...“I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet Ibis from the Heresy from the rain.” All the narrator wants is a “normal” brother. He tries his best the change his brother; all that leads to is death. Doodle is his brothers Scarlet Ibis, and Doodle dies because of his brother. His brother tries so hard to change who Doodle is and all that it leads to is a death. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses conflict, symbolism, and irony to develope the message that everyone needs to accept others for who they are, and not try to change them or the outcome will be negative. James Hurst uses internal conflict to show that changing others for selfish reasons can lead to tragic consequences. The main reason that Doodle can walk is because of the narrator’s selfish attitude of caring what others think. When the narrator says “I was embarrassed at having a brother who couldn’t walk”(336), his egotistical personality defiantly shows through; he is more concerned of what others think rather than the fact that his impaired brother is unable to walk (CS2). The only motivation to...
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...The Scarlet Ibis," is a short story written by James Hurst. This story is about the life of a young boy named Doodle and his older brother, the Narrator. In the story, Doodle is crippled for life. As Doodle grows older his older brother's pride leads him to teach Doodle how to walk. James Hurst uses foreshadowing and conflict to show Doodle's empathy and loyalty. The use of foreshadowing shows how he is empathetic because he can feel empathy for something like the ibis. For example, when the family watches the scarlet ibis die, Doodle says, "I'm going to bury it." This shows that Doodle is caring enough to care for an animal he has no relation to in the story. This is because Doodle could reflect the scarlet ibis, and what was happening to the ibis upon himself. In addition, Doodle's mother would not allow him to even touch the bird, yet Doodle disobeys and buries the scarlet ibis. This reveals that his empathy for the ibis was so grand that he disobeyed his mother. The reason why is that Doodle treated...
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...Sneaky Symbols “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is full of abstract symbolism to help the audience understand the passage clearer. This story is about a disappointed boy who finds out his brother is invalid. The baby by was thought to die at birth, but he ends up living. They named him William Armstrong, but the brother believed that that was a terrible name for a disabled child. Doodle, William’s nickname his brother gave him, could not walk. The boy was determined to teach Doodle how to walk because he thought of Doodle as an embarrassment. The doctors believed Doodle could not be overworked, or he would die. During the training, Doodle could not keep up with his older brother. Doodle fell to the ground from being tired, and slowly died...
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...Imagine “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connen, or “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst without conflict… it doesn't feel right. Conflict is an essential part of almost any story. Conflict can make a story change for the better, for the worst, or even alter the entire purpose of the story. Every single story has a well thought out conflict or problem, including “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Scarlet Ibis”. This is because without conflict there is no good story. Conflict isn't just something that can change a story, it can also change or develop a character. In the most dangerous game rainsford experiences change as he battles zaroff and nature. Those two conflicts are called man vs man and man vs nature which are both external conflicts....
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...The Sharing of a Common Theme “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “The Interlopers” by Saki both share a common theme ‘appearance versus reality’. Though both of the articles have two completely different plots, they share an idea that is displayed throughout both stories. The theme may seem to have different levels of importance or appear in different parts of the stories, but it is present in both no matter what. Here is an example of how “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Interlopers” both have the theme ‘appearance vs. reality’. The theme of appearance versus reality is displayed in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by illustrating Big Brother’s disappointment at having a disabled brother transformed to embarrassment and selfish desire of...
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...In “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, the depressing mood is supported by the literary elements setting and symbolism. In the story, the narrator’s brother Doodle, is born with both mental and physical problems. Because of this, from the start, the narrator is angry and embarrassed of his brother and only becomes more ashamed as the years go on. Doodle’s medical issues did not affect the narrator’s decision on teaching him how to go about a normal person's daily activities like walking or swimming… the narrator just wanted a regular brother. Later in the story Doodle discovers a red bird and watches it fall to its death, much like Doodle would do in the end of the story. The story ends with the narrator running away from his brother in spite of him, leaving him alone in a storm to die (just like the...
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...In “The Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, and “The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allan Poe, the characters in both works are the theme of Appearance versus Reality. The authors use Appearance versus Reality by revealing the cruel intentions of Montresor and the reality of how Doodle learned to walk. Both “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are influenced by Appearance versus Reality as the plot progresses in both of these stories. The process of maturation in Doodle and Brother demonstrate the theme of Appearance versus Reality in “The Scarlet Ibis”. When Doodle was born, his family and the doctor presumed that he would not live to experience a full life. Even his own mother did not think that he would remain...
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...leading English art critic of the Victorian era, once said, “It’s better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love for pride”. The meaning of this quote is that one shouldn’t have to lose the ones they love because they also want pride, and that one should rather lose their pride to the one they love. Many authors write about the intriguing topic of conflicts between pride and love. For example, in the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the protagonists, Lennie and George, clearly show that pride should not always get in the way of love. This is exhibited at the time of Lennie’s demise. George tries to forgives himself, and reminds himself that killing Lennie was the right thing to do. It is manifested clearly in this allegory, that family is...
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...reader to remember. In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst the theme is to always have faith in someone’s potential and abilities, even if the odds are against them. The specific writing techniques James Hurst uses in his short story are foreshadowing, interesting dialogue, and inner conflict. The author uses foreshadowing to help prepare the reader for what is going to happen later in the story. During the story this is shown through the narrator’s feelings about Doodle, “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.” (Hurst 3) The narrator is questioning his relationship with his brother Doodle, and how much he...
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...grader will endure a series of meltdowns, panic attacks, and conundrums just trying to cope with adjusting to a new environment. When one places a slightly disabled teenager under these circumstances, the results most likely point to chaos. The stress is already unbearable as a normal teenager, but adding a crippling impairment to the equation creates a much bigger dilemma. Doodle, a character from "The Scarlet Ibis", has a lot of setbacks in his life that restrict him from many everyday activities. Doodle will not be successful at Hoban because he does not possess the required academic abilities or general physical skills to function at a normal rate....
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...Guilt is an emotion caused by an action. These actions may be used for bad, or used for good, but for the wrong reason. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst, a boy and his crippled brother, Doodle, create a good, but unhealthy relationship that causes problems in both lives. In James Hurst’s flashback, the most powerful emotion the narrator, Brother, expresses is guilt because at the end of every conflicted event, the narrator feels guilty. Brother feels guilty for his actions and strongly expresses the emotion guilt. While the narrator wants to kill his brother, he has a realization, “…’Mama,’ he smiled. ‘He’s all there! He’s all there!’ and he was” (Hurst 2). Brother is too young to understand what death is, but he knows...
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...In the story “ The Scarlet Ibis” there are two brothers, the youngest one is named Doodle he was born with a birth defect that made him not being able to walk. His brother wanted him to walk for his brothers own purpose. His brother kept pushing Doodle to learn how to stand and walk on his own. ¨I can't walk Brother,” he said. ¨Who says so?” I demanded. ¨Mama, the doctor-everybody” ¨Oh you can walk,¨ I said, and I took him by the arms and stood him up. He collaspesd onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack. It was as if he had no bones in his little legs” (Hurst 3). Brother pushing Doodle how to walk made Doodle stronger but made many conflicts. Brother was hurting Doodle sometimes. He kept pushing Doodle to do his best until he learned how to walk. People told Doodle he would not be able to walk ever in his life. Doodle being able to walk put him in a lot more trouble than he could have been when he was not able to walk. Brother pushing Doodle how to walk caused conflict, and was putting Doodle in...
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...star-crossed lovers, born into opposing dichotomies. Although the movie may seem like nothing more than a musical about two feuding gangs in the 1950s, this story dates back to the sixteenth century, during the Dark Ages. It is perhaps even more ancient, developed by Ancient Greeks. The exact tale did not originate that far into the past, but its basic plot of a literary tragedy was invented long ago, and was adopted to modern times. West Side Story qualifies as a literary tragedy because the established tragic hero impacts the rise, climax, fall, and ultimate inescapable disaster of the story. The plot structure of a literary tragedy follows a very specific and necessary path throughout the story. The tale begins with hatred, fighting, and conflict, at nobody’s ideal. The plot requires a reason to escalate or rise, which is the Tony, the tragic hero, and his desire to reach his ideal of love. Other characters’ ideals are also attempted to be achieved. The individual members of the Jets and Sharks strive to gain superiority and territory from each other. The gangs start the path to their ideals by arranging a fight to decide who the victorious and superior gang will be. Tony rises towards his ideal when he meets Maria, and makes a proud and willful decision to pursue a relationship, despite forces acting against them. Uncontrollable forces act upon our hero, such as his circumstance and the hate he is surrounded by, but he nevertheless begins to rise to something greater, establishing...
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...Teacher and Author: Teaching Middle and High School Using Literature Sandra Coleman Grand Canyon University RGD 545 Professor Karen Foster February 27, 2008 Teaching Middle and High School Student Using Literature Outline: I. Short Stories a) Activating Prior Knowledge b) Responding to the Selection c) Short Story Selections 1. Suggested Activities to use with Various Groups II. Oral Tradition Literature – Tall Tales and Folktales a) Analyze characteristics and plots of Folktales and Tall Tales b) Understanding Hyperbole c) Writing a Tall Tale d) Selections of Oral Tradition Literature III. Novel Studies a) Previewing the novel b) Defining and Understanding Elements of c) Character Analysis d) Problems and Solutions of the story IV. Historical Fiction a) Activating background/prior knowledge b) Setting a purpose for reading c) Writing about historical fiction V. Realistic Fiction a) Evaluating Realistic Fiction b) Responding to the selection c) Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion d) Summarizing the Story Chapter 1 – Short Stories: A short story is, like the name...
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...[pic] JPPSS ELA COURSE GUIDE 2011-2012 ENGLISH I The JPPSS Instructional Sequence Guides are aligned with the LA Comprehensive Curriculum. JPPSS Implementation of Activities in the Classroom Incorporation of activities into lesson plans is critical to the successful implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. The Comprehensive Curriculum indicates one way to align instruction with Louisiana standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations. The curriculum is aligned with state content standards, as defined by grade-level expectations (GLEs), and organized into coherent, time-bound units with sample activities and classroom assessments to guide teaching and learning. The units in the curriculum have been arranged so that the content to be assessed will be taught before the state testing dates. While teachers may substitute equivalent activities and assessments based on the instructional needs, learning styles, and interests of their students, the Comprehensive Curriculum should be a primary resource when planning instruction. Grade level expectations—not the textbook—should determine the content to be taught. Textbooks and other instructional materials should be used as resource in teaching the grade level expectations...
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