Scarlet Ibis Symbolism

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In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the author uses birds to symbolize the importance of family and brotherhood. The first time the reader sees the symbol of a bird is when Doodle talks about living with his brother when he is older. “ ‘We’d build us a house of whispering leaves and the swamp birds would be our chickens’ “(Hurst 4). This shows that Doodle wants to stay by his brother's side like chickens stay by each others side. The second time the reader sees the symbol of a bird is when brother takes Doodle up to see his coffin and they both get scared. “A screech owl flapped out of the box into our faces, scaring us with paris green”(Hurst 2). This shows that sometimes brothers will get surprised or scared, but if they