The Scarlet Ibis Color Red Analysis

Roses, lips, and cardinals are all images that come to mind while thinking of the color red. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst uses red in a more sinister way. His use of red resonates in the reader’s mind; alongside an eerie vibe. My view on Hurst’s use of red is that it is very effective in building anticipation throughout the story.
An act of red used during the story was a mahogany coffin. “Doodle studied the mahogany box…” (Hurst 160). The narrator, Doodle’s brother, forces Doodle, a main character, to touch the mahogany box; which was once supposed to be Doodle’s. In this scene, Doodle is reaching to touch the mahogany box, which may symbolizing him reaching towards death. When he touches the box, he screams for his brother not …show more content…
A storm had passed through, possibly bringing this foreign bird to their yard. “...it had traveled to die like this…” (Hurst 165). The family featured in the story goes out to see it and it had begun to fall from the tree; injuring itself as it falls. Its body hit many branches and it fell dead due to injury. The scarlet ibis’ death symbolizes a bad accident coming in the future and this scene builds wonder to soon death as well.
The last act of red used in the story is Doodle’s death. He is covered in a bright red coming from his mouth. “His head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim.” (Hurst 167). His neck was a vermilion color and the color red finally caught up to him. The anticipation built up by the other uses of red has led to this bright color streaming down his neck. Death finally came to Doodle; although, not how the readers or story’s characters may have expected.
The acts of red used in the story build anticipation towards a tragic accident, Doodle’s death. When Doodle died, he was covered in the color that continued to recur throughout his life. The mahogany coffin and the scarlet ibis built anticipation towards Doodle’s death. After reading “The Scarlet Ibis,” blood, death, and doom are all images that come to mind while thinking of the color

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