Scarlet Ibis Short Story And Allegory

Words: 604
Pages: 3

Those who persevere are the ones that achieve the seemingly impossible. This concept is signified by the character Doodle, a sickly, lopsided character who overcomes the odds in James Hurst’s short story and allegory, “The Scarlet Ibis.” Doodle overcomes many seemingly impossible challenges, signifying that if you work hard and persevere, you will almost always come out on top. Hurst’s use of the coffin signifies Doodle’s strong will to persevere and fight for life. All of Doodle’s family expected him to die, and “built] a little mahogany coffin for him. But he didn’t die,” and continued to persevere(174). Doodle’s entire family expected him to die at a young age, even building a coffin for him, yet Doodle didn’t die. Everyone that encountered …show more content…
After persevering through a long storm, the Scarlet Ibis fell of a tree with “its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S… and the bird was still.”(184). After enduring a long, harsh storm, the Scarlet Ibis suddenly died when it fell of of a tree in Doodle’s very own backyard. The Scarlet Ibis symbolizes Doodle, and overcame the odds, traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles in a powerful storm. Even though the Scarlet Ibis had endured so much, in the end, it did not go in the favor of the Scarlet Ibis in the end, eventually dying. After Doodle was left in the rain by his brother, Doodle’s brother came to look for him, finding Doodle dead with his “vermilion neck appearing] unusually long and slim”(188). Doodle died looking just like the Scarlet Ibis, with his scarlet colored neck appearing unusually long and slim. The Scarlet Ibis represents Doodle, both of them overcoming almost impossible odds to get to the point where they were. Even after overcoming the odds and persevering all of his life, such as Doodle walking for the first time, or even surviving at all, it did not go his way in the end. The Scarlet Ibis represents Doodle, and how it doesn’t always go your way in the end no matter how hard you work or how much you