Reflections on The Scarlet Ibis

This story revolves around a young boy called Doddle, born with a very low life expectancy and slow in thinking and his brother, who is an athletic type and a person who is very determined once he has made up his mind.The story was set with humor, feelings,a wide range of vocabulary and a fresh plot. The famous quote,"Pride is wonderful and terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines,life and death." originates from this story.The story first begins with the narrator depicting a scene in the clove of seasons between Summer and Autumn where he starts with a flashback. He then relates about how his brother,originally named William Armstrong,is slow in thinking ,reacting and coordinating his body.Thus,he learned how to crawl only at the age of 3 and it was then was he renamed Doodle for he crawled backwards,just like a doodlebug.The narrator is bent on having Doodle learn how to walk as he felt embarrassed that a 5-year-old cannot walk,therefore he brings him to Old Woman's Swamp every day to teach him how to walk.The narrator would spend afternoons putting Doodle on his feet and watching him fall,.Feeling that Doodle would be his responsibility and pride, he did not give up no matter how discouraged he was.His efforts paid off when his brother finally managed to walk.After having taught somebody with bad coordination how to walk, he thought nothing could stop him from teaching Doodle more,his pride and complacency welling up. He taught him for many days but to no avail.On a fateful day, Doodle saw the scarlet ibis in the backyard, blown away from its habitat by the storm and apparently perishing and he buries the scarlet ibis.Right after that, the narrator and Doodle head off for their training.However, Doodle seemed to have given up and the narrator took notice.Livid and with his pride broken,he ran away, leaving his brother behind.When he went back to check on him, Doodle had passed away.The significant milestones in this story are when Doodle learns how to walk,the death of the scarlet ibis and lastly the death of Doodle.Firstly,when Doodle learned how to walk,Brother was already thinking that he could do anything,therefore his pride swelled.Secondly,the death of the scarlet ibis foreshadows the end as the scarlet ibis was similar to Doodle in many aspects.Both of them were not able to adapt to an environment clearly unsuitable for them.Both of them were separated from the others and died in the end. Both of them could not survive without the presence of their fellows.Thirdly, Doodle is pushed beyond his limits to learn what Brother wants him to but failed.Enraged by his failure,Brother leaves Doodle in Horsehead Landing and Doodle perishes.Doodle's death also served as a wake-up call to Brother for him not to let pride result in another calamity.I feel that that Doodle died a wrongful death,even though he was meant to die in the beggining.He persevered to the very end,no matter what difficulties he faced,he would always face them with determination.Brother himself has also regretted having indirectly caused Doodle to die,admitting his past mistakes and expressing his remorse.If you would like to read more of the scarlet ibis,you can search the internet for the abriged and original versions.