“The Scarlet Ibis”

James Hurst

Symbols

World War I

The first world wide conflict between “brothers”

Symbolizes the war inside of the narrator He is frustrated

and embarrassed by having a “different” brother

Struggles with too much pride

World War I

Symbolizes the war between the Narrator and Doodle The Narrator

pushes Doodle too hard physically

Symbolizes Doodle’s conflict over his illness/disease vs. wanting to be normal (to be able to run, swim, climb, fight)

Drought

During the drought, crops withered and died Symbolizes

Doodle’s fever and how he is tired

His body is starting to weaken

Hurricane

Powerfully destructive storm that destroyed crops and trees Foreshadows that

something extremely destructive is about to happen

The narrator leaves Doodle in the storm; when he finds him he is dead

The Scarlet Ibis

Red bird that is physically awkward; cannot fly; is sick and tired; dies; travels so far just to die

Doodle is physically limited; he becomes sicker as time progresses; travels so far (lives, walks) just to die in the swamp during a storm

The Storm in the

Swamp Intense and violent

storm with wind, lightning, and thunder

Symbolizes the storm in the narrator – he’s angry and frustrated that Doodle will not be able to run, swim, etc. In his eyes, Doodle has failed.

American South, 1918

Setting

Man vs. Nature

Narrator and Doodle vs. the storm Man vs. Self

Narrator vs. his embarrassment over Doodle

Man vs. Man Narrator vs. pushing Doodle too much

Conflicts

The coffin “Don’t leave me brother!” Doodle looks feverish and tired (the drought

and hurricane) The scarlet ibis dies “Red dead birds is bad luck!” “How many miles had it traveled so far to die

like this?” The storm in the swamp

Foreshadowing

The story begins with the adult

narrator, at the family home, years later

The narrator goes back in time and recalls having a crazy brother, Doodle

Flashback

Themes

Accept people for who they are

The narrator tried too hard to change Doodle into the brother he always wanted

Beware the evils of pride The narrator shouldn’t have wanted to

help Doodle for himself – shouldn’t have been embarrassed of having a brother who is different

Theme

How complex love for a sibling can be

The narrator loved Doodle but at times was completely annoyed and frustrated by him when he couldn’t keep up with the training program

The desire to make one over in one’s own image The narrator forces a change on a body that

was not equipped to deal with it – pushing Doodle was bad for his health

Theme