming to terms with his brother’s invalidity. He is still not able to decipher Doodle’s special needs.

Losing Doodle “It's okay to lose your pride over someone you love. Don't lose someone you love over your pride. ”(Unknown) Pride is a powerful thing. It can kill and raise up, it can keep you from admitting your wrong.

Pride can be a positive or negative element in someone's life. It can help them succeed in their efforts or cause them to become greedy and selfish. In the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, the main character Brother shows the theme of pride through his persistence and love for Doodle. Brother had pride in Doodle, considering his brother as "his"; he always persisted in working tirelessly with him on his successes. "