Scarlet Ibis Symbolism

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Hailey Vienna Kapsner English 10, 1st Hour 20 May 2024 Title In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis'' the author James Hurst uses the symbol of birds to deepen the meaning of brotherhood. The first time the symbol of birds is used to show the idea of brotherhood is when Brother is teaching his brother Doodle to walk. They are at Old Woman Swamp and Doodle finally stands on his own after a long day of trying. Brother thought to himself “Hope no longer hid in the palmetto thicket but perched like a cardinal in the lacy toothbrush tree, brilliantly visible” (Hurst 3). This shows how Brother finally regains hope in Doodle. The final time we see the symbolism is when Brother and Doodle both take up lying. They start to lie as they decide to wait to