Doodle in The Scarlet Ibis Literature Essay Example

The average lifespan for a human is 72.63 years, yet Doodle's lifespan was a single digit. Within your lifespan, you quickly learn to cherish every moment. Although the average lifespan is 72.63 years, it is uncertain you can predict most lifespans. In "The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle was the mentally and physically deficient character, and his death was foreshadowed. Hurst portrays the conflict on how pride can be harmful since Brother was childish and irresponsible, which later on led to Doodle’s death. Doodle’s death was foreshadowed in many different ways - shortly after he was born, Doodle’s dad had a carpenter build him a coffin.

Don't let pride impede, because that pride has the possibility of being detrimental. This is shown after a series of unfortunate events, such as when Brother acts selfishly, which leads to Doodle's death. Through foreshadowing, Hurst develops not letting pride get in the way because it can be harmful in "The Scarlet Ibis". “The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead.” (Hurst 1) When Hurst writes this it foreshadows Doodle’s death. When the text states that the last graveyard flowers were blooming, and how the smell of the blooming graveyard flowers indicates to the reader that a death will occur soon. This supports the theme because it foreshadows Doodle’s death and that pride can be harmful. Brother realizes that he was the reason for Doodle’s death since it was bound to happen; the inevitability of his death. Brother was ashamed and embarrassed by having a brother with so many disabilities. Furthermore, Doodle was expected to have a very short lifespan, but Brother terminated it all - he killed Doodle because he was shamefaced. “Everybody thought he was going to die-everybody except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him. She said he would live because he was born in a caul, and cauls were made from Jesus' nightgown. Daddy had Mr. Heath, the carpenter, build a little mahogany coffin for him.” (Hurst 1) Doodle’s death was foreshadowed in many different ways - one being that his dad had a carpenter build him a coffin since many individuals thought Doodle wasn’t going to make it. This supports the theme because it foreshadows Doodle’s death and that pride can be Harmful. Pride can be harmful because many different individuals thought Doodle was going to die; even the doctors said that he didn’t have much time left when he was born. Nobody had high faith in Doodle, not even his parents. This supports the theme of foreshadowing because his death happened later on in the story. Doodle’s death was foreshadowed. “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.” (Hurst 1) This is foreshadowing Doodle’s death because Brother is saying Doodle’s whole name, and saying how his name only really sounds good on a tombstone. This is foreshadowing Doodle’s death because everyone knows that his death is bound to happen soon. This supports the theme because it foreshadows Doodle’s death and how pride can be harmful in many different ways. No one had hope that Doodle would stay alive, and Brother was ashamed and disappointed to have him as a brother, therefore pride can be harmful in ways. Doodle’s death was foreshadowed, you shouldn’t let pride get in the way because it can be harmful in many different ways.

Through characterization, Hurst develops not letting pride get in the way because it can be harmful in "The Scarlet Ibis". “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” (Hurst 1) Brother thinks it bad enough to have an invalid brother, disabled by illness, but he believes it’s even worse because Doodle may be mentally ill, so Brother makes plans to kill him. Brother states that is bad to have an invalid brother, but Doodle also may be mentally ill, and because of this, he’s making plans of killing Doodle. Brother’s pride shows the readers that he’s cruel and selfish. “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him.” (Hurst 2) Brother was motivated to teach Doodle to walk because Doodle was five years old, yet he still hasn’t learned. Brother was embarrassed, and he couldn’t accept the fact that his brother wasn’t normal, he was deficient. Brother wanted to teach Doodle to walk because he was embarrassed that he wasn’t normal - he was invalid, and may also be mentally ill. Brother’s pride shows the readers how cruel and self-centered Brother was. “The knowledge that Doodle's and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us.” (Hurst 6) Brother knew that Doodle had physical and mental disabilities, yet he couldn’t accept it. Brother was childish and irresponsible, so ran as fast as he could from Doodle, forcing Doodle to try harder. Brother left Doodle to die, coming back later to see Doodle dead. Brother’s cruelty leads to Doodle’s death. Brother purposely ran away from him, leading Doodle to his death. Brother’s harmful pride towards his deficient brother leads to Doodle’s death. Doodle's death was caused by Brother's pride and cruelty, which is why you shouldn't let pride get in the way because it can be harmful.

Don't let pride impede, because that pride has the possibility of being detrimental. This is shown after a series of unfortunate events, such as when Brother acts selfishly, which leads to Doodle's death. Doodle’s death was foreshadowed in many different ways. One was when Brother said Doodle’s name only sounded good on a tombstone. Another was when their dad bought a coffin for Doodle shortly after he was born. Brother was ashamed and embarrassed to have a brother with so many mental and physical disabilities. Brother says it's bad enough having an invalid brother but it was even worse having one that "was not all there". Since Brother was embarrassed having Doodle as a brother, he made plans to kill him. Later on, he ran away from Doodle, leaving him to die. Humans don’t last forever. The average lifespan is 72.63 years, yet Doodle didn’t make double-digits. Your life is a result of the choices you make.