“The Scarlet Ibis” By: James Hurst

Setting: Time: WWI Place: Southern U.S. P.D.: the beauty of “Old Woman Swamp”, the bleeding tree, the withering effects of fall, the storm

Plot: 1.Doodle’s birth and the discovery that he may not be “all there”. 2.Age three- Doodle begins to crawl, becomes “one of the family” and is renamed by Brother. 3.Age five- the narrator teaches Doodle to walk. 4.Summer of the narrator develops a plan to teach Doodle to do everything a boy his age is supposed to know how to do. 5.Same summer- the incident of the death of the scarlet ibis. 6.Because of over-exertion, Doodle dies.

Characterization: Doodle:  weak physically, but mentally alert  Real name – William Armstrong  Weak heart  Frightened of being alone  Good at lying  Beautiful inside  Courageous  Amusing  Intelligent  Strength of character  Loyal  Wants to please Brother Brother  Narrator  Six years older than Doodle  Disappointed in his brother; wanted a playmate  Cruel to Doodle  Too much pride  After teaching Doodle to walk, he feels infallible  Wants Doodle to be like all other kids  Feels guilty when Doodle dies

Conflict and Resolution: Type: Man vs. Self (Brother vs. pride and cruelty) Develop: Once Brother teaches Doodle to walk, he becomes so prideful, he pushes Doodle too far. Resolution: Brother’s treatment of Doodle contributes to his death.

Conflict and Resolution: Type: Man vs. AF (Brother and Doodle vs. the natural disabilities of Doodle) Develop: Brother would like Doodle to be a typical little brother and pushes him too hard. Doodle only wants to please his brother. Resolution: Despite the grand plan to make Doodle like everyone else, Brother fails and Doodle dies.

Theme: We often hurt the ones we love – “There is within me a knot of cruelty born by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction.” The human need for companionship and love – “Brother, don’t leave me.” Pride – “Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.”

Literary Elements and Techniques: Point of View – first person participant (Brother) Foreshadowing – the first paragraph (images of death), the coffin, Doodle’s statements to Brother about not hurting or leaving him, the death of the scarlet ibis. Symbol – the scarlet ibis represents Doodle’s spirit (both are tired, sick, crippled by the storm [physical weakness], delicate, struggled until death, beautiful, rare and those who are different are ultimately destroyed by society. Doodle resembled the ibis in position and color when he died.