"The Scarlet Ibis" is a short story written by James Hurst. It was first published in ''
The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' in July 1960 and won the "Atlantic First" award.
The story has become a classic of
American literature, and has been frequently republished in high school anthologies and other collections.
Plot
The narrator, who is not named but simply called "Brother", recounts the life of his younger brother, William Armstrong, nicknamed "Doodle". Doodle is born a sickly child, who is not expected to live because of his birth defects. His family even has a small coffin made in the case of his death, and presumably chooses the robust name 'William Armstrong' because it would look good on a gravestone. Doodle survives, but for most of his childhood, he is unable to move or respond to his environment. Brother even goes so far as planning to smother the baby with a pillow, thinking that having no brother was better than having a brother who wasn't truly there. Luckily, Doodle smiles at Brother before he can do the deed, and, overjoyed that his brother is smart, Brother leaves him be.
Doodle eventually learns to crawl, even though the doctor says the strain of even sitting up might kill him because of his weak heart. He crawls backwards, though, reminding Brother of a doodlebug, leading him to nickname William, "Doodle". But Doodle is still very weak and feeble. Brother wanted someone who could run and jump and play with him, but resents having the weak and fragile Doodle instead. Brother even has to pull his brother around in a wooden go-kart his father built him, because Doodle can't walk. It is now that Brother decides to train Doodle to be a "normal human being". He takes Doodle down to the swamp to teach him how to walk.
Eventually, shortly before his sixth birthday, Doodle learns to walk with help from Brother. Encouraged by this, Brother decides to teach Doodle how to run, climb vines, swim, row and even fight to prepare Doodle for school. However, almost a year after the plan was made, Doodle is far from accomplishing the goals by the nearing deadline.
One day, a big red bird appears in their garden, looking sick and tired. The boys' father identifies it as a
scarlet ibis
The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but it ...
, a tropical bird that was blown off-course by a recent storm. When the bird dies, Doodle, pitying the creature, buries it. Afterwards, the boys go to the nearby Horsehead Landing to continue Doodle's "training". On their way back to the house, Brother has Doodle practice rowing. A sudden rainstorm comes, and when they reach the riverbank, Doodle is tired and frightened. Brother, angry and frustrated that Doodle could not finish his training before school starts, runs ahead of Doodle, leaving the frightened boy behind. When Brother does not see Doodle, he returns for him, his anger dissipated. To his horror, he finds Doodle, lifeless, lying on the ground with blood flowing out of his mouth, staining his throat and shirt a brilliant red. The story ends with Brother crying and cradling Doodle's body. As this happens, Brother recalls how he killed Doodle with his selfish pride.
Analysis
The story has been described as "rich in symbolism". The
scarlet ibis
The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but it ...
is the main symbol in the story, as is the color red and the ibis in comparison to Doodle as fragile yet majestic. The storm is often compared to Doodle's brother because the brother pushed him too hard, much as the storm did with the scarlet ibis. The story also examines the ambiguous nature of pride: "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death." Brother acknowledges that pride is wonderful because it has allowed for Doodle to do great and unexpected things but also terrible because his true motivations were not pure and ultimately caused Doodle's death.
Opera
The story was developed into an opera by composer
Stefan Weisman
Stefan Weisman (born 1970) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He composes opera, chamber music, orchestral music, as well as music for the theater, video and dance.
Raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey, Weisman credits his ...
with librettist
David Cote. The opera was co-produced by New York City's
Beth Morrison Projects and
HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City off-off-Broadway presenting house, founded in 1993. Their location includes two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry in addition to art exhibition space and a cafe ...
in association with
American Opera Projects The American Opera Project (AOP) is a professional opera company based in Brooklyn, New York City, and is a member of Opera America, the Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A. ...
, and premiered in the Prototype Opera Festival on January 8, 2015. ''New York Times'' critic, David Allen, called the opera "a moving, intense and dignified creation." The opera was produced in January 2019 by the
Boston Opera Collaborative and February 2019 by the
Chicago Opera Theater
The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. COT is a resident company at the Harris Theater (Chicago), Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park and is currently in residence at th ...
.
James Hurst
James Hurst was born on January 1, 1922, near
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commu ...
. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia and studied chemical engineering at
North Carolina State College. However, following military service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he decided to be an opera singer and studied at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
of Music in New York
and in Italy. In 1951, Hurst abandoned his musical career and became a banker in New York for the next thirty-four years. He wrote plays and short stories in his spare time.
"The Scarlet Ibis" was his only literary work that gained widespread recognition, appearing in the July 1960 issue of ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and earning the 'Atlantic First' prize that year.
James Hurst died in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on October 24, 2013, at the age of 91.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Ibis, The
American short stories
1960 short stories
Works originally published in The Atlantic (magazine)