James Hurst (author)
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"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 based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...
'' in July 1960 and won the "Atlantic First" award. The story has become a classic of
American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...
, 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 anticipation 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 by taking him 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, sometimes called red 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 ex ...
, 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, sitting 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.


Analysis

The story has been described as "rich in symbolism". The
scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red 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 ex ...
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 likened to Brother for pushing the scarlet ibis too hard, and thus forsaking it. 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 with librettist David Cote. The opera was co-produced by New York City's Beth Morrison Projects and HERE Arts Center in association with American Opera Projects, 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 for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park and is currently in residence at the newly renovated Stude ...
.


James Hurst

James Hurst was born on January 1, 1922, near
Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...
. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia and studied chemical engineering at
North Carolina State College North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...
. However, following military service in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he decided to be an opera singer and studied at the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Ibis, The American short stories 1960 short stories Works originally published in The Atlantic (magazine)