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A Thematic Analysis of The Scarlet Ibis Essay

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People need others to live a fulfilling and happy life because one cannot live without love. When one truly loves and admires another, one will go to the ends of the world for that person. This concept is shown in The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst. In life, people will do anything for someone they care about, putting aside their own personal feelings to please their loved one. For them, their idol is the most prominent and influential person in their life, whom they rely on so strongly and wish to follow all the time. Because they love and believe in the person so greatly, they are so full of blind adoration that they do not realize the negative aspects in their loved one. In the story, Doodle would worship the storys narrator, his older brother who he endlessly loves. Doodle does not notice the narrators selfishness and continues to give it his all for him until the end of the story and the end of his life.

To please a loved one, people will go against their own gut feeling and do anything to make the loved one happy. Doodle would do anything to ensure his brothers happiness and the only reason he trains so intensely is for his brother. He [doesnt] seem as if he [is] trying because he does not really want to. Only after brothers constant pushing, saying well, if you dont keep trying, youll never learn.'" and "'All you got to do is try. Now come on, does Doodle continue trying, for the purpose of pleasing his brother. Afraid of displeasing and burdening his brother, he does not want to give up the program. Id paint for him a picture of us as old men, white-haired, him with a long white beard and me still pulling him around in the go-cart and it never failed to make him try again. For his brother, Doodle never discontinues training even when he [begins] to look feverish and started to[have] nightmares . . . sometimes. He does not have a personal reason to train; only that he wants his brother to be proud of him. Doodle sometimes even ignores his own feelings in order to make brother happy and proud of him. Doodles brother wants him to be normal when entering school, but Doodle does not understand why it make[s] any difference. Yet, he does it anyway. For his brothers happiness, Doodle would do anything.

Because a cherished companion is everything to a person, he or she needs a loved one more than anyone else. In the story, Doodle needs the narrator since he is defiantly the most crucial person in doodles life. By following the narrator wherever he goes, it shows that his presence is essential to Doodle. If I so much as picked up my cap, hed start crying to go with me. Doodle is especially frightened of being left alone by his brother because he needs his presence and would cry out dont leave me if his brother ever appears to be leaving him behind. He needs to be around his brother so much that he would touch his coffin so that the narrator would not desert him. When the narrator does abandons him, Doodle ends up dying. This shows the extreme extent of his need for the narrator. Because of his unconditional love for his brother, Doodle needs his brother more than anything else, so when he can not stand up to his brothers expectations and his brother isnt there anymore, there isnt anything left for doodle to live for.

People all have their shortcomings, but when someone loves another to a boundless extent, that person often overlooks the loved ones bitter cruelty. Doodle loves and admires his brother more than anything else, even though his brother is not always nice to him. The narrator admits that at times I was mean to Doodle. Doodle does not seem to notice the times his brother is being cruel to him. To discourage his coming with me, Id run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around corners on two wheels but Doodle would continue to cling to me forever, no matter what I did. When the narrator made him touch his coffin, Doodle wasnt at all angry with him, just terrified to be left alone. He doesnt realize or care that the narrator is being mean to him since he loves and needs him way more than enough to overlook the matter. The reason the narrator teaches Doodle to walk is because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother, but Doodle doesnt see that. The narrator wants him to be normal so he wouldnt embarrass him at school but Doodle doesnt seem to care that his brother is acting on selfish incentives and continues to do everything the narrator says. Even after his brothers streak of cruelty or knot of cruelty, Doodle still loves him, not minding any of the narrators selfishness and unkindness.

The bond between people is complicated and intricate, and the things people would do for the ones they love are beyond common sense or understanding. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle literally worships his older brother, the narrator of the story. He is willing to sacrifices anything for his brother and does everything in his power to make his brother happy. Because Doodle needs the narrator so terribly much, he ends up dying when he is abandoned by him. This just goes to show that without the ones they love, people will loose the sight of a purpose and the will to keep going. And that is why they are willing to do anything for the one they truly love, because they need the person, and they cant live without his or her approval and presence.

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