Scarlet Ibis Essay
Joshua Udo
Ms. Jackson
English 10-1 – Period 1
3/6/2015
Sunken With Pride
Blood is thicker than water, but sometimes pride is thicker than both. Such is the case with James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis." This dramatic story starts out as the narrator of the story known to be “brother” has a recollection of his past when his younger brother Doodle was still alive. The narrator tells readers how everyone believed that Doodle would be crippled both mentally and physically after birth. However, Doodle is a normal human being mentally, but has some difficulties physically. Brother wants Doodle to become a “normal” boy, so he teaches him practically all the activities any boy Doodle’s age would do. One day, Doodle and brother were playing in the fields. A large storm came and both of them had to run home before it was coming down too hard for them to handle. Doodle started running after his brother, but couldn’t withstand the rain, and eventually, his stamina died down and he had to rest. Brother felt incensed by Doodles lack of stamina and deserted him. A few minutes later, Brother discovered Doodle under a tree, blood trickling from his mouth, dead. We see an evident theme of death and sadness exhibited throughout the story. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, it illustrates how pride can disrupt ones judgment when interacting with an individual.
Brother had so much pride that he forcefully taught a physically deprived little boy Doodle how to walk and gives him the same amenities as every other normal child. We see a glimpse of brothers pride in the text “I [he] am going to teach Doodle how to walk” (page 216). Pride, in this instance, makes brother build up the courage and vigor to help Doodle but only for the benefit of one’s self. Brother does many simple tasks that contradicted the theme of his personality which was having a lot pride. We see an example of this when he decides to take doodle to “Old Woman Swamp” the only beautiful he knew. By
Ms. Jackson
English 10-1 – Period 1
3/6/2015
Sunken With Pride
Blood is thicker than water, but sometimes pride is thicker than both. Such is the case with James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis." This dramatic story starts out as the narrator of the story known to be “brother” has a recollection of his past when his younger brother Doodle was still alive. The narrator tells readers how everyone believed that Doodle would be crippled both mentally and physically after birth. However, Doodle is a normal human being mentally, but has some difficulties physically. Brother wants Doodle to become a “normal” boy, so he teaches him practically all the activities any boy Doodle’s age would do. One day, Doodle and brother were playing in the fields. A large storm came and both of them had to run home before it was coming down too hard for them to handle. Doodle started running after his brother, but couldn’t withstand the rain, and eventually, his stamina died down and he had to rest. Brother felt incensed by Doodles lack of stamina and deserted him. A few minutes later, Brother discovered Doodle under a tree, blood trickling from his mouth, dead. We see an evident theme of death and sadness exhibited throughout the story. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, it illustrates how pride can disrupt ones judgment when interacting with an individual.
Brother had so much pride that he forcefully taught a physically deprived little boy Doodle how to walk and gives him the same amenities as every other normal child. We see a glimpse of brothers pride in the text “I [he] am going to teach Doodle how to walk” (page 216). Pride, in this instance, makes brother build up the courage and vigor to help Doodle but only for the benefit of one’s self. Brother does many simple tasks that contradicted the theme of his personality which was having a lot pride. We see an example of this when he decides to take doodle to “Old Woman Swamp” the only beautiful he knew. By