The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst: Literary Analysis

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“Doodle was far behind schedule... Once, he could go no further, so he collapsed on the ground and began to cry.” In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator reflects upon the life of his brother and realizes the impact that his actions had. The author suggests that being faced with the death of a loved one can result in regret through the realization of the underlying cruelty displayed by one's own actions.

Initially when the narrator's brother doodle is born a cripple, he grows very ashamed. However, he decides to subject Doodle to his own development program so that his brother will no longer be an outcast. Dissatisfied with the thought of Doodle never being able to walk, the narrator looks into his brother's eyes and tells him “I’m going to teach you to walk, Doodle.” In spite of being faced with tremendous odds, the narrator is unfazed as he believes that his brother must be able to walk to be considered “normal.” After endless attempts, Doodle eventually succeeds and reinforces the narrator's beliefs that he will no longer …show more content…
Backed by a wealth of newfound maturity he is able to see the cruelty borne by his actions. When he had taught Doodle to walk, “[Nobody] knew that [he] had done it for [himself]; that pride... spoke loudest to [him] and that Doodle walked only because [he] was ashamed of having a cripple brother.” The narrator came to the realization that he had failed to accept his brother for who he was. Full of guilt, the narrator concluded that “[He] should have already admitted defeat, but [his] pride wouldn’t let [him].” In his eyes, the idea of having a normal brother would no longer justify Doodle’s death. At the time the narrator’s belief that “they had wandered too far into a net of expectations...” was too persuasive to disobey. However the narrator finally realized that was just an illusion created by a mixture of his own ambitions and
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