An Analysis of the Scarlet Ibis, a Short Story by James Hurst
Since Doodle was born, he has not been able to walk. Doodle has always been different and stood out from all the other kids his age. “The Scarlet Ibis”, a short story by James Hurst, Doodle has many good traits such as happiness and endurance; despite his disabilities. Doodle may have problems, but he still loved his still loved his life to the fullest and encouraged himself to live it. Although Doodle had problems, he still was full of happiness and admired the world, “It’s so pretty” he said, “so pretty, pretty, pretty” (2). Brother was a blessing to Doodle’s life for sharing the world with him that he would could of never known.
Even though brother was ashamed of Doodle’s disabilities, Doodle was happy to have a brother who wanted him to learn. No matter what Doodle’s brother did, he still loved him, ” I helped him up, and as he wiped the mud off his trousers, he smiled at me ashamedly” (2). As much as Doodle was messed around with or discouraged, he still wouldn’t let him it get to him. Doodle was creative and didn’t let being disabled stop him from showing his creativity even if they got annoyed. Doodle was happy no matter what was wrong with him or when somebody tried to discourage him.
Although Doodle’s problems were hard to fix, he was still steadfast about his brother’s challenges for him. Even if it was his brother who wanted Doodle to walk, Doodle was still willing, “Doodle, don’t you want to earn to walk? He’d nod his head” (30). Doodle looked up to his brother and wanted to please him no matter how hard it was. Sometimes Doodle got discouraged as well, but always kept on going. Doodle knew that his brother wanted him to walk, so he did everything he could to live up to his brother’s wantings, “Finally one day, after weeks of practicing, he stood alone for a few seconds” (4).
At points, Doodle was miserable, but he kept on pushing through it to get to his brother’s goal. Doodle didn’t even know if he could walk, but his brother believed in him so he believed in his self as well. Doodle’s endurance was a great trait in his difficult life. Doodle’s useful traits throughout the story make his confusing life more emotionally stable for himself. Having a disability would usually make someone insecure, but Doodle is happy with himself and confident with who he is. Doodle is a good example to others who are unhappy with their own life that don’t even have disabilities.
