Literature
Short Stories- The Scarlet Ibis
By James Hurst
Introduction: The short story we will read is called “The Scarlet Ibis”. This story was first published in 1960 and became an instant American Literature classic. Just a little background…a scarlet Ibis is a beautiful bird that inhabits the tropical regions of South America and the Caribbean Islands. They live in large colonies and it is very strange to see one by itself. This is important information because you will need to understand a great deal of symbolism that is presented in this story. I want you to pay close attention to the type of narration, the limited characters and their characteristics, the tone, the imagery, and the dialect in this story. Here we go…
Assignment: Part 1- Read along with the audio of The Scarlet Ibis found at the following links:
Text (full): http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Zobel/documents/TheScarletIbisText.pdf
Text (partial) and Audio: (you choose the speaker you prefer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcGaTp2Mhuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8TZC9sxcsY
Video- Must Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEXoU5e2wg
Assignment: Part 2- Vocabulary
Please define the words listed below:
1) clove-
2) phlox-
3) untenanted-
4) grindstone-
5) piazza-
6) careen-
7) bedeck-
8) “a film of Paris green”-
9) caul-
10) sullenly-
11) iridescent-
12) vortex-
13) blighted-
14) palmetto-
15) brogans-
16) infallibility-
17) unfurled-
18) doggedness-
19) precariously-
20) mar-
21) gilded-
22) skiff-
23) armada-
24) naught-
25) nettles-
26) evanesced-
27) vermillion-
28) heresy-
Assignment: Part 3- Questions
1) When you look at the first paragraph of the story, and see lines like:
“summer was dead”, “the flower garden was stained”, “the ironwoods grew rank”, “it rocked like an empty cradle”, and “it’s song seems to die up in the leaves”; what mood do you immediately assume? Why?
2) I gave you a Must Watch video to watch after reading the story. At the end of the video there is a paragraph that explains the theme and emotional feeling of the story. What do you think of the paragraph? Do you agree? Can you add more too it?
3) When you first read the title of the story what did you think it would be about? I told you about how rare it is to find a single Ibis. There is a symbolic moment when the Scarlet Ibis falls from the bleeding tree and dies in front of the family; Brother says “even death did not mar its grace…awed by its exotic beauty”. What event is foreshadowed in this statement and how are the two events similar?
4) Explain the comment “Doodle was about the craziest brother a boy could have…but he was a nice crazy, like someone you meet in your dreams”. This description of Doodle is very specific especially the “like someone you meet in your dreams” part; explain it as best you can.
5) Why does the narrator think that the name William Armstrong is too big for Doodle and why does he think it is a name that is only befitting a tombstone? This name and the comment about it are great examples of foreshadowing and symbolism; explain how.
6) One of the most interesting things about Doodle is that he was “born in a caul”. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Do a little web research and then explain why Aunt Nicey thought Doodle was special because of this event.
7) Speaking of Aunt Nicey, she has the following three lines from the story:
“…cauls were made from Jesus’ nightgown”
“…caul babies could turn out to be saints”
“Dead birds is bad luck…specially red dead birds”
What is somewhat prophetic about her statements and what symbolism do you see in her name?
8) The narrator, Brother, says “I wanted a brother” and then he tells us that his mother said (about Doodle) “he might, as long as he lives, lie on the rubber sheet in the center of the bed”. Using these two statements describe how Brother must have felt. Try to put yourself in the place of an only child who is 6 years old and has just received a baby brother.
9) Now that you have tried to do some self-examination and determine what it must have felt like to be in Brother’s shoes; explain this statement from him: “…so I began plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow”.
10) Brother says that after the 3rd winter Doodle had learned to crawl, “…we brought him out of the bedroom putting him on the rug before the fireplace. For the first time he became one of us”. What does he mean when he says that after the 3rd winter, at this particular moment, he became one of us?
11) How did Brother come up with the name Doodle and why does he say it “was perhaps the kindest thing I ever did for him”?
12) Brother said that “there was a long list of don’ts that went with him (Doodle); what did he mean by that and how did he handle that?
13) Kind of like some other stories we have read, Brother says “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 is one of the most important quotes from the story and hints to a common theme on human nature. Explain what it means (you can compare it to other stories you have read).
14) Was it cruel for Brother to make Doodle touch the coffin that was made for him at birth? What other reason might brother have had for his actions?
15) Brother was so proud of teaching Doodle to walk. What was Brother’s motivation and why was pride an ironic emotion in retrospect? Use lines from the story to help with your explanation.
16) Brother did one particular thing when Doodle seemed to give up while learning to walk; what was that one thing and why was it such good motivation for Doodle?
17) Brother said that he and Doodle were very good liars. When you read their lies do you think “liar” is the proper word choice for what they were doing? Describe Doodle’s favorite “lie” and provide an explanation for its symbolic meaning.
18) During the spring of 1918, Brother says that “Promise hung about us like the leaves, and everywhere we looked ferns unfurled and birds broke into song”. What was happening with Doodle for Brother to express such optimism and why do we as readers foresee an ominous event in the future?
19) Following the hurricane in the summer of 1918, the two brothers witnessed their father survey the damage then “raise a giant knuckle fist…and curse the weather and the Republican party”. They also hear the names of Chateau-Thierry, Amiens, and Soissons” as well as their Mama asking to “bless the Pearsons, whose boy Joe was lost at Belleau Wood”. What was the hurricane symbolic of? Do some web searches of the names and use them to explain your answer.
20) Just a few days before school was to begin, Brother laments that he “should have already admitted defeat”. Why did he say this and what motivation did he have to push even harder and continue in his quest?
21) Throughout the story Doodle cries “Don’t leave me”; after pushing Doodle to paddle against the current in the skiff and walk at a pace far too fast for him, Brother runs away after a bolt of lightening hits a tree. He says (in reference to an earlier statement in question #13) “that streak of cruelty within me awakened”. How could he, knowing that Doodle was fearful of being left alone, continue to run farther and farther from him?
22) What was the last line from the story and why was it so heartbreaking?
23) Why do you think that the author, James Hurst, did not give names to Brother, Mama, and Daddy but did for Doodle (William Armstrong) and Aunt Nicey?