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