The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

Analytical Paragraph - Practice Assessment

OBJECTIVE
Using your web as a guide, write an analytical paragraph for The Scarlet Ibis.

REQUIREMENTS
1. A topic sentence (take the question and write it into a theme statement)
2. Examples and/or quotes to support your topic sentence
3. Analysis (NOT SUMMARY), using your signposts
4. A wrap-up sentence
5. 5-7 sentences

THESIS STARTERS (choose one)

1. Character Development: In The Scarlet Ibis (characters name) is a
(static/dynamic character), because (describe how he stays the same or
changes throughout the story).
2. Concept and Theme: In The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst shows (message about
the concept).
3. Symbolism: In The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst uses (symbol) to symbolize
(concept, theme, characterization).

Write your paragraph here: In The Scarlet Ibis, James Hurst symbolizes Doodles
growth through weather, but he also shows that no matter how strong he gets, he
will never be able to escape his medical condition. He starts out by symbolizing
Doodle's progression on pages 467, 470, 473, and finally 474 when he starts out by
mentioning storms that are happening, however, as the story progressed, so did the
size of the storms mentioned. This symbolizes how throughout the story Doodles
brother pusher him harder and harder to be normal until Doodle finally reached his
breaking point at the end of the story. When the final storm of the story was
happening on page 474, James wrote Flocks of marsh crows flew by, heading
inland to their roosting trees; and two egrets, squawking, arose from the oyster-rock
shallows and careened away. This symbolizes Doodles inability to do the one thing
he wanted to do-escape the storm. Even though his brother put him through
rigorous training, his medical condition still kept him stranded in the storm. Lastly,
when the storm first started at the end of the book, Doodle and his brother got
scared and ran back to the house, however because Doodle couldnt run, his
brother left him behind. I think because of this abandonment Doodle went into
shock and that combined with his medical problems, made him pass away. These
events throughout the story helped to show that Doodle got strong, but it would
never be enough for him to get away from his medical problems.