“T HE S CARLET I BIS ” By James Hurst

... THE “C LOVE ” OF SEASONS Clove is a noun here – from the verb “to cleave” or to split. A cleaver is a knife used by butchers. Cloves are a spice. The clove of seasons is the split between two seasons – not quite summer and not quite fall.

G RINDSTONE – A WHEEL THAT IS TURNED AND USED TO SHARPEN TOOLS.

S YMBOLISM – S OMETHING THAT IS USED TO MEAN SOMETHING ELSE. Words from the first section that hint at symbolism: It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. The flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox. The five o'clocks by the chimney still marked time, but the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle. The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead. It's strange hat all this is still so clear to me, now that that summer has since fled and time has had its way. A grindstone stands where the bleeding tree stood, just outside the kitchen door, and now if an oriole sings in the elm, its song seems to die up in the leaves, a silvery dust.

M OOD : T HE FEELING YOU GET FROM READING THE STORY Based on the first paragraph, what do all those highlighted words suggest to you? How do they make you feel? Do those words suggest something that is to come later in the story? FORESHADOWING!

S ETTING : L OCATION AND T IME The narrator says that cotton grows and he lives close to a swamp; when he climbs up a tree, he can see the ocean. This would place the location somewhere in the deep south. Either North or South Carolina. Time: The narrator says that his Miss Leedie sends letters to President Wilson. President Wilson (remember him from Iron-Jawed Angels) was the 28 th President and held office from ). We will see other events that place the time more specifically.

P LANTS LISTED IN THE FIRST SECTION

CAUL A caul is the placenta, also called the “afterbirth” – it is the sac that surrounds a baby while it is still in the womb. Sometimes it covers the head of a baby while it is born. مشيمة 胎盘

S WAMP A wetland area. Here it is an area near the sea where wild plants and trees grow.

P ALMETTO – A TREE THAT GROWS IN THE SOUTH – STATE TREE OF N ORTH C AROLINA WITH FAN - LIKE LEAVES

H E SEEMED ALL HEAD, WITH A TINY BODY WHICH WAS RED AND SHRIVELED LIKE AN OLD MAN ' S.

D OODLEBUG Sometimes called a “pill bug” – it can roll itself into a ball. It is usually found under logs or in damp, wet places.

G O -C ART – A TYPE OF WAGON

P IAZZA – M EANS A “ SQUARE ” IN I TALIAN, HERE IT IS USED AS A LARGE PORCH

B ARN H AY LOFT -

S CREECH O WL – A NIGHT BIRD THAT OFTEN LIVES IN BARNS AND MAKES A LOUD NOISE WHEN DISTURBED.

T HE BIRDS OF “T HE S CARLET I BIS ” Oriole Cardinal Rail

H ONEYSUCKLE – A VINE WITH FLOWERS WHICH ARE VERY FRAGRANT AND SWEET - SMELLING.

B ROGANS – HEAVY OLD - FASHIONED SHOES

P EACOCK : - THE FEATHERS ARE “ IRIDESCENT ” – SEEM TO CHANGE COLORS.

D OG T ONGUE PLANT – SO - CALLED BECAUSE IT WAS THOUGHT THAT IF YOU WORE IT ON YOUR SHOE, YOU WOULD KEEP DOGS AWAY.

U MBRELLA T REE (M AGNOLIA )

P AINTING OF A C AROLINA S WAMP – ( NOTICE THE ROPE VINES )

C OTTON B OLLS – ( BEFORE THEY OPEN UP INTO THE WHITE COTTON )

C YPRESS T REES – F OUND IN SWAMPS IN THE SOUTH.

S OUTHERN C OTTON F IELD

T O W ITHER MEANS TO DRY UP BECAUSE OF A LACK OF RAIN

SCARLET IBIS

S KIFF - A SMALL BOAT

F IDDLER C RABS AND E GRETS

N ETTLES – A WEED WITH TINY HAIRS THAT STING THE SKIN WHEN TOUCHED.

M ARSH R AIL

R OMAN C ANDLE – A FIREWORK THAT SHOOTS OFF FLAMES

“B ROTHER, B ROTHER ! D ON ’ T L EAVE M E !

R ED N IGHTSHADE B USH – D O THE BERRIES REMIND YOU OF SOMETHING ?

“T HE HERESY OF RAIN ” Heresy is the act of going against established tradition. For example, the Danish man who published a cartoon showing the Prophet Mohammed was accused of heresy by Muslims. Rain is the bringer of life – we saw that the cotton crops were dying because there was no rain. At the end of the story, instead of bringing life, when the rain came, it led to Doodle’s death, thus “the heresy of rain” falling on the dead Doodle held in his brother’s arms.

T HE E ND

E XTRA C REDIT “The Scarlet Ibis” ends with the quote “sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” Where did we see this idea first presented in the story?