“The Scarlet Ibis” is a touching story, full of symbolism and meaning. It is told through the narrator’s eyes, as he looks back on his childhood, and the remarkable life of his younger brother, Doodle. It is a story of two brothers, and how the pride of one person can be an incredible and destructive force.
The Scarlet Ibis Plot Diagram Comic - The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst
Storyboard Text
EXPOSITION
CONFLICT
RISING ACTION
The setting is in a southern US state, on a small plantation where the narrator and his new baby brother live.
CLIMAX
The narrator's little brother, Doodle, is born with disabilities and health conditions. The narrator is unable to accept his brother's physical challenges.
FALLING ACTION
The narrator's pride convinces him to teach Doodle to be “normal”. Once Doodle walks, he believes it is possible to teach Doodle other things. One day during the summer, the family finds a scarlet ibis that dies. Doodle develops a connection with this bird.
RESOLUTION
On the last day of training, Doodle shows that he is too weak to continue training. The narrator is upset, and as they decide to go home, a thunderstorm rolls in. The narrator begins running home, Doodle, however, cannot keep up and calls out, “Brother don’t leave me.”
The narrator turns to go back to his brother, and finds him dead under a bush, in a similar position as the ibis.
BROTHER wait don't leave me!
The narrator recalls how his selfish pride killed Doodle.