The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst
Setting Setting: the place and time that a story takes place Time: 1912-1918 World War I; summer Place: North Carolina; cotton farm; Old Woman Swamp.
Protagonist and Antagonist Protagonist: main character, often hero of the story Brother is the protagonist of The Scarlet Ibis. Even though he is not a hero, he is still the main character. Antagonist: character against the protagonist, often villain of the story Brother s pride is the antagonist of The Scarlet Ibis. His own pride is what stands in his way.
Conflict Conflict: struggle between opposing forces Man vs. Man: a struggle exists between Brother and Doodle. Man vs. Self: a struggle exists within Brother himself versus his pride.
Plot Points Exposition: introduces the characters, background, and setting Brother vividly describes the setting and then starts the story with a flashback. Everyone thinks Doodle will die, but he lives and learns to crawl at age 3. Rising Action: events which lead to the climax of the story Embarrassed by Doodle, Brother teaches Doodle how to walk at age 6. Brother pushes Doodle to learn to do more, and is cruel to him at times. A scarlet ibis dies in the family s front yard.
Plot Points, cont. Climax: the highest point of action in the story; turning point in the story Brother runs far ahead of Doodle during a severe thunderstorm. Doodle cries out for Brother to wait, but Brother s pride is too hurt. Falling Action: events in the story that lead to the end of the conflict Brother turns around to go get Doodle out of the rain. Resolution/Denouement: the end of the conflict Brother finds Doodle dead and cries over his body in the rain.
Direct and Indirect Characterization Direct characterization: an author overtly reveals a character s personality by directly telling you about him or her When Brother first introduces Doodle, he utilizes direct characterization: He was born when I was six and was, from the outset, a disappointment. This example directly tells the reader about Doodle s disability. Indirect characterization: textual clues show a character s motivation and intent As the text progresses, Brother begins using indirect characterization in order to develop Doodle: Slowly, while singing softly Shall We Gather at the River, he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden. This example indirectly shows Doodle s compassion and identification with the dead scarlet ibis.
Flat and Round Characters Flat characters: only a few things are known about flat characters The parents and Aunt Nicey are flat characters in The Scarlet Ibis. Round characters: many characteristics are known about round characters Brother and Doodle are round characters in The Scarlet Ibis.
Static and Dynamic Characters Static characters: don t change during the course of the plot The parents, Aunt Nicey, and Doodle are static characters in The Scarlet Ibis. Dynamic characters: change during the course of the plot Brother is a dynamic character in The Scarlet Ibis. Brother grows to regret his treatment of Doodle.
Narrator and Point of View Narrator: the "voice" that speaks or tells a story The narrator of The Scarlet Ibis is Brother. Point of View: the perspective, or outlook, from which a writer tells a story. First person: the narrator tells the story from his own point of view. Brother tells the story from his own perspective.
Mood and Tone Mood: the atmosphere of a literary work intended to evoke a certain emotion or feeling from the reader The mood of The Scarlet Ibis is one of sadness and tension. Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or character. The tone of The Scarlet Ibis is very grave and full of guilt. Because this story is told through a first person narration, the emotions of the Brother represent the story s tone.
Flashback Flashback: the author or narrator depicts events which have taken place before the present time. Brother (the narrator) begins the story in present, and then flashes back to a previous time in his life. The use of flashback alerts the reader that the story itself is a memory. The use of flashback also characterizes Brother as someone who is now more mature and regrets his treatment of Doodle.
Similes Simile: a comparison of two unlike things that uses the word like or as William Armstrong s name is like putting a big tail on a small kite. This simile compares Doodle to a small kite and his real name to a big tail, emphasizing how Brother thinks Doodle can t live up to the name William Armstrong. Promise hung about us like leaves. This simile compares promise to the multitude of leaves, suggesting that there is a lot of potential. Hope no longer hid in the dark palmetto thicket, but perched like a cardinal in the lacy toothbrush tree, brilliantly visible. This simile compares hope to a cardinal, highlighting how much hope there is for Doodle when he first stands on his own.
Metaphors Metaphor: a comparison of two unlike things without using the words like or as There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction. This metaphor compares love to the flow of streams, whether water or blood, and highlights how it is Brother s love for Doodle that leads to his cruelty toward him, and Doodle s destruction. Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. This metaphor compares pride to a seed which grows into something both positive and negative.
Personification Personification: attributing human characteristics to something nonhuman 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. This sentence gives the smell of flowers the human ability to speak softly. I pulled the go-cart through the saw-tooth fern, down into the green dimness where the palmetto fronds whispered by the stream. This sentence gives the palmetto fronds the human ability to whisper.
Allusions Allusion: a reference in a work of literature to a well-known character, place, or situation from literature, music, mythology, film, religion (especially the Bible), art, or history. There are three allusions in The Scarlet Ibis. Battle sites of WWI: Chateau-Thierry, Soissons, and Belleau Wood The story of Hansel and Gretel: It was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind. Biblical Resurrection: If we produced anything less than the Resurrection, [Aunt Nicey] was going to be disappointed.
Foreshadowing Foreshadowing: hints or clues of events that have yet to occur. Summer of 1918 was devastating: plant growth was replaced by death and decay. Clue that Doodle s growth will be replaced by death and decay. The death of the Ibis. Clue that Doodle will die later in the story. Dead birds are bad luck.
Symbolism Symbol: a person, place, or thing used to represent something else. There are many things which symbolize death throughout The Scarlet Ibis. Scarlet ibis Bleeding tree Mahogany coffin
Imagery Imagery: descriptive language that appeals to the five senses. Imagery related to death pervades The Scarlet Ibis. Rotting brown magnolias Graveyard flowers Black clouds Ironweeds growing rank
Theme Theme: central idea of a piece of literature, sometimes called the moral of the story, or the lesson One of the possible themes of The Scarlet Ibis is pride is destructive. Lines like the following support this theme: All of us must have something to be proud of. Because Brother must have something to be proud of, he pushes Doodle harder than he ever should have, leading to Doodle s death. Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. Comparing pride to a seed which grows into death emphasizes how it is Brother s pride which ultimately causes Doodle s death.
Other Terms = N/A Surprise ending Situational irony Dramatic irony Verbal irony Alliteration