The Road Of Barbs
The implausible can be done, but the road to it is paved with barbs. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story about two brothers, however, one is disabled. While trying to make his brother overcome this, he pushes him far too hard and faces the ultimate consequence. Throughout this story, readers learn that helping someone is great, but that it is very important not to try to alter the person instead of helping them.
In the beginning of this novella, the author tries to change who his brother (Doodle) is.
For example, early in the story (Hurst pg. 2) when the narrator says "Renaming my brother was perhaps the kindest thing I ever did for him…” before speaking about his disabilities. This shows that even before his brother could crawl, the narrator was already changing who he was.
This also shows that he did this out of disgust and remorse for his brother. My previous statement is backed by the sentence, (Hurst pg. 1) “it was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who was possibly not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” This emphasises that before he decided to change him, he was horrified by the thought of him. This also shows that he is scared of having a brother who’s disabled. The narrator succeeded in changing him but failed to stop himself from pushing too hard.
So at the end of this story, it could be said that the narrator was the cause of Doodles death. Since he leaves him behind: “When the deafening peal of thunder had died, and in the moment before the rain arrived, I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind, cry out, "Brother, Brother, don't leave me! Don't leave me!" he then finds him later on, in a sickening state. (Hurst pg. 6) Please think about this, what condition would Doodle be in if the narrator had gone back for him? The most likely answer is perfectly fine. This also made me think about what would have happened if he had never tried to change Doodle in the first place, sure he wouldn’t be able to walk, but he would be alive and safe. In addition to this the narrator says, (Hurst pg. 6) “As I waited, I peered through the downpour, but no one came.” he says this after informing us of how fast he was running from Doodle. Which shows that he didn’t even go back to find him after realizing his err. This emphasises my earlier statement, proving that the true cause of Doodles death, ( in my opinion,) was the narrator. This was a paragraph of utmost importance due to it containing the inspiration I used to write my first line: The implausible can be done, but the road to it is paved with barbs. He did the implausible, but found his barbs eventually.
In the beginning and end of this novella, Hurst moves the readers towards understanding the message. Hurst felt that the readers should understand that people should not be lead astray from who they are. He explained this through the narrator's own actions, and the things that transcribed around them. Success through helping others can be achieved, just avoid the barbs.
My Score
The score I received was a 2 of five, I believe I got this due to using past-tense and having a strangely written essay overall. My writing goal would have to be correcting my use of past and present tense, and putting my thoughts on paper in a professional and literately-proficient manner.
The implausible can be done, but the road to it is paved with barbs. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a story about two brothers, however, one is disabled. While trying to make his brother overcome this, he pushes him far too hard and faces the ultimate consequence. Throughout this story, readers learn that helping someone is great, but that it is very important not to try to alter the person instead of helping them.
In the beginning of this novella, the author tries to change who his brother (Doodle) is.
For example, early in the story (Hurst pg. 2) when the narrator says "Renaming my brother was perhaps the kindest thing I ever did for him…” before speaking about his disabilities. This shows that even before his brother could crawl, the narrator was already changing who he was.
This also shows that he did this out of disgust and remorse for his brother. My previous statement is backed by the sentence, (Hurst pg. 1) “it was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who was possibly not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” This emphasises that before he decided to change him, he was horrified by the thought of him. This also shows that he is scared of having a brother who’s disabled. The narrator succeeded in changing him but failed to stop himself from pushing too hard.
So at the end of this story, it could be said that the narrator was the cause of Doodles death. Since he leaves him behind: “When the deafening peal of thunder had died, and in the moment before the rain arrived, I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind, cry out, "Brother, Brother, don't leave me! Don't leave me!" he then finds him later on, in a sickening state. (Hurst pg. 6) Please think about this, what condition would Doodle be in if the narrator had gone back for him? The most likely answer is perfectly fine. This also made me think about what would have happened if he had never tried to change Doodle in the first place, sure he wouldn’t be able to walk, but he would be alive and safe. In addition to this the narrator says, (Hurst pg. 6) “As I waited, I peered through the downpour, but no one came.” he says this after informing us of how fast he was running from Doodle. Which shows that he didn’t even go back to find him after realizing his err. This emphasises my earlier statement, proving that the true cause of Doodles death, ( in my opinion,) was the narrator. This was a paragraph of utmost importance due to it containing the inspiration I used to write my first line: The implausible can be done, but the road to it is paved with barbs. He did the implausible, but found his barbs eventually.
In the beginning and end of this novella, Hurst moves the readers towards understanding the message. Hurst felt that the readers should understand that people should not be lead astray from who they are. He explained this through the narrator's own actions, and the things that transcribed around them. Success through helping others can be achieved, just avoid the barbs.
My Score
The score I received was a 2 of five, I believe I got this due to using past-tense and having a strangely written essay overall. My writing goal would have to be correcting my use of past and present tense, and putting my thoughts on paper in a professional and literately-proficient manner.