scarlet ibis essay

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Analysis of James Hurst’s The Scarlet Ibis

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 12, 2021

The only work of James Hurst’s to gain widespread recognition, The Scarlet Ibis  was originally published in the Atlantic Monthly in July 1960 and won the Atlantic First award that year. Rising quickly to the status of a classic, this story has been a standard feature of high school and college anthologies for more than 40 years. In 1988, and then again in 1998, the story was published in book format (only 36 pages) with illustrations by Philippe Dumas. It continues to be popular with students and is the subject of numerous Internet study guides.

“The Scarlet Ibis” is the story of two siblings, the narrator—known only as Brother—and his disabled younger brother, nicknamed Doodle. Told in retrospect by the now-adult Brother, the story seems to be at least partially confessional, describing the narrator’s childhood conflicts between love for his brother and his own pride, as well as the tragic consequences of discriminatory familial and societal expectations. Toward the end of the story, an exotic scarlet ibis appears and, as does Doodle himself, dies.

“The Scarlet Ibis” has received little or no serious critical analysis, but in those reviews that do exist various possible subthemes have been suggested, including the biblical story of Cain and Abel, Doodle as a divine or even Christ-like figure, and the specter of World War I with its loss of life and all the philosophical questions that it raised. It is clearly, however, the use of nature that guides the narrative and its metaphors. Hurst himself has said that there are three “characters” in the story: Doodle, Brother, and the setting. The story opens with Brother’s describing the Eden-like childhood that he shared with Doodle and comparing it with the sterility of his adult world. Over the course of the story, told in flashback, Brother is shown to have a country child’s awareness of and delight in nature; in fact, part of his disappointment at Doodle’s disability is that he had “wanted someone to perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and the swamp you could see the sea” (10). Doodle cries the first time Brother shows him the beauty of Old Woman Swamp (perhaps a pseudonym for Gaia?), the only place where the two brothers are really in harmony, where they make plans to live forever, and where societal expectations do not interfere. Even the narrative itself turns along with the cyclical movement of the seasons, Brother’s successes and failures with Doodle measured by nature’s changes.

When the scarlet ibis appears, both the psychological and the physical similarities to Doodle are made clear: It is alone—despite being a colonial nester— and has clearly strayed, or been blown, far from its natural environment (“Ibises”); it is a brilliant red, as Doodle was at birth, and has an awkward, ungainly body that takes on grace only in death. Doodle is the only one of the family moved enough by the bird’s demise to care about burying it, and when Doodle himself dies the following day, his body in death is described much as the bird’s, and Brother calls him “my fallen scarlet ibis” (36).

BIBLIOGRAPHY Hurst, James. The Scarlet Ibis. Hadley, Mass.: Creative Education, 1988. “The Scarlet Ibis.” Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2006.

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“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst Essay

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Introduction

Younger brother’s optimism, elder brother’s pride, outcomes of different behaviors.

The story “The Scarlet Ibis” which was written by James Hurst in 1960 is a vivid example of a work filled with symbolism as a literary technique. In particular, this method is used to describe the characters of the story and their and relationships. As objects of evaluation, two brothers will be considered, the narrator on whose behalf the story is presented, and his younger brother William, who is called Doodle.

The interaction between the two boys is complex due to Doodle’s disabilities. Nevertheless, despite his vulnerability and congenital defects of health, the younger brother shows the strength of the mind and perseverance that are inherent in an adult. He does not despair and is ready to follow the narrator, who, despite his love for his brother, is quick-tempered and impatient.

These differences will be examined, and the relationships between the two characters will be analyzed in the context of distinctive assessments of success. The disabilities of the younger brother do not prevent him from admiring the world, while the elder brother is inclined to show more pride, and these differences form the basis of the story.

Being born with physical defects and poor coordination, Doodle was distinguished by a thirst for life and interest in the world around him. The narrator mentions his walks with the younger brother and recalls how he admired the beauty of the grass on which he sat: “It’s so pretty,” he said. “So pretty, pretty, pretty” (Hurst, p. 49). Another example is the boy’s willingness to learn to walk. Although the younger brother had such severe physical disabilities that even his parents were ready for his death, he did not want to put up with the fate of a disabled person.

Doodle agrees to the storyteller’s suggestion to learn to walk, despite physicians’ disappointing predictions, and as the storyteller notes, the younger brother was successful and “was ready to show what he could do” (Hurst, p. 50). Such a desire to prove his strength characterizes the boy as a person who does not want to accept his disability status. As a result, the boy achieves results and surprises not only the brother but also his parents, who are surprised and delighted by the stubbornness of their son and the outcomes of his training.

Another example of the boy’s thirst for life is his attitude to a wounded bird. The scarlet ibis that appeared at their site excited the child and forced him to run out of the house in dismay. The narrator describes the situation as follows: “Doodle’s hands were clasped at his throat, and I had never seen him stand still so long” (Hurst, p. 51). The boy is very impressed with what he sees and aims to provide all possible assistance to the wounded bird. He does not want to accept its death, but after he understands what happened, he intends to bury the bird on his own. Such respect for a living creature is no coincidence and is a deliberate author’s technique.

Hurst draws an analogy between the bird and Doodle, and the title of the story confirms this since the behavior of the child is much like the action of the wounded ibis. For example, the narrator mentions the boy’s “awkwardness at digging the hole” (p. 52). Thus, Doodle’s optimism is reflected in his actions and the purity of the character’s thoughts, while his healthy brother has a sharper temper.

The ambiguity of the elder brother’s relationship with the younger one lies in several aspects, and pride is one of the key behavioral factors that distinguish him from Doodle. The narrator himself argues this when he recalls the stubborn exercises of his brother: “I knew he was watching me, watching for a sign of mercy” (Hurst, p. 52). Although the elder child is physically healthy, he is sometimes ashamed of his disabled brother, which is natural for his age. At the same time, he cannot be called a cruel child. He shows condescension to Doodle’s attempts, but he does not have the same optimism and thirst for life. Perhaps, since he does not need to go through all the hardships of his younger brother daily, he cannot understand how much effort the disabled boy has to deal with to achieve success. Sometimes, the elder brother is annoyed, although he regrets it afterward. Therefore, his behavior is harsher, and pride is one of the proofs.

The love of the elder brother to the younger one is not obvious, but it is manifested in detail, although the nature of the narrator does not allow him to support the disabled child with tenderness. Even after the narrator decides to teach Doodle to walk, he confirms that he is not ready to accept any failure and is unhappy with how slowly their workouts are progressing. After the younger brother ceases to show significant results, the elder brother states the following: “I should have already admitted defeat, but my pride wouldn’t let me” (Hurst, p. 50). Therefore, despite his support, the narrator cannot show Doodle his full love, and a sharp character is one of the reasons for this behavior.

The ending of the story shows how the nature of the elder brother influenced the life of the other boy. After he runs away from Doodle in displeasure that the latter does not demonstrate good training outcomes, the disabled boy dies, leaving the narrator in confusion and despair. The elder brother’s pride was one of the reasons why he paid little attention to Doodle and did not wait for him. As a result, the story ends with the following words: “I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain” (Hurst, p. 53). The comparison with the previously dead bird is intentional since both the external image and the inner desire of the younger brother to live are reflected in the story. The elder brother is more introverted and sometimes too tough, while the younger one is open to the knowledge of the world and different from his peers. Therefore, the story ends with an obvious comparison and shows how the different characters of the boys led to the finale.

The distinctive natures of the two brothers are the key indicators of their behaviors and perception of the world, and comparing Doodle with the scarlet ibis is the author’s intentional method. The narrator tends to be proud, and despite his love for his brother, he is sometimes irritable. Doodle, conversely, demonstrates a desire to live and get to know the world and does everything possible to please his loved ones. Therefore, both characters differ significantly, and the ending of the story puts everything in its place.

Hurst, James. “The Scarlet Ibis.” Atlantic Monthly , 1960, pp. 48-53.

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The Scarlet Ibis

28 pages • 56 minutes read

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Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

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Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Coming of Age: Pride and Social Acceptance

World War I occurred between July 1914 and November 1918. The narrator was 13 when the war ended, and the national climate surrounding the war indirectly informed his formative years and his actions during that time. The story intertwines the narrator’s feelings of fear, pride, shame, and guilt to parallel the social atmosphere of his rural North Carolina community. By 1918, North Carolinians had served in all major battles at the Western Front, resulting in thousands of injured and killed soldiers. Although the narrator does not fully understand that the “strange names” his family discusses are battle locations, his mother’s prayers for a slain neighborhood boy situate the war within reach of the Armstrong family. The social expectations of the period shape the narrator’s reactions to his and Doodle’s “failures.”

The narrator attributes his pride and shame as the motivating factors to teach Doodle to walk and the inspiration for his attempts to train Doodle in athletic pursuits: “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (50). The narrator’s shame positions Doodle as an object of possession. Doodle’s only status within the story is his relation to the narrator, so by extension, how the community views Doodle applies also to the narrator. Essentially, the narrator is afraid of being perceived as weak or inferior. The narrator relates that rather than feeling delight in Doodle’s ability to walk, his main motivation is the shame he feels about his brother’s disabilities. However, the narrator does not overtly address the social pressures informing his behavior toward his brother. The narrator passively references “Dix Hill,” which is an allusion to a psychiatric hospital. The fear of Doodle being placed in a psychiatric hospital also motivates the narrator to help his brother succeed in the eyes of their community.

In hindsight, the narrator reflects on the paradoxical duality of pride: “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (50). The narrator believes that his pride motivated him to help Doodle gain life skills. As Doodle learns to walk, this pride brings life to Doodle, allowing him to experience the world more fully. Yet, at the same time, the pride makes the elder brother ashamed of Doodle’s inability to engage in the boyhood pursuits the narrator views as necessary for a meaningful life. Societal pressure again informs how the narrator perceives his brother. Comparatively, if Doodle is not viewed as “normal” as their peers, then Doodle runs the risk of being placed in a psychiatric hospital or socially “othered.” Similarly, Mama’s “othering” of the scarlet ibis , whom she demands the boys not touch for fear of disease, suggests that differences are not accepted in the Armstrong home as well as their community. For this reason, the narrator feels an overwhelming need to shape his brother by society’s standards.

Pride becomes the narrator’s tragic flaw as his attempts to force Doodle to acquire physical skills eventually cause Doodle’s death. In the final segment of the story, the narrator’s need for social acceptance overshadows Doodle’s physical health. The narrator takes Doodle to Horsehead Landing hoping to train him in swimming and rowing so that Doodle could “keep up with the other boys when he started school” (53). Doodle questions whether being “different” matters, to which the narrator emphatically maintains: “It certainly does” (51). Doodle, however, is too tired to practice his swimming and becomes exhausted after the narrator forces him to row a small skiff through the creek. After the boys exit the boat, Doodle collapses, and the narrator realizes that his plan to teach Doodle has failed. This knowledge awakens the dark side of the older brother’s pride, and the narrator cruelly runs ahead leaving Doodle behind. Overcome by guilt, the narrator returns for Doodle, but it is too late. He finds his brother’s body beneath a bush. Although not explicitly stated, Doodle’s death stems from the young boy overexerting himself as well as from the narrator’s actions.

An indicator of the narrator’s coming of age is reflected in the closing sentence: “For a long long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain” (53). The narrator shields his brother’s body from the rain because the painful reality of Doodle’s death is too much to bear. In recognizing his brother as a “scarlet ibis,” the narrator undergoes a character change and acknowledges the beauty in Doodle’s differences.

The Beauty and Inevitability of Death

Doodle’s death is the climax of the story, which Hurst foreshadows throughout the text. At the start of the narrative , the narrator’s diction , or word choices, provide vivid descriptions that set a mournful tone and foreboding mood . The flower garden he views has “rotting brown magnolia petals” and ironweeds growing “rank” (48), suggesting decay. The empty nest of an oriole is a cradle that holds nothing, and the smell of the cemetery flowers permeates the house where Doodle once lived, “speaking softly the names of the dead” (48). Thus, the atmosphere of the story offers the narrator’s sense of sadness and lament even before the tragic events are known.

From his birth, Doodle’s life is marked by death. Everyone but Aunt Nicey believes that Doodle will die from his disabilities, so Doodle’s father has a small coffin built in preparation for his infant son’s death. Although Doodle survives, the coffin remains housed in the family’s barn. At one point, the narrator shows his little brother the casket, “telling him how we all believed he would die” (49). This hidden coffin, which is covered with rat poison and contains another empty nest, haunts Doodle. The coffin’s presence signals the inevitability of Doodle’s death and more broadly suggests the inescapability of human mortality, especially for those who are frail and beautiful like the scarlet ibis and Doodle. Furthermore, the narrator remarks that Doodle’s original name, William Armstrong, “sounds good only on a tombstone” (48), which further foreshadows Doodle’s death.

Thematically, the beauty of death emerges through the death of the scarlet ibis itself, which lands in the bleeding tree and falls to earth, still and broken. While the rest of the family returns to their lunch, Doodle focuses his attention on the dead bird, telling his mother, “I’m going to bury him” (52). Preceding to dig a grave and drag the ibis with a piece of string, Doodle engages in a funerary ritual, singing the hymn, “Shall We Gather at the River.” This moment, while showcasing Doodle’s concern for the natural world and respect for the bird, also foreshadows the boy’s death later that day.

The story ends with Doodle’s death. He, like the scarlet ibis, dies beneath red vegetation, his body posture in death echoing that of the bird. The narrator mourns upon discovering Doodle. He holds his brother’s body and weeps. The narrator also recognizes in this final moment Doodle’s similarity to the bird, describing his dead brother as “my fallen scarlet ibis” (53).

Superstition and the Natural World

The natural world and the story’s idyllic rural setting are central to the narrative . Through sensory details, vivid imagery , and personification , the narrator depicts the natural world as a key character in “The Scarlet Ibis.” In the introductory retrospective, the narrator’s view of his natural setting is grim and rife with decay. In place of the vibrant bleeding tree stands a grindstone, or millstone, which is a religious symbol of punishment. The grindstone denotes a final resting place as well as the narrator’s eternal guilt. The narrator introduces the landscape as if imparting a eulogy for those he has lost. However, in the action of the story, the narrator offers a youthful perception of the natural world that is “rich and warm” (51) and offers the boys hope, reprieve, and childhood joy. In particular, the narrator shares Old Woman Swamp—“the only beauty [he] knew” (49)—with Doodle. It is at the lush swamp that the boys happily play, bond, and share boyhood dreams. However, just as the natural world provides the boys with paradise, it brings also blight, destructive storms, and death.

Several characters in Hurst’s story rely on superstitious and religious beliefs, attempting to read physical signs in the natural world as harbingers of evil or markers of life. While Doodle’s family members view his unusual birth with fear and dismay, Aunt Nicey views Doodle’s arrival into the world differently. In insisting that Doodle will live “because he was born in a caul and cauls were made from Jesus’ nightgown” (48), Aunt Nicey relies on superstition to interpret the world and assess Doodle’s future. Furthermore, Aunt Nicey contends that the caul (intact amniotic sac) provides Doodle with special potential: “[C]aul babies should be treated with special respect since they might turn out to be saints” (49). Indeed, her prediction seems justified as Doodle thrives and learns to crawl, talk, and eventually walk. He also exhibits an unusual appreciation for beauty, has a vivid imagination, and treats the dead ibis with holy respect.

Other characters also rely on the natural world for signs. Mama, for instance, attempts to predict a storm based on the call of a rain frog. Doodle, seeming to agree with his mother’s belief in physical signs as indications of natural occurrences, declares that he heard a frog in the swamp. The story again validates the characters’ superstitious interpretation of the world as a severe rainstorm arrives later that same day. Perhaps the most important prediction is Aunt Nicey’s final declaration: “Dead birds is bad luck” (52). Her statement, brought on by the discovery of the dying scarlet ibis and Doodle’s decision to perform funeral rites for the bird, foreshadows the death of Doodle and once again shows the validity of a superstition. The narrator’s inclusion of natural occurrences as signs of events to come suggests his own superstitious nature. Additionally, the relationship between the narrator and nature underscores the duality of humans and nature as both beautiful yet destructive forces.

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The Scarlet Ibis

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Expectations and Disappointment

The primary conflict of “The Scarlet Ibis” surrounds Doodle ’s disability and how he works to overcome it with the help of Brother . The way in which Hurst presents Doodle’s journey, however, demonstrates that Doodle’s biggest challenges often arise not from his actual disability, but instead from the judgment and pressure he experiences from different people in his life. Brother admits that when Doodle was born, he saw him as a “disappointment” because he…

Brother takes pride in Doodle ’s achievements, and this sense of pride becomes a major motivation for his actions throughout “The Scarlet Ibis.” He gradually acknowledges that he only helps his brother out of a sense of pride, and that this pride leads him to behave selfishly. Other characters, such as Doodle’s parents , also find pride in Doodle’s accomplishments and hard work, spurring Doodle to work harder and harder to please his family. Hurst’s…

Hurst refers to death explicitly and implicitly throughout “The Scarlet Ibis,” using foreshadowing, the symbolism of the ibis itself, and allusions to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. These devices give the story an allegorical dimension, demonstrating that often the most innocent people die not because they deserve to die, but because of the carelessness and wrongdoing of others. The story contains several examples of foreshadowing of Doodle’s untimely death. For instance, when Doodle…

Humans and Nature

“The Scarlet Ibis” is filled with many rich descriptions of the natural world. It quickly establishes the rural North Carolina farmland in which the story takes place and draws some of its most important symbols from nature. Beyond providing a detailed vision of the story’s setting, however, Hurst uses descriptions of nature and the seasons to mirror the boys’ states of mind as well as the dynamic between them, and to suggest that, like nature…

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The Scarlet Ibis

by James Hurst

The scarlet ibis literary elements.

Southern Gothic

Setting and Context

The American South, around 1918, on a family farm near a swamp and a creek

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator is a young boy, older brother to Doodle, the disabled child that this story centers around. The majority of the story is in first-person past, since the narrator in the present is telling a story about something that happened in the past.

Tone and Mood

There is a heavy tone of guilt present throughout most of the story; the narrator feels he is to blame for Doodle's death, and since he is telling this in the present, he already knows what happened and he feels shame about it. The mood lightens at certain points in the story, such as when Doodle experiences Old Woman Swamp for the first time and learns to walk, but overall it is predominantly remorseful and guilty.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist is the narrator, Doodle's older brother, and though there is no physical antagonist, the source of conflict is Doodle's disability.

Major Conflict

The main conflict in the story is Doodle's disability. After Doodle lives when no one expected him to, the narrator must figure out how to cope with having a disabled brother who is not what he always pictured his little brother would be.

The climax of the story is the moment when Doodle learns to walk. The beginning of the story had been working up to this occasion, and what follows is the falling action that comes as a result of this climax.

Foreshadowing

The author incorporates a lot of foreshadowing into this story, which makes sense, since the narrator is telling a story about the past in the present and he already knows everything that will happen. Some of the notable instances of foreshadowing are the following:

"They named him William Armstrong, which is like tying a big tail on a small kite. Such a name sounds good only on a tombstone." "Renaming my brother was perhaps the kindest thing I ever did for him, because nobody expects much from someone called Doodle." "Dead birds is bad luck," said Aunt Nicey, poking her head from the kitchen door. "Specially red dead birds!"

Understatement

This story is full of vivid imagery, typically involving the natural world, as nature features prominently into the lives of the two brothers. The narrator paints a picture of the house they live in and the garden around it with the line, "The flower garden was strained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox." He goes on to describe their favorite place, the Old Woman Swamp, with vibrant imagery, and does the same with the scarlet ibis as it flies into the bleeding tree and eventually dies at their feet.

The narrator's pride is a paradox, because all at once it brings about both life and death. It is his pride that prompts him to teach Doodle to walk, which allows Doodle to live in a way he never has before. However, it is also this pride that makes him push Doodle past his limit, which brings his literal death. A good line that exemplifies this is "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death." It seems paradoxical that both concepts, life and death, could exist at once in a single entity, but this is the case for the narrator's pride.

Parallelism

Metonymy and synecdoche, personification.

The narrator personifies many elements of the natural world, through lines such as the following:

"The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softy the names of our dead." "I pulled the go-cart through the saw-tooth fern, down into the green dimness where the palmetto fronds whispered by the stream."

The Scarlet Ibis Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Scarlet Ibis is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The scarlet ibis

The author uses weather as a form of foreshadowing. Storms and natural occurrences, foreshadow from the very beginning what will happen at the end. The narrator and Doodle face a huge obstacle in the way of their goal when they experience a...

Which of the following quotes from the text best reflects how the author uses nature to enhance the dark tone of the story? Answer choices for the above question A. “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton fiel

I'm sorry, you need to place your answer choices in the "details" box. Please repost your question.

The surprise was Doodle walking across the room to the table on his birthday.

At breakfast on our chosen day, when Mama, Daddy, and Aunt Nicey were in the dining room, I brought Doodle to the door in the gocart just as usual and had them turn...

Study Guide for The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis study guide contains a biography of James Hurst, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Scarlet Ibis
• The Scarlet Ibis Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst.

• Brotherly Injury: The Scarlet Ibis
• Character Comparison Essay: "The Scarlet Ibis" and "Thank You Ma'am"

Wikipedia Entries for The Scarlet Ibis

• Introduction