The Scarlet Ibis By: James Hurst

Protagonist The Protagonist in “The Scarlet Ibis” is Brother.

Antagonist The antagonist varies depending on the type of conflict. Man v. Self- Brother Man v. Man- Doodle Man v. Society- Others’ opinions of Doodle Man v. Nature- Storm

Setting The setting of “The Scarlet Ibis” is Dix Hill, a cotton farm, in North Carolina.

Conflict The type of conflict mainly present is “The Scarlet Ibis” is man vs. self, because Brother at first feels embarrassed that his brother Doodle is disabled and then later in the story feels immensely guilty for leaving Doodle behind in the storm to die. Other types of conflict present are man vs. man because Brother pushes Doodle around. Also, man vs. nature is apparent during the end of the book when the harsh storm in which Doodle dies rolls in. Man vs. society also takes place because of the fact that most of the people will not accept Doodle because of his disabilities.

Perspective “The Scarlet Ibis” is told from the first-person perspective of Brother.

Rising Action Doodle survives his early stages of childhood in which he is expected to die. Doodle learns how to crawl, however he can only crawl backwards. Brother becomes sick of Doodle’s disabilities, and pushes him to learn how to walk so he is not such an embarrassment to both Brother and Doodle himself. Another result of Brother’s daily lessons is that Doodle starts to become stronger mentally and his self confidence grows. During lunch one, day, Brother and Doodle spot a scarlet ibis outside in a tree. It died shortly after. They figure, since it was a rare bird in their area, it must have traveled a long way and became sick. Little did they know that this was an ominous foreshadowing of Doodle’s near future.

Climax The climax of this short story is when Brother chooses to leave Doodle behind in the violent storm, and decides that Doodle should stop relying on others and fend for himself.

Falling Action The falling action is when Brother realizes how little clemency he has shown to his brother. He turns back and tries to find Doodle.

Denouement The discovery of Doodle’s tragic demise by his brother is the denouement of “The Scarlet Ibis.”

Plot The plot is the information delivered before. The order is as follows: Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Denoument

Literary Devices Personification- “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born,” (Hurst 554) Simile- “and finally collapse back onto the bed like an old-warn out doll.” (Hurst 555) Irony- Brother runs away from Doodle expect that this would motivate him to follow him and begin to run. However, Doodle ends up dying in the storm. Metaphor- “I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” (Hurst 564) Allusion- “Slowly, while singing softly “Shall We Gather at the River” he carried the bird.” (Hurst 562)