Faith Heathcote Period 7 November 5, 2015 We have studied three stories: the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Freak the Mighty, a novel, by Rodman Philbrick, and Simon Birch, a film, by Mark Johnson. These three stories are conveyed through very different forms, but they share many character traits, literary devices, and themes. Doodle, Kevin and Simon all have disabilities. This makes life a challenge for them, but they each have a special friend to help. Doodle’s brother was his designated best friend whether he liked it or not. Although at first he didn’t like the idea of having a sibling but he saw that Doodle was “all there.” Brother said, “I skipped through the rooms, down the echoing halls, shouting, ‘Mama, he smiled. He’s all there! He’s all there!’ and he was’” (Hurst 351). Brother taught Doodle how to walk for self-embarrassment later realized that he wasn’t the only one effected by …show more content…
Brother loved Doodle, but by his brotherly instinct he sometimes bullied Doodle. “There is within me 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” (Hurst 353). Unlike Doodle with his bully as a close figure in his life, Kevin faced a more dangerous villain like Tony D. “...they call him Blade, he’s at least seventeen and he’s already been to juvy court three, four times” (Philbrick 29). Tony steps in front of Freak and asks him what he called him. Freak just looks right up into his face and says, "Cretin. C-R-E-T-I-N. Defined as one who suffers from a mental deficiency" (Philbrick 6.17). Later Kevin realizes how dangerous Tony D. can be as he and Ma flee into the pond to escape Blade’s wrath. “I (Max) hear this zingy sound and i just know that Blade is swinging a knife, cutting the air behind us, and there’s nowhere to go but into the pond like Freak wants me to” (Philbrick
The scarlet Ibis, throughout the story the author compares and contrast the scarlet Ibis and Doodle. Showing how they are alike, different, and more alike than different it shows with the details and characterization of the characters how the two characters are compared and contrast to each other. Throughout the story it shows how doodle take on physical and mental obstacles not within his abilities to be able to achieve. In the story The scarlet Ibis the author shows details and characteristics to show how the scarlet ibis and Doodle are alike, in the story, it tells how the bird is from tropical lands meaning it is in an environment it is not adapted to survive in, while Doodle is stuck in a world where he has to try to live up
When Doodle is first born, Brother states how it, “was bad enough having an invalid brother … so [Brother] began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow,” (Hurst 485). Brother’s cruelty once again alights as he plans to kill his invalid brother for his own reasons and issues. His sense of morality vanishes as his thoughts take a turn for the dark without an ounce of love for his brother. Another example is when Brother thinks at times about how “[he] was mean to Doodle. One day [he] took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how [they] all had believed he would die,” (486).
The ideas presented in the story The Scarlet Ibis and the movie Simon Birch lead to an intrigued way of thinking. Simon Birch and Doodle having disabilities is a major relevance to both stories, since Simon and Doodle have disabilities, one can easily see how their characters are related, but also how they differ in thought, word, and deed. Also, symbolism plays a major role in The Scarlet Ibis and Simon Birch, by representing future events. Another idea present in both stories is that both Simon and Doodle are seen as miracles from God, but in their own ways.
And he was.” His pride was also the reason he taught Doodle how to walk,
But, he didn’t want to be the kid who had a mental brother. So he pushed Doodle to the limit, which led to his death. Realizing that he killed the one he loved the most over social status and conforming to those around him, he blames himself and can never undo what he did to the brother he
The expectations of Doodle's family and society that he should be normal and physically capable led to his brother's insistence on teaching him how to walk, even if it meant pushing Doodle beyond what he could handle. Doodle's inability to walk is not something he believes in himself; rather, it is a limitation imposed on him. In this case, the pressure set to meet societal
Blood may be thicker than water, but pride can be thicker than both blood and water. Pride can be life or death. Pride can be good or bad. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the narrator’s pride ruled over his actions and decisions. The narrator’s pride lead to the death of his little brother, Doodle.
Brother ran back only to find Doodle’s dead body and scarlet-hued blood flowing from his
Have you ever read The Scarlet Ibis? James Hurst wrote the fictional story "The Scarlet Ibis" that has a lot of elements mixed into the story. A few of these elements inside this story include characterization, imagery, and foreshadowing. The Scarlet Ibis uses characterization, imagery, and foreshadowing to create a beautiful, well-written story that can mess with the audience's feelings.
In the scarlet ibis there is a narrator who gives brief descriptions throughout the story, although he is not officially named but simply called "Brother”, recalls the life of his younger brother, William Armstrong, also known as Doodle, later in the story. Doodle is born a sickly child who is not expected to live past 2 months because of complications at birth that resulted in drastic birth defects. Therefor his family decides to have a small coffin made in the case of his death. Doodle ends up surviving into his childhood, but for most of his babyhood, he is unable to move or respond to his surrounding environment filled with his loved ones.
In the dramatic short story Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst a boy named Doodle and his brother encounter many obstacles similar to the brothers in the movie Simon Birch even though they come from starkly different family situations. Doodle and Simon were always the underdogs and wanted to be accepted. Doodle wasn’t accepted by his brother whereas Simon’s brother always looked at him like an equal. There brothers teach them many things like baseball and how to walk. Simon and Doodle are always happy and never sad or down.
Throughout the story, The Scarlet Ibis, the narrator known as Doodle’s older brother is attempting to change Doodle for what he thinks is the best. Although he is doing these tasks, he has indeed begun harming doodle. I do not blame the narrator because he is a child himself and there was no immediate harm done to doodle it was all long term. Early in the story, the mother of the narrator said that Doodle may not be all there, implying that he may never walk talk or do any of that.
At first the narrator sees Doodle as a crazy frail brother but as we move into the story, we can observe a lot of varying feelings brother has towards Doodle. Brother described Doodle as unbearable, an invalid brother, a brother who was not there at all, so he started
He’s all there!” And he was” This illustrates the idea that the brother is more excited to share the information than to have it. Hurst makes clear that the brother showed Doodle how to walk because he showed Doodle how to walk because he wanted attention and he wanted a real brother rather than wanting to help Doodle. Near the end of the narrative, the author mentions, “At
”(7) He comes to recognize and value that his brother is his best friend and an irreplaceable treasure. By sheltering Doodle, he shows deep respect and care for him. In the beginning, the brother worries of how people will judge him according to his brother; through the events of Doodle’s death he humbles himself to recognize that his own perception and gratitude are more