Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Blood is thicker than water, but sometimes pride is thicker than both. Such is the case with James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis." This is a dramatic short story about two brothers, in which the older brother manipulates and is later responsible for the death of his younger brother, Doodle. These actions proved that he did not love Doodle.

Doodle's brother was never able to accept him for who he was. Even very early in the story, shortly after Doodle was born. His brother's unhappiness with Doodle was mostly because he wanted a brother with whom he could play and run. The thought of a brother who could barely move and probably never walk was embarrassing. He even states that Doodle, "....

Although the narrator of the story contributes to Doodle's death, the narrator actually enhanced Doodle's short life helping him live more than he helps him die. Additionally the narrator always knows that Doodle can act more like a normal boy, than as a sick person that was about to die. In "Scarlet Ibis" the narrator is not responsible for Doodles death.

Doodle's brother would only do this to have control on Doodle and Doodle's actions. This control, which Doodle's brother wanted, gave him enjoyment to boss around his brother, enjoyment to boss a crippled kid. And that Doodle walked only because his brother was ashamed of having a crippled brother. It was bad enough having an invalid b....

In the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, an important theme is pride. Pride is what keeps the story going. The theme is expressed in the story in many ways. An example is when the narrator teaches Doodle to walk and shows the family. The narrator is so proud of what he did that he wanted to continue to make Doodle "more of a person." I think that this pride that the narrator has can cause readers to get angry. It was that pride that caused Doodle to die in the end. The narrator lost his pride when Doodle could not succeed and left him. Doodle died because the narrator ran away and did not help him. If he didn't let his pride get to him then Doodle wouldn't have died.

The first t....

All siblings are cruel to one another in many different ways; but the story written by James Hurst called "The Scarlet Ibis" takes the idea to a whole new level. In the story, Brother tries to take advantage of