Narrator in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst Essay Sample

Hurst's “The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story filled with tragedy, guilt, and the refusal to accept others as they are. William Armstrong, renamed Doodle by his older brother, was born with a physical disability and a heart condition, leading everyone to believe he was destined to die as an infant. Despite this, Doodle survived and preserved, but it was not enough to prove his worth to his older brother, the narrator. From the very beginning, the narrator has always regarded Doodle as a disappointment and something unworthy of his attention and love. His inability to merely accept and attempt to understand Doodle, who so greatly idolizes and admires his brother, leads to his brother's unfortunate and early death.

Pride/Arrogance within the narrator is what ultimately pushes him to have such high expectations of his younger brother, which ultimately leads to the demise of his younger brother as well. The narrator’s feelings of shame and embarrassment, and his immense amount of pride cause him to want to create this idealized version of a brother he could be proud of. He does not want Doodle to be different from others, he wants him to be “normal” and someone he can feel is worthy of his acknowledgment. “It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it’s a miracle I didn’t give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (Hurst 388). The narrator’s pride and arrogance led to the shame and embarrassment he felt towards Doodle, causing him to have unnecessarily high expectations of him. The narrator felt that every person should have someone or something to be proud of, and his would be Doodle.  He placed a large amount of pressure on Doodle, and Doodle only endured it because he wanted to make his brother proud. 

The narrator then sets his mind on helping Doodle become “normal” concocts and devises a training program, all the while disregarding Doodle’s feelings. He and Doodle begin to regularly practice physical activities that were otherwise impossible for Doodle before. “Everyday that summer we went to the pine beside Old Woman Swamp, and I put him on his feet at least a hundred times each afternoon. Occasionally I too became discouraged because it didn't seem as if he was trying, and I would say, “Doodle, don’t you want to learn to walk?” (Hurst 388).  The narrator’s specific way of  phrasing his questions is almost as if he assumes that Doodle agrees with him and that they feel the same way about Doodle’s situation, when in fact, Doodle does not care very much. “...Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school? “Does it make any difference?” (Hurst 391). Doodle, in contrast to his older brother, is a more secure, self-assured individual. However, his older brother is prideful, yet insecure and cares greatly about how others may perceive him. Although he may have Doodle’s best at heart, his overwhelming amount of pride surpasses this and it grows into something he purely does for self-gain and self-satisfaction. 

The love that the narrator had for Doodle was greatly surpassed by his frequent “streak of cruelty” and arrogance. Although the narrator may like to think otherwise, most of his actions are done purely for himself and to soothe his wounded pride due to his brother’s inadequacy. “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.” (Hurst 389). The narrator, as much as he tried, was never strong enough to overcome pride; he was essentially a slave to it. His pride caused him to never fully acknowledge his faults and mistakes, and he became confused whenever Doodle accomplished anything, believing it was rather a goal he reached and a success for him. “Doodle told them it was I who had taught him to walk, so everyone wanted to hug me, and I began to cry.” (Hurst 389). The narrator’s pride and cruelty, once again, has overwhelmed his love and rationality, leading him to believe that he was the one who overcame a physical disability, and preserved past all the adversity presented to him, when it was really Doodle who had done all of this.