A few examples are 1) when Brother shows Doodle the coffin, 2) Forcing Doodle beyond his physical limits, and 3) leaving him to die in the storm.
The narrator is expressing the complex combination of love and regret he feels towards his younger brother. He recognizes the contradiction between his genuine care for the boy and the moments of cruelty or harshness that have occurred within their relationship. This inner conflict is represented by the metaphorical "knot of cruelty" within him that is intertwined with his love for his brother.
"The Scarlet Ibis" is actually a short story by James Hurst, not Margaret Atwood. The main conflict in the story involves the narrator's feelings of guilt and resentment towards his younger brother, Doodle, who faces physical challenges. The story explores themes of sibling relationships, pride, and the consequences of pride and cruelty.
In "The Scarlet Ibis," the narrator, who is Doodle's older brother, is cruel to Doodle when he pushes him past his physical limits and demands too much from him, especially during their training sessions. This cruelty stems from the narrator's desire to make Doodle "normal" in order to avoid embarrassment and shame within their community.
Brother cannot accept the fact that his brother Doodle has handicaps that will make it impossible for him to run, swim and play with as a companion. Brother's pride and selfishness make acceptance impossible and spur him to teach Doodle how to overcome his disabilities.
... the only beauty i knew, old woman swamp. ...a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love... ...our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction... ...pride is a wonderful, terrible thing...
Doodle dies in "The Scarlet Ibis" due to exhaustion and stress caused by his brother pushing him beyond his physical limitations. Doodle's heart gives out after he pushes himself too hard trying to meet his brother's expectations and keep up with him. His death serves as a tragic reminder of the consequences of pride, cruelty, and unrealistic expectations.
Doodle is characterized as physically weak, sensitive, and dependent on his brother. His brother is shown as both caring and frustrated by Doodle's limitations, leading to both compassion and moments of cruelty. Their relationship is complex, marked by both love and struggle.
The Scarlet Ibis symbolizes Doodle - in a world of cruelty, away from comfortable surroundings. It has traveled a long way, like how Doodle has come along way from being able only to crawl. They both die after they have been pushed to their limits. It can also play as a symbol for the death and blood that are similarly colored and how Doodle's shirt is stained with his blood: red like the scarlet ibis.
i think the major theme of this story is brotherhood, for the writer is trying to express how brother's love each other but this love is masked with both cruelty and pride.Brother's love for Doodle is bound up with cruelty and shame. Doodle, for his part, is strongly attached to, and reliant upon, Brother and his main ...fear is of being left alone by him. He is terrified at Brother's threat to leave him.The Scarlet Ibis" explores the conflict between love and pride in Brother's relationship with his physically and mentally disabled brother, Doodle. Brother loves and appreciates Doodle, as can be seen in the incident when the brothers fantasize about living in Old Woman Swamp, when Brother is overwhelmed by the beauty of the images that Doodle conjures up. Love is accepting and compassionate in its nature. But Brother's love for Doodle is challenged by two very human failings: pride, and the cruelty that results from it. Brother feels embarrassed and ashamed of Doodle's limitations and obvious differences from other people. They threaten his sense of pride. now we see that conflict between love and pride is also a major theme
The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle are both alike as well as different, they are alike by both being fragile, precious, beautiful, red, and both dying. They are different because the Scarlet Ibis is a bird and Doodle is a boy, Doodle did not struggle as much as the Scarlet Ibis because he had the help of his brother, while the Scarlet Ibis was alone.
"The Scarlet Ibis" is a short story that falls under the genre of Southern Gothic literature, characterized by themes of tragedy, cruelty, and the supernatural, often set in the American South.
Doodle's brother cried at Doodle's death and covered him with his body to protect him from the rain. He cried because he realized that he had pushed Doodle to hard for his (Brother's) own selfish reasons. The irony is that Brother's actions toward Doodle when Doodle died are just like Doodle's reaction toward the scarlet ibis when the scarlet ibis died.