Evidence in the short story, “THE SCARLET IBIS” proves that Doodles brother was responsible for Doodles death. Doodles brother, the narrator, wasnt described in the story except from his own view point, but from the facts told in “The Scarlet Ibis”, there were many clues to his wrongdoing.
Doodle was a small child and had been since his birth. All the doctors said that he shouldnt move around to much because of his bad heart, but his brother didnt listen. Doodles brother couldnt accept a brother with so many handicaps.
He wanted someone to play catch with, fight with, and be really aggressive toward. He was ashamed of having a “not all there” brother. Because he was embarrassed of such a sibling he pushed Doodle too hard to do everything perfect. His pride got in the way of acceptance and love. After pushing Doodle to walk and showing their family the great miracle, the narrator makes this statement, “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” That statement proves he was responsible for his brothers death.
In “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodles brother talks about his days with Doodle and his childish behavior towards him. The narrators behavior toward his brother during those days were harsh and cruel. He would try to hurt Doodle’s feelings by making Doodle do things that he didnt want to do. Doodles brother describes a day when he and Doodle were in the barn and he made Doodle touch his own coffin. Doodle didnt want to, but he was forced. His brother always had those immature ways of leaving Doodle behind to catch up.
It seemed as if he had an egotistic pride and he liked it. The evidence of his childish manner is confirmed in this statement by the brother, “And before Ill help you down from the loft, youre going to have to touch it.”
During the last scene of the story there is a raging storm filled with wind, rain, and lightning. Both the brothers were struggling to get home from the storm. The one having the greatest struggle was Doodle. He called out “Brother, brother, dont leave me! Dont leave me!” but Doodles brother still ran until he was out of sight.
Doodle (like the Ibis) had struggled to his death. Here was this small innocent young boy lying dead on the ground and where was his brother? Doodles brother hadnt care in the world until it was too late. Because of his self-pride and childlike manner his brother was dead.
The evidence proves that Doodles brother was responsible for Doodles death. The brother had made some unwise mistakes and Doodle suffered and lost because of them. Yes, Doodles brother was, in fact, responsible.
