Scarlet Ibis study guide – Flashcards
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Exposition
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It is in the summer and the narrator remembers about how crazy Doodle was and how he wanted a younger brother to play with him
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Beginning conflict
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William Armstrong (doodle) was born with a disability and the narrator is tempted to kill his new brother
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Rising Actions
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William crawls and grins; Brother renames him Doodle; Doodle learns how to crawl but can't walk; Brother takes doodle everywhere in a cart; Narrator shows Doodle the swamp; He makes doodle touch his coffin; Teaches doodle how to walk; On doodle birthday he shows everyone he can walk; Boys practice telling lies; Found dead ibis after long journey; Doodle buries it; Narrator gets frustrated that Doodle can't start school; Thunder hurricane storm comes; Brother leaves doodle;
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Climax
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Goes back to find his brother dead curled in the shape of the scarlet ibis when dead
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Falling action
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Covers Doodle's body with his own
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Resolution
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Doodle passing away causes him so much pain and guilt
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Geographical place
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Southern coastal region of the U.S.
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Historical year
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in the late summer of 1918
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Physical place house
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coastal region
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Physical place area
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coastal North Carolina
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Atmosphere
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Hurricane season and summer ending and fall not yet starting so August-October (clove of seasons)
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World events
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WWI
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Imagery
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Bleeding trees, cornfield, rotting magnolia petals, purple phlox, graveyard flowers, scarlet ibis, spruced up white house with a picket fence, hurricane winds, five o'clocks
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Foreshadowing examples
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Summer was dead; Aunt Nicey says red birds are bad luck; William Armstrong sounds like it should be on a tombstone; Scarlet ibis all of the sudden dies after a long journey like Doodle; Bleeding tree; the coffin in the barn;
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Symbolism
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Both doodle and the ibis died in the same position; red is the color of courage, life, and blood; The Ibis represents the struggle of survival in extraordinary circumstances like Doodle
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Idealistic protagonist
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Wanted to work hard to try to fix his brother so he can be normal like other boys
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Setting (what makes it a tragedy)
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Takes place in WWI; During hurricane season; Old Women's swamp sounds dangerous;
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Unfair rule
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Narrator never got the normal brother he wanted; Doodle had a disability; Doodle dies too young; The narrator feels as if he killed his brother;
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Protagonist loses
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After Doodle and the brother finally become close and have the same goals for doodle too go to school, the narrator pushes Doodle to hard and causes his brother's death
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Plot works toward destruction
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The narrator wants Doodle to be normal so badly that he pushes his way to hard and so he has to always live with the guilt of killing his brother
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Realistic antagonist
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The hurricane kills Doodle because the brother wants Doodle to be normal
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"Nobody expects much from someone called Doodle"
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Said: Narrator to himself Means: the brother renames William Armstrong to Doodle so no one would be too disappointed when they realized he was an invalid
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"Doodles was my brother, and he was going to cling to me forever, no matter what I did"
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Said: Narrator to himself Means: Doodles loves him and wants to be near him and the brother would always have to take care of Doodle
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"There is within me a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love,much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction and sometimes I was mean to doodle"
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Said: Narrator to himself Means: Even though he loves Doodle the Narrator needs to be mean to his brother to feel satisfied
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"Don't leave don't leave me"
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Said: Doodle to narrator Means: When the brother almost left Doodle alone to touch the coffin (death) it was a emotional time for doodle and he needed comfort
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"Brother brother don't leave me don't leave me"
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Said: Doodle to narrator Means: Brother is angry and frustrated that they failed so he leaves Doodle in the hurricane alone
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"They did not know that I did it for myself that pride whose slave I was spoke to me louder than all their voices and that doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother"
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Said: Narrator to himself Means: After Doodle walks infant of the family that all praise the brother but he actually just did it h=for himself and his pride so now he feels bad.
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"I did not know then that pride is a wonderful terrible thing a seed that bears two vines life and death"
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Said: Narrator to himself Means: Pride made the brother teach Doodle how to walk, run, and do other things which gave Doodle more of a life and it was also pride that made the narrator leave his brother in the rain and made him push Doodle to hard.
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Theme
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Pride: it is a precarious emotional state. Pride is both beneficial and detrimental. Pride can benefit others in moderation as it may challenge us to better ourselves to take care of others. Too much pride is detrimental as it causes us to feel frustration. It then builds up inside us and destroys us.
