Brian Ghilliotti: The Scarlet ibis test packet

1. Name Score /100
The Scarlet Ibis Test Packet
Directions: Complete the following packet. Unless otherwise indicated, answers can be
in “note” format. Value of each section is indicated in parenthesis. There should be a
pretty easy (and obvious if you’ve done what you’re supposed to) place to get the defini-
tions for terms…
Define the following term in bold (1):
Diction:
Below write the denotation and possible connotations of the word “brother.” (2)
Setting: Give the best information you can for the setting. (5)
Word Denotation Connotation
brother a male offspring having both
parents in common with an-
other offspring; a male sibling
In a non-familial context, a term
that suggests a very close connec-
tion between another person, orga-
nization, or even a thing, usually
with a masculine undertone. “My
football team are my brothers.”
Geographical place
Where in the
U.S.A.? (Don’t
need an exact city/
state)
Opening paragraph describes plants that grow best in the south-
ern US, especially magnolias, cotton, and dog toungue. Coastal
region indicated by mentioning of fiddler crabs.
Historical year(s) Text mentions Woodrow Wilson, March 1913 - March 1921
Physical place
Describe the area:
desert, mountains
etc.
Humid, wet and swampy, high vegetation

2. Point of View: From what point of view is this story narrated? (I am not asking who the
narrator is; I am asking about Point of View) (1) First Person
How old is the narrator when he tells this story (Note: I do not need an exact age)? (1)
The narrator is much older when he is telling his story, as he seems a surprised that he
can remember the details of his relationship with his brother as indicated by the story
line:
“But sometimes (like right now), as I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the
grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away—and I re-
member Doodle.”
/10
Atmosphere/
Weather details at
end of story
Starts by discussing a heat wave in Summer of 1918; followed
by a sudden hurricane. Then follows a wet period of stepped up
rain and down pours. It during one of these downpours that
Doodle’s brother decides to leave Doodle behind while escap-
ing the storm, which results in Doodle having heart failure
while trying to keep up with him.
World events (best
guess is fine)
WWI, and US intervention in the war, described by battle of
Belleau Wood.

3. Character: There are really only two main characters in this story—the narrator, whose
name we never learn, and his brother, Doodle (William Armstrong). Answer the follow-
ing questions related to character. (Specific quotations would be best.) (10)
Describe Doodle’s ap-
pearance as a baby. The narrator describes him when born as “He seemed all
head, with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an
old man’s.”
What is the narrator’s
reaction to his new
brother?
He immediately began having problems accepting him for
being disabled, indicated by the following quote: “It was
bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who
possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to
make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.”
What kind of a brother
does the narrator want?
The narrator wanted someone as active as he was, indicat-
ed by the following quote: “I wanted more than anything
else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to
box with, and someone to perch with in the top fork of the
great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and
swamps you could see the sea.”
Record Doodle’s reaction
to seeing Old Woman
Swamp for the first time.
What does his reaction
say about him?
From the story:
His eyes were round with wonder as he gazed about him,
and his little hands began to stroke the rubber grass. Then
he began to cry.
“For heaven’s sake, what’s the matter?” I asked, annoyed.
“It’s so pretty,” he said. “So pretty, pretty, pretty.”
This indicates that Doodle was a sensitive, spiritual per-
son.

4. How long does it take to
teach Doodle to walk?
What does that show
about each brother?
The narrator mentions that it took many weeks during a
summer, and he finally disclosed it to his family in Octo-
ber. Up to three or four months. In my personal opinion,
Doodle’s brother was driven more by selfish needs to have
a brother that he wanted, which explained why he forced
him to learn to walk so fast. I also see a level of stubborn-
ness in Doodle, which can be a good thing or bad. I get a
sense that Doodle went along with this because he wanted
to be accepted by the narrator.
Why does the narrator
cry when everyone con-
gratulates him for teach-
ing Doodle how to walk?
The narrator explains in the story:
“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.”
The narrator says that
sometimes he is cruel to
his brother: give two ex-
amples to show that this
is true.
The case where he though about killing his brother just as
he was born, and the case where the narrator made Doodle
touch his coffin that his father made for him as soon as he
was born out of fear that he would soon die as a toddler.
The narrator told him to touch it or he would leave him be-
hind; Doodle was still handicapped at the time.
The narrator says that
Doodle is really good at
telling lies. What are
these lies?
Doodle describes a peacock which he claims to see as he
is about to fall asleep. This is a dream symbolizing that he
wants a brother who will just accept him for what he is. He
also describes seeing a boy named Peter, who symoolizes
what Doodle wants to be; self reliant and powerful.
What is the theme of
most of the lies and what
does this tell us about
what is important to
Doodle?
The peacock gives us an image of a sheltering theme,
which suggests that he would like his brother to play a
more protective a nurturing role in his life. Peter represents
his almost miraculous dream of being able to instantly
overcome him disabilities so he can be more self reliant.

5. /10
Is the narrator a dynamic character? Support your answer with evidence from the sto-
ry. Write a solid paragraph here. (5)
There are plenty of indications that the narrator is a dynamic character, which in
literary terms is a character who goes through a spiritual or moral growth process. The
earliest example in the text can be found just before he describes the event where he
forces Doodle to touch his infant coffin. The narrator begins describing this event with a
tone of remorse:
“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,
and at times I was mean to Doodle.”
The next case is found when the narrator admits his reasoning for crying after letting his
family know that he taught him to walk.
““What are you crying for?” asked Daddy, but I couldn’t answer. 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.”
Finally, before the narrator begins to describe the immediate events that lead to the death
of his brother, he blatantly admits he was wrong:
“The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that
streak of cruelty within me awakened.”
Conflict (3):
What is one internal conflict in the story?
There is an internal conflict within Doodle to accept his brother as he is. As he could
not resolve this conflict to the reality of the way things were, he tried to change this
reality.
How does Doodle imag-
ine his perfect future will
be?
Doolde would spend the rest of his life with his brother,
totally unhandicapped, with his brother, leading very phys-
ically active lives. His parents could live with them in the
swamp. He would marry his mother while his father would
marry his father.

6. What is one external conflict in the story? AND what type of external conflict is it?
I would like to say that Doodle is a symbol for the disabled community in society, and
society’s difficulties in learning to accept them as they are. So this can be seen as a man
vs society type of conflict. In this case, man vs an aspect of society, the disabled commu-
nity.
Tone: The tone is the emotional aspect of the literature. The author creates a specific
feeling right in the first paragraph. (6)
What is the feeling you get from the first paragraph?
A get a macabre tone from the first paragraph through numerous references to
death.
Give five examples from the first paragraph that reinforce the tone.
1. summer was dead
2. flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals
3. ronweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox
4. oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty
cradle
5. last graveyard flowers
/14
Similes/metaphors: Hurst uses some great similes and metaphors that help the reader see
exactly what he’s describing. Find three of them and record them in the table below.
Show what is being compared—both the literal term (the actual thing being discussed)
and the figurative term (the imaginary thing it is being compared to). (5)
Simile/metaphor Literal term Figurative term
He collapsed onto the grass like a
half-empty flour sack
a sack half full of
flour being dropped
a sense of exhaustion,
foreshadowing of
death.

7. Define the following term in bold: (1)
Symbol:
To get us ready for the main symbol in the story, the author “paints” his story red. Skim
through the story and find as many things, images, ideas that are red and record them
here. Please bold the “red” term in your example. (9)
Hope no longer hid in the dark pal-
metto thicket but perched like a car-
dinal in the lacy toothbrush tree,
brilliantly visible.
Expectations have
been met
Hope is a virtue that
has been personified
as an elusive bird.
The sound of rain was everywhere,
but the wind had died and it fell
straight down in parallel paths like
ropes hanging from the sky.
Rain was not influ-
enced by wind, but
still falling heavy.
Rain is being com-
pared to ropes coming
down from above, al-
luding to a noose or
death.
Example Line number
1 “with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old
man’s.”
3rd paragraph
2 “Trembling, he’d push himself up, turning first red, then a
soft purple, and finally collapse back onto the bed like an
old worn-out doll.
6th paragraph
3 He was looking up into the bleeding tree. first finding dying ibis
4 “It’s a great big red bird!” he called. first finding dying ibis
5 As we watched, Daddy thumbed through its pages. “It’s a
scarlet ibis,”
Doodle’s father identi-
fies dead bird
6The rain was coming, roaring through the pines, and then,
like a bursting Roman candle
narrator describing the
initial storm and its
lightning that Doodle
would die in

8. 10. What emotions is the color red generally associated with? (2)
Chaos and death
/17
Define the following term in bold: (1)
Foil: A character that contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in
order to highlight the qualities of the other character
Connecting he scarlet ibis and Doodle: (4)
7 Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a red
nightshade bush
narrator describes the
location where he finds
Doodle’s dead body
8 He had been bleeding from the mouth, narrator describes the
state of his brother’s
(Doodle) injuries
9 his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant
red.
more details the narrator
provides describing
Doodle’s injuries when
he found him dead.
Where does the ibis come
from? South America and/or Florida
What does it look like? “On the topmost branch a bird the size of a chicken,
with scarlet feathers and long legs, was perched precari-
ously…”
How does Doodle respond
to the scarlet ibis and its
death?
He seemed sensitive and depressed. After burying it, he
lost his appetite.

9. Define the following terms in bold: (2)
Foreshadowing:
Imagery:
Death imagery/Foreshadowing: Find five examples of death images in the story. Give
the line number following the example. Do not use any images from the first para-
graph of the story. (5)
Describe how Doodle ap-
pears to be like the scarlet
ibis at the end of the story.
Narrator’s initial reaction to Doodle’s death:
“Doodle! Doodle!” I cried, shaking him, but there was
no answer but the ropy rain. He lay very awkwardly,
with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion
neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent
sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile,
so thin.”
Description of the Scarlet Ibis final death:
“Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then
straightened out, and the bird was still”
Both Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis assume similar final
positions when they die. The narrator’s description of
Doodle, after his initial reaction to his death, parallels
with a description for a bird.
Example Line number
1 “The doctor said that with his weak heart this strain
would probably kill him, but it didn’t.”
6th paragraph
2 “His hand, trembling, reached out, and when he touched
the casket he screamed. A screech owl flapped out of the
box into our faces, scaring us and covering us with Paris
green.”
the scene where Doo-
dle’s brother threatened
to leave him behind if
he did not touch his in-
fant coffin.

10. /12
3 “In May and June there was no rain and the crops with-
ered, curled up, then died under the thirsty sun.”
Describes the summer
where Doodle’s brother
tries to make him “more
acceptable” for school
in Fall.
4 “As we slipped through dog days, Doodle began to look
feverish, and Mama felt his forehead, asking him if he felt
ill.”
Describes symptoms of
Doodle as he “pro-
gressed” through his
“physical education”
program that his brother
made him go through
that summer before
school.
5 “Suddenly, from out in the yard, came a strange croak-
ing noise. Doodle stopped eating, with a piece of bread
poised ready for his mouth, his eyes popped round like two
blue buttons. “What’s that?” he whispered.”
The initial sound that
Doodle heard outside
when the first discov-
ered the Ibis.

11. Define the following term in bold (1):
Theme: In complex literature, a main point of a story that addresses a central issue of the
human experience.
To come up with a theme for this story, answer the following questions. (5)
Theme + Thesis = Thematic Thesis: Think of two different ways to state a theme for
this story in addition to the first one that is done for you as an example. Your themes can
What did the narrator want?
A brother was as physically capable as he was
What did Doodle want?
A brother who would accept him and a family that
would be there forever. He also wanted to be physically
self reliant.
Why did Doodle die?
Doodle’s brother pushed him too hard to make him
physically capable as he was just before he went to
school that Fall. He ended up dying of heart failure.
How was Doodle like the
scarlet ibis? Remember
what happens to these birds
in captivity. Also, remem-
ber that this bird was far
away from his home.
My research indicates that Ibis birds can live longer in
captivity. Doodle was left alone in a hostile environment
as his brother selfishly and cruelly left him behind while
running out the rain storm.
How should the narrator
have treated his brother? Accept him as he was.

12. be about anything—think of what thematic issues come up in the story, and then just ask
“What does the story seem to say/suggest/teach about this particular issue?” (6)
1. Too much pride can make people treat those they love in cruel ways.
2. The Scarlet Ibis: A wake up call for people to start accepting the handicapped
community as they are
3. The Scarlet Ibis: Time for parents to start taking the challenge of supporting hand-
icapped children more seriously.
/12
Close Reading: Follow the directions for the Close Reading assignment. Also carefully
review the outline, the powerpoint, the rubric, the checklists…everything else I’ve pro-
vided to explain the Close Reading assignment—this is the only part you’ll be doing for
all of the other stories. Please use one of your thematic thesis statements from the
previous page. (25)
Here’s an Example!:
Dead Birds and Dead Brothers
In James Hurt’s “The Scarlet Ibis,” an unnamed narrator reflects on the childhood
he spent with his disabled brother, Doodle. Embarrassed by Doodle’s handicaps, the nar-
rator created a strict and ill-advised training regimen in an attempt to make his brother
“normal.” The narrator’s actions show exactly how pride can make people treat those
they love in cruel ways.
Throughout the story, the narrator’s ego drives him to push Doodle beyond his
physical limits. In Old Woman Swamp, a place of serene beauty and tranquility, the nar-
rator sets about teaching Doodle to walk. However, this idyllic setting stands in contrast
to the harshness with which the narrator instructs Doodle. When Doodle collapses, the

13. narrator hauls him off the ground and demands that he stand. The entire summer he
spends challenging Doodle, yet he is doing it for himself not for his brother. He even
admits that he “did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that
bears two vines, life and death” (lines 129-131). This, unfortunately, is a realization that
comes far too late. The fact that he says “I did not know then” shows that this is a recog-
nition the narrator has come to later in life, most likely after Doodle has died and it is too
late to change the events of the distant past. In this reflection, the narrator is finally ac-
knowledging his own internal conflict that was ultimately driving his external conflict
with his young, fragile brother. He uses the metaphor for his own pride as a “seed that
bears two vines, life and death” because he now understands the overwhelming—and
deadly—influence pride can have on someone. The “seed” of pride could grow into the
“vine [of] life”, as the narrator’s ambitions did indeed give Doodle more of a life than
anyone ever thought he would have. However, the same “seed” can bear the “vine…[of]
death,” as the narrator’s excessive pride ultimately leads him to push Doodle far beyond
his limits and to his death. It is for these reasons that pride can, oxymoronically, be a
“wonderful, terrible thing.” Sadly, it takes his brother’s death for the narrator to have this
epiphany. Perhaps this admission proves that he is a dynamic character and has learned
from his mistakes; unfortunately, his cruelty spurred on by his own selfish pride has made
this lesson come too late for Doodle.
Throughout the story, the narrator’s pride causes him to treat Doodle in increas-
ingly cruel ways and finally results in Doodle’s death. As Doodle collapses at the very
end of the story, the narrator gets to see firsthand how pride comes before the fall.

14. Again, note how in my body paragraph I cited a quote, and then I spent the rest of the
paragraph explaining the specific parts of that quote and how they prove my thematic
thesis.
Now YOUR Turn!:
The Scarlet Ibis: A Wake Up call for People to Start Accepting the Handicapped Commu-
nity As They Are
The central theme of this tragedy can be summed up by a dialog between Doodle
and his brother, who was the unnamed narrator of the story. Unwilling to accept the reali-
ty that Doodle was handicapped, the narrator resolved to spend the summer giving Doo-
dle a “physical education program” prior to his first year in school that upcoming Fall.
At one point, Doodle could not keep up with the narrator’s physical swimming
regimen, and he began to cry. After the narrator sharply rebuked him and made comments
about being physically different in school, Doodle asked: “Does it make any difference?”
The commentator was not surprised when the narrator’s response to that question was: “It
certainly does,” I said. “Now, come on,” and I helped him up (page 6, last line).
On the surface, the narrator motives were not as altruistic as they would appear.
The narrator had successfully taught his lame brother, Doodle, how to walk in his favorite
stomping ground, Old Women Swamp. Through his desire to gain acceptance with his
brother, Doodle pushed himself to learn how to walk. The narrator’s favorite tactic to mo-
tivate his brother to learn how to walk was to present a picture of Doodle as an old man

15. who still needed to he dragged around in a wagon by his elderly brother. This imagery
chided at notions that Doodle would be both a burden and not adequate as a fully grown
man if he did not learn to walk. Handicapped and disabled elderly people face these nega-
tive social perceptions to this day. The Scarlet Ibis disturbingly reveals to us that some
things have not changed much.
The narrator’s self motives into trying to mold Doodle into something that fitted
into the reality he wanted, rather than accepting the reality that one has to accept people
as the are, became evident when he began crying as soon as he revealed to his family that
he taught Doodle how to walk. This was the first effort by his conscious to tell him that
he was really driven by his selfish motives of making his brother in his image rather than
really trying to improve him. At the time the narrator may have not understood why he
was crying; but, as he became older, he later realized why he was crying, and explained
so during his story telling.
The narrator’s conscious was speaking to an immature boy, who did not under-
stand his own internal conflicts. Instead of showing pride in Doodle’s accomplishments,
his reaction was to push him harder, so he could “fit in” better during his first year of
school. The narrator was probably more afraid of his classmates ridiculing him on ac-
count of his association with his lame brother.
Handicapped people face this problem to this day. They may face harsh treatment
from their families since these families think their handicapped offspring make them look
as “inferior” as they perceive their handicapped as “problem children”. These handi-
capped children, if they are unfortunate enough to be in prejudiced and unsupportive fam-

16. ilies, face realities ranging from harsh criticism, cruelty, and considerations of abandon-
ment.
We see all these feelings boiling inside the narrator as he decides to continue to
prepare his brother for better adjustment into his upcoming first year of school. If the nar-
rator was driven by truly caring and selfless motives, perhaps he would have backed off
as soon as Doodle was beginning to show signs of fever instead of pushing on with his
swimming lessons.
Doodle was probably afraid of school, and his brother’s behavior was doing little
to help alleviate his fears. This was apparent by the many nightmares Doodle was having
in the summer before his first school year, which Doodle had to frequently disrupt by
shaking him out of his sleep and stating “Wake up, Wake up.” This was disturbing fore-
shadowing.
There are many symbolic meanings with this literary use of storms, and the storm
in which Doodle died in is no different. One symbolic application of the storm is a
metaphor of how the narrator should decide to handle the fact that his brother would not
be “like everyone else” at the beginning of his first school year. He had three choices;
continue to “mold” into how he wanted Doodle to be with more physical education class-
es, accept him as he was, or abandon him.
When the storm culminated, Doodle selfishly chose to get out of the rain and not
take the extra time to help his brother who could not run as fast. Perhaps subconsciously
the narrator had also made a choice to make his problem, and his fears of ridicule at
school, go away. However, the narrator’s consciousness screamed back at him and told

17. him that maybe he should try to find out what happened to Doodle. The commentator
would argue that narrator’s consciousness spoke too little, too late.
This struggle with societies reaction toward the handicapped community contin-
ues to this day. From Doodle’s perspective, the storm was a symbol of his fear of the
greater world, symbolized by the first year of school. I cannot blame Doolde for his fears,
as he had been systematically indoctrinated by his brother that “he was not good enough”
for school. Doodle just wanted to stay in a warm insulated environment, as the Ibis lives
longer in captivity.
The narrator concludes that we cannot expect society to take a moment and give
compassionate consideration for the handicapped, and society cannot expect to have these
people be molded to all its expectations. I hope the Scarlet Ibis can be a story to motivate
people to prove me wrong.