The short stories “The Scarlet Ibis” and “Sucker” are very similar
stories to each other. Each story contains similar themes, conflicts, and
metaphors in the short stories. The two short stories deal will similar
conflicts between characters, themes used by the author, and metaphors to
portray each character. These are the reasons why the two short stories
share such a close similarity.
In the short story “Sucker” and “The Scarlet Ibis” the main
characters seem to have a constant conflict between each other in the
story.
For example, in The Scarlet Ibis Doodle and his brother never seem
to get along well as they never had a good brother-to-brother relationship.
Doodle’s brother would always be angry because he would have to drag
Doodle along with him. He felt that Doodle should do things on his own and
be able to do what he would do for Doodle.
(Hurst, p. 91) ” If I so much as picked up my cap, he’d start crying
to go with me and Mama would call from wherever she was, ‘Take Doodle with
you.’ He was a burden in many ways.
”
Doodle was a pain to his brother and they never seemed to bond well
together because of Doodle’s physical problems and they never were happy
with each other. Doodle’s brother tried to persevere the in capabilities
of his brother by having him exercise and try to learn to swim, run, or
walk.
(Hurst, p. 95) ” Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk, I
begin to believe in my own infallibility and I prepared a terrific
development program for Doodle. I would teach him to run, to swim, to
climb trees, and to fight. So we set the deadline for these
accomplishments less than a year away, when, it had been decided, Doodle
could start to school.
”
Although Doodle and his brother may have thought that they had solved
their problem it was only the beginning. In “Sucker” there was also a
friend-to-friend conflict as well but it was over a girl and had caused
anger between the two main characters. Sucker and Pete had constant fights
over a girl and Pete felt embarrassed almost to have a friend like Sucker
who hung around with Pete all the time. Pete would discourage Sucker if
the girl, Maybelle, were not pleased with Pete. Pete would say things to
Sucker that he did not mean but could never take back.
(McCullers, p.
109) “Why do you always hang around me? Don’t you
know when you’re not wanted? No you don’t know when you’re wanted. You’re
too dumb. Just like your name- a dumb Sucker.”
Maybelle would drive Pete to say these horrible things just like
Doodle’s brother being pushed to have Doodle be able to run and swim. Some
outside force such as a physical disability or a new girlfriend pushed both
of the boys into causing conflict.
Themes of each short story were also similar to each other.
Each
short story used the main theme change. In “The Scarlet Ibis Doodle”
changes because he knows he will die soon after touching the coffin and
because he pushed himself so hard he ended up dying. Doodle’s brother also
found out how he regrets for pushing Doodle too hard and for even having
the feelings he had for Doodle before he mad him exercise.
(Hurst, p. 100) “I began to weep and the tear- blurred vision in red
before me looked very familiar. ‘Doodle!’ I screamed above the pounding
storm and threw my body to the earth above his.
I lay there crying,
sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.”
The changes that occurred in “Sucker” were the relationship between
Pete and Sucker after Maybelle became Pete’s boyfriend and the way Pete
feels at the end of the story showing how he regrets ever saying those
things to Sucker. Pete is so shaken that he feels Sucker would kill him if
he had the opportunity.
(McCullers, p. 111) “More than anything I want to ease my mind again.
And I miss the way Sucker and I were for a while in a funny, sad way that
before this I never would have believed.
I’ve sometimes thought if we
could have it out in a big fight that would help. But I can’t fight him
because he is four years younger. Sometimes this look in his eyes makes me
almost believe that if Sucker could he would .
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