Christine Nguyen

Mrs. Jimenez
Period: 4
September 28 2016

Doodle, The Scarlet Ibis

The “Scarlet Ibis”, written by James Hurst, is a tragic short story of an intelligent, kind

young boy who was expected to pass away when he was an infant because of his heart condition.

Unlike any other toddler, William first adapted to the backwards feel, causing him to crawl

backwards in order to move from point A to point B. Seeing how a toddler, can unusually crawl

backwards like a doodlebug, his brother decided to change his name into Doodle. It was just

another day, but not for Doodle. The two, together, went to a Swamp, The Old Women’s

Swamp. The moment he put Doodle down, doodle started to shed tears. Tears of happiness. “It’s

so beautiful,” Doodle stated. Looking at the world with so much positivity it’s immeasurable.

His brother saw how happy and thankful he was just touch plastic grass. But why? Why must he

have a brother that was born with a heart condition, born differently from others. Always

crawling backwards instead of forwards. It’s a burden for Doodle to always tag along, needing

his brother to always halt him around. This surely inspired him to make a change. If he won’t do

it no one will. Doodle just wanted to sit on the beautiful plastic grass and make flower crowns,

but his brother wanted to teach him how to walk, for his own good. To save himself from

embarrassment. Standing Doodle up on his own two feet, he fell. Doodle told his brother that he

couldn't do it and he keeps telling his brother that he can’t do it. With all the hope in his heart

Doodle’s brother believes in Doodle, encouraging him to stand up and walk. Soon enough

Doodle was able to stand up on his own and even walk without the help out his brother. Yelling,

“I did it brother, I did it,” just melted his heart. The very same day the two came home and
surprised their parents, bring them to tears. Later that week, while everyone was enjoying their

dinner, a strange painful squawk was heard from a distance. Doodle’s trembling scream that

night was caught by the hands of the wind and brought to Doodle’s brother (after). This caught

Doodle’s attention, causing him to run off from the dining table. The scream was heard and his

brother ran back to find Doodle (after). “It’s a big red bird!” yelled Doodle. His brother soon

spotted Doodle and noticed that he was cover in his own blood, bleeding from his neck and

mouth, replacing the red color of the bird’s feathers with his own blood (after). The bird

struggled to survive the harsh conditions, while Doodle was struggling to survive his heart

conditions. The family followed Doodle’s voice and saw a red, lifeless bird on the peak of the

tree. Shaking Doodle’s lifeless body, asking for another chance (after). Asking for the bird book,

Doodle’s brother sprinted to go and fetch the book. “It seems like the bird has gone through a lot

of hardships in order to get here,” the father stated. Doodle learned how to walk, he was pushed

by his embarrassed brother (after). Doodle stayed with the bird until it’s very last breath. His

brother hovered over Doodle’s body, protecting him from the rain, until Doodle finally passed

away (after). In conclusion, Doodle was the best brother anyone could ever ask for. Doodle’s

brother only taught Doodle for his own good, not putting in the time nor effort to appreciate

Doodle for who he is. To the world the Scarlet Ibis had fallen, but to Doodle’s brother Doodle

was the fallen Ibis. You only start loving when you’ve lost the one you loved- Christine Nguyen