The Scarlet IbisThe scarlet ibis narrates about the fraternal love of two brothers that come to a tragical

conclusion. The story, seen from a grown up point o view, is the admission of the sense of guilt

that rages in those who commit atrocious action. This story represents the realization of what a

man has done and a phase of growing up and passing over your actions. James Hurst teaches

the reader how to live and what to be aware of. He teaches that life is unfair and unpredictable

so never give anything for granted because it will kill you (as doodle gave his brother’s

infallibility for granted). This step-by-step analysis of the Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst recreates

the themes in the novel comparing them with the expression of the same themes in the

abridged version of the story analyzing both and deciding (in my opinion) which is the best one.

(In the following pages I have made a step-by-step analysis of the story the scarlet ibis.)

(Short Theme summary: The scarlet ibis narrates about how selfishness and greed can be used

for the betterment of others. As shown in this short story, Doodle's brother's perseverance

comes only from selfishness, greed, embarrassment and pride. The older broche loves doodle

but his pride pusher him so strongly he can’t turn back and this leads to the death of his

broche. In the end of the story Doodle's brother becomes no better than Doodle himself, he is

as morally “handicapped” as Doodle is physically.

2) In this section of the second story, which till now had been rather plain doodle is introduced

to the plot with a short description of his characteristics; physical appearance and the

expectations people have for him. This paragraph sets the sad mood of the tale.

Contradictorily to the story number two the story number one is full of superfluous details who

left alone are stupid and unnecessary but when mixed together the result in a a big “cake2 of

profound emotions. Further more these emotions are pushed by your compassion for doodle’s

poor state and the expectations everybody has for him. Afterwards in the paragraph the

comparison between Doodle’s and Mrs. Leedie’s craziness

(“Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy ever

had. Of course, he wasn't a crazy crazy like old Miss

Leedie, who was in love with President Wilson and wrote

him a letter every day, but was a nice crazy, like

someone you meet in your dreams.”)

gives a touch of joy to the story puzzling the reader who wants to read on to clear of any

doubts.

3) A fake tone of happiness overcomes the story in this section. In story one the description of

the narrator himself and how he felt “Pretty smart at many things” helps you to find a way into

the story. Through the description you find a resemblance or similarity with the character. This

increases your sensibility towards the emotions and feelings the narrator has and helps out the

impact the doom of doodle has on you. The similarity between you and the narrator has a greta

impact on the readers feelings because unfortunately most people love thmselfs more than any

other person or thing in the world. Usually this trait is hidden by false modesty or simply by

lying but sooner or later it comes out and that moment (the brother’s infallibility comes out) is

when all the problems begin. So inevitably when t

readers find something o someone in a piece of writing resembling them it develops an internal

emotion of apprehension towards yourself and it pushes the reader curiosity, that otherwise

would be sleeping, to action puzzling the reader mind that consequentially wants to read on to

complete the puzzle. You identify yourself in the narrator feeling very similar to him. Further

more the relationship between the brothers not only helps you identify yourself as a boy similar

to the narrator but even (if you have brothers is more effective) as a brother who cares for his

younger mate. In story two instead short paragraph corresponding to the one I story one can

be divided in two definite parts. One: In which the author rather plainly narrates without filling

the atmosphere of the story with emotions or feelings but only explains why the crippled

brother has been named doodle. Further more it kills the reader’s enthusiasm and curiosity for

the continuation of the story. Fortunately the second sentence replaces the story on the right

track re-awakening the emotion the reader has felt for doodle and touching the reader’s

feelings. Despite the effort it doesn’t reach the level of motional expression of the first story.

4) This section of the first story gives you the idea of the relationship between doddle and his

older brother. Despite thinking of killing his brother and similar atrocities the older brother is

starting to realize that it’s not the best deal with the problem and that probably doodle will be

his brother until death. She better start getting used to the idea of having a crippled brother.

This is very important for the continuation of the story because it sets the base for the future

events that lead to the tragic doom of doodle. Afterwards doodle is introduced to the beauty of

nature, the only last uncontaminated beauty. All other beauties are consumed by time and

space that eventually tears them of the object but nature is different, Nature is pure. This is

like nothing he has seen before and he is left shocked by this experience. This event provokes

within a feeling of apprehension and compassion towards this representation of child-like

innocence that has left your soul for so long as you started to comprehend how the world works

and makes you remember how things where so simple when you were young and sincere with

yourself and others. Contrasting the paragraph in story one this paragraph doesn’t transit to

the reader the feeling of fraternal love despite the burden one causes to the another but the

simplicity of doodles’ interaction with nature is almost representing doodles soul, pure. It lacks

and superfluous details but it fulfills the objective of explaining and transmitting an emotion to

the reader

5) This section describes an episode of the story characterizing the narrator. Although it gives

the idea of cruelty streaming to the narrators blood it doesn’t transmit this feeling to the

reader. More simply you reed it understands it but you don’t feel it within you because the

feeling is not contained in the words. Instead in the first longer version of the story the

description of cruelty the narrator has been developing towards his brother is transmitted to

the reader who enters in contact with this emotion so understanding the narrator’s point of

view. Cruelty is rappresented as a greedy beast that kills any other emotion.

“There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a

knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood

sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was

mean to Doodle.”

This admission of the painful truth shocks the reader to a point where tears my stream down

his or her face. This because he might recognizes himself in the figure of cruelty leading him to

increase his understanding and disappointment towards himself and who he really is .

The enrichment of details not only represent s cruelty but even innocence of a child who has

suffered the pain of being seen as “different” for great part of his life. This creates the feeling

of compassion within you so tightening your relationship and your love for doodle’s character.

This great love for doodle and the purity of his innocence makes his doom even more impactful

on t he reader who finally understands that here in the world only the strong survive and the

weak who have no protection are left to die miserably. This upsets the reader who is brought to

see a side of the world that is awful and full of injustice.

6) This paragraph including the dialogue foreshadows a happy ending but unfortunately

walking for doodle will be the seed of death. In story two the brother’s embarrassment is given

away very well but the setting and the tone are not precise because of the lack of description.

This leaves the reader in a state of uncertainty whether to think well or not about the

continuation. This confuses the reader and again limitates his will to go on because the more

you under stand (usually the more you like something. Story 2 lacks the description of the

setting

“and it was spring and the sick-sweet smell of bay flowers

hung everywhere like a mournful song.”

That gives a mournful tone to the story. Contradictorily story one gives this description making

the reader feel as a spectator, like if he was really there inside the story looking at the two

brothers trying to learn to walk.

7) This short dialogue is equal in both stories because its purpose is giving away the false

reason why the older brother wants doodle to walk. It represents an internal conflict between

the brother that is starting to realize how evil he is and trying to hide through good actions this

trait of his personality but we discover, that these actions aren't for the gain of others but

barely only for himself and his ego.

8) In this section of the narration story one and story two take to completely different paths in

the narration. Story 1 uses description through which you can enter the character and story

two uses dialogue going straight ahead to the point. Story one describes the realization of the

internal conflict, which was happening inside the older brother. The conflict consists in doing

everything for himself. As he realizes that what he is doing is not for doodle but for his own

personal ego he

“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.”

The narrator under stand that pride can deadly and this comprehension of pride lead to the

foreshadowing of a possible death. This conflict is described as charged with emotions and

thoughts. The author uses both pas and present to foreshadow the doom of doodle. All this is

enriched with details the involving you in the story and that make you comprehend the height

level thinking and intelligence of the author. In story two instead the author has pushed more

on getting through quickly than very well. He has used dialogue so sinthesthizing the

paragraph in story one but he has left out much of the details that make you understand and

that foreshadows for the future. On the other side this story is dynamic and straightforward so

it encourages the reader to go through it and reach the end. In contrast story the paragraph in

story one is long and less dynamic but it’s charge of feelings and emotions compensate for the

lack of the push to go forward.

9) In story one the author James Hurst describes the feelings of fraternal love and universal joy.

Hurst uses the senses to describe the natural (nature) representation of joy “and the grass

beneath us was soft and the smell of the swamp was sweet.” Further more the author describe

the feelings of the to brothers through actions as “crying” or “hugging each other. This

paragraph embeds the morale that the secret for happiness is personal success. That

something in which you are good at or you under stand brings happiness inside your heart, this

foreshadow a happy ending so enlarging the delusion for doodle’s doom.

In story two the same event is pictured almost in the same way expressing hope and joy for the

future but it doesn’t use similes. This teqnique and the words used in it are removed so

lessening the idea of the universal joy of success and making the story less impactful on the

reader. But, on the other side the re-editor of this story might have removed similies to

increase the fluency of the story and probably he thought it wouldn’t cause much damage to

the author’s view of the story. Unfortunately he thought wrong because it empathizes the

charge of emotions in the paragraph and it makes the language in which the story is written

much more primitive and un-researched.

10) In story two there is no suspense fueled by the waiting to know what will happen next.

Although the next scene in the story is very predictable the suspense that is given to the first

story gives that charming touch of interest. You ask yourself will he walk? Instead in the second

shorter story it is given to you to straight away so not giving you that moment of uncertainty.

Further more the second story is less enriched of details as ù2and head them turn their backs,

making them cross their hearts and hope to die if they peeked.” These details more than being

only details help you under stand what is happening and help you to pass through the barrier

dividing the readers mind and the protagonist mind so these details help you to make you way

through in the character and putting yourself in his shoes”. Both paragraph, despite the lack of

detail in story number two, get to illustrate the scene fairly well expressing that feeling of joy,

success an maternal love and further more both illustrate the scene of the breakfast so well

that you feel almost as a family member. And more similarly than anything before both stories

make you end the paragraph wanting to now more and understand more about what will and

has happened. Especially one question pops up into your mind: Why is he crying?

11) This is more a commotional revelatory paragraph in which the narrator realizes that he is

not anymore able to hide to himself and to others the knot of egoism and cruelty that so long

has sat within him. In story one the charge of emotional power the author puts in his words is

devastating. The author is really able to pull out your feelings and make you look inside

yourself. Finally you find a big resemblance to the character and a bit for compassion and a bit

for resemblance you feel like him. You understand that this egoism is not a trait that only he

himself has but that is the result of the mental evolution of humanity, it’s the consequence of

intelligence and comprehension of the world that makes us so resembling the older brother. In

this moment you understand that despite you have tried to hide it the same feeling resides in

you and you remember the innocence of you early child hood where everything was

spontaneous and without any gain for yourself. This thought helps you empathize with the

older brother and increases your love fro the younger brother and his innocence so making the

tragic ending of the story have a devastating impact upon your feelings.

In story two this paragraph is almost missing (this is maybe the best paragraph of story one)

and the small part remaining of it is not charged with emotions but only explanatory about

himself and what he feels but nothing is pushing you to increase your affection for any of the

character so lowering your feeling of sadness for the tragical ending. More you get attached (or

devoted) to something the more the impact of its doom or its failure is devastating.

12) Hope feels the air after success. In both stories the feeling of hope is transmitted to the

reader as new and great but also doom is foreshadowed. Everybody sooner or later fails in

something and this feeling of supremacy and infallibility foreshadows the doom of something

because of expectations. It is already to late to come back because it would cause a too great

delusion to bear for the failure of all expectations but passion pushes the boys forward. The

only small thing that is out of place is the description of the activities in story one. It Lack’s the

details or the emotional charge to be interesting and on the other side is long and without any

practical or logical sense instead in story two the same paragraph is much moa straight

forward and impactive on the reader because this paragraph is only a list of activities which in

one case (story one) has got to much complicated and has lost it’s list for becoming an awfully

boring piece of descriptive writing.

13) I think these to paragraphs except for the length don’t differ so much. The delusive impact

given on the reader is almost the same. Although one is much more descriptive about the

failure the sentence “But doodle couldn’t keep up with the plan” is more than enough to

explain the reader the discomfort and delusion in the hearts of the two boys who are looking

forward to an impossible root but on the other side they have no way back.

14) The two brothers are charged with emotions and morals and the feeling that there is no

way back the only way is ahead so go on or die.

“It was too late to turn back, for we had both

wandered too far into a net of expectations and had

left no crumbs behind.”

This is a paragraph of realization and discovery but also of life understandment and

determination. All these characteristics are embedded in the paragraph in the first story but

are missing in the second. Doodle finally realizes that it really doesn’t make a big difference if

he was different from the others. He had time to learn and these are not the themes and the

objectives of life. He realizes that he has done enough for himself and that going on would be

only a self-damaging suicide. But the brother had already pushed so strongly forward he

couldn’t stop anymore (“It was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a

net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind.”) He couldn’t have survived seeing his

dream miserably fail. The desperation the older brother is facing in seeing his dream fail

leaving him without something in which to believe is pushing him forward as a train but he in

his own heart knows that for how much he could work to improve his brother he will never be

able to catch up with the others

“But all of us must have something or someone to be

proud of, and Doodle had become mine.”

This pride blinds the older brother of the consequence in his actions. Further more the faith in

his infallibility pushes him even further but he is fighting a war he can’t win so inevitably

someone will have to pay for it. All this is described really well by the dialogue between the two

in which doodle realizes there is no way he will be able to complete the plan but the brothers

pride is to strong for the older brother t control so he can’t realize that instead of helping his

young brother he is damaging him. Unfortunately in the second story the lack of the

description about the pride and the determination of the older brother makes the story plain

and without any feeling. It only cares to bring the plot forward instead of expressing and

teaching something to the reader.

15) The paragraph in story one is introduced with the family sitting at the dining table ready for

lunch. The atmosphere is soft until some thing somewhat strange destroys everything and

changes the plot line. This something is a croak of a bird, but not a common bird a scarlet ibis.

Te brother is immediately touched b this noise and rushes to t door to see but he is stopped by

his mother. This scene remembers you u of your mother and what she would have done in that

case. This provokes a rebirth compassion and identification towards the brother who has a

mother just like yours. This episode makes you feel like in he story.

These people are just like us. Hurst has taken no superman or wonder woman but only ordinary

countryside people with their values and flaws just like us. This puzzles the reader who asks

himself am I like him/her? This question makes you more aware towards the events contained

in the story because you look up to these people and think as they do. You recognize yourself

in the characters for certain traits as altruism, honesty… That make you fell well. In an other

case you distinguish yourself as better than the character that praises you but more oftenly in

sad, moral stories you recognize yourself as what you really are. Stories help you to identify

yourself in something or understand yourself. As you read you understand more and more who

you are and some traits as cruelty and egoism that make you feel a horrible person which you

have hidden since long to yourself and others are re-awaken within you and you understand

that you are what you are (“as god made you”) and despite how much you can try you can’t

change yourself in something else you want to be. Stories don’t really transmit emotions

through words; stories make you feel as the characters because they expose an inconvenient

truth of yours (and others) personality you have kept hidden for a long time (all this is done in

words). So, finally I think the capacity of an author is representing the majority of the

population within his character (or conflict), identifying the mass inside a defined person that

makes everybody discover who they really are.

In story one the death of the ibis is described emotionally because it provokes within you a

feeling of compassion towards this poor bird. The length and the description situated in the

paragraph describing the bird is really well done. The quantity of descriptive adjectives is big.

This transmits a profound sense of compassion and affection for the bird. This poor bird has

lost it’s away and after all the difficulties it had to overcome there was one last strive to each

the ground safety, but the energy within him wasn’t enough and he fell towards his doom. After

all he had survived he had died so miserably in the garden.

(“How many miles it had traveled to die like this, in our

yard, beneath the bleeding tree”).

This charges of emotion the atmosphere and foreshadows a drammatical change in the plot.

The death of the bird as I see it is more than just a foreshadowing of the events that will

happen closely along the plot line of the story. In my opinion it’s even an analogy of life. Take

the situation that this bird represents yourself a man who unfortunately has lost his way (his

way in life not on a road) because of a storm (difficulties, as a storm, have aroused in your life

causing you to change route) and just before he landed (just before you succeed in the new

route you have taken) to safety again he died painfully falling down the tree (You were almost

there. Only a tiny small bit was missing to complete the puzzle but you have no more energy to

pull yourself forward and so you collapse and fall to the ground leaving everything around you

for which you had fought for a long time be destroyed by others who are taking your same

path). The analogy of the bird instead is only a picture of all the dramatic lives in the real world

where people take a path maybe for choice or maybe because the are forced to and this path

pulls them away from everything the love and know into a new world but they fight for it no

matter the difficulties and as they have almost reached the so aspired top they fall into their

doom because of a wrong step. This has happened and is happening with everything that has

existed in our world (empires, revolutions and even human lives…). Everything gets to a peak

of being almost established but then the overexcitement and the lack of energy leads to a

great downfall. People and things only last few seconds compared to the age of the earth and

sooner or later everybody is left behind and never remembered again.

In story two nothing of these back analogies and emotions are pushed to emerge. The only

thing is the foreshadowing of a dramatically change in the plot. This is not necessarily a bad

thing because it gives the story a rhythm and a straight forward push instead the first story

turns much around the point and it is good only if you understand certain things. Story one is

harder to comprehend and not always the harder way is the best. Understanding hard concepts

is more challenging but even more satisfactory. For example in an amusement park there are

two roads one is easier and faster but you don’t try everything in the park instead the other is

longer and more difficult but you do a complete exploration of the activities in the park.

Choosing you way is a matter of point o views and interest but in the end the conclusion are

three: one, you complete the shorter way and you finish it with a middle satisfaction, two, you

complete the longer way and you are much more satisfied, three, you try both but you don’t

succeed in neither and don’t get satisfied (this is an analogy of life). No matter what way you

take you have to be decided on it and never think that maybe the other would of have been

better.

Selfishness greed and pride are what make all the same. No matter how much we try

sometime we will have to experience these feelings. Nobody is perfect but with errors you

learn. Sometimes these errors take you to something disastrous sometimes to a small thing but

once you have done something wrong you won’t do it again. Most people try to hide to

themselves the worst traits of their personality to increase their auto esteem but you can’t

change who you are and the faster you realize it the faster life is going get simpler. Life is hard

and unpredictable but it’s made of up of learning “I’ve never known a man so ignorant I

couldn’t learn something from him” (Galileo Galilei) and comprehension of ourselves and who

we are. I think this is the objective of writing, helping others to find out who they are (Except

entertaining and economic reasons). This is the main difference between the abridged and

unabridged novels, The unabridged novels through loads of description details awaken your

real self and help you in your mission of finding out who you are (instead the abridged versions

are less effective in this purpose).