Class Scarlet Ibis Essay

Name
October 30, 2008
English Period 6; Gharda
Love It, Don’t Leave It
Death can creep up on us at any time, whether it takes us or someone we love dearly. That’s why it’s important to appreciate the time and life we have while it’s still there to enjoy. In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator learns that you should be grateful for what you have, because although he doesn’t appreciate his brother at first, he learns to care about him as he teaches him to walk and mourns over his body when he dies at the end, becoming his fallen scarlet ibis.
At first, the narrator does not appreciate his brother, because he cannot do the things he hoped to do with him. When his brother was first born, the narrator was excited because he hoped he’d have someone to play with. At the beginning of the story, the narrator explains what excites him about the idea of having a baby brother, saying, “I wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn….I wanted a brother” (344). In this passage, the narrator describes how he wants his brother to be. He expects a brother who can play with him; someone who is normal. Unfortunately, the narrator is disappointed by the reality of his little brother: “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk…” (346). Here, the narrator points out his embarrassment and frustration. If he can’t even walk, there’s no way he’ll be able to box, race, or climb trees.
As we watch the narrator interact with his little brother, we see his failure to appreciate him fully. Unfortunately, Doodle can barely even walk long after he is supposed to, let alone race, box, or climb trees, as we see when the narrator says, “I put him on his feet a hundred times each afternoon. Occasionally I too became discouraged because it didn’t seem as if he was trying, and I would say, ‘Doodle, don’t you want to learn to walk?’” (347). This scene is important to the story because we see here how the narrator is becoming “discouraged” with his brother because he is struggling to learn how to walk. He fails to show gratitude for what he has; he should be happy that he is not handicapped himself and that his brother is alive and still pretty smart. After all, his mom wasn’t sure his little brother would even be “all there” mentally, but he is.

Welcome to Ninth Grade English!

To whom it may concern,

If you're reading this, you must be in Ms. Gharda's Ninth Grade English class. Welcome! I look forward to working with you. This blog will be a place where you can find daily agendas and relevant forms of media (i.e. film clips, photos, articles, etc.) to complement class studies and daily agendas. If you happen to misplace a handout or need one because you are absent, you can find those items at http://ngharda.googlepages.com/home. I would recommend bookmarking both sites so you can return to them often! I hope they will serve both of us well.

Yours sincerely,

Ms. Gharda