It's time to relax and go reading a short story. This is one of the most tragic short stories I've ever read but however, the plot and story is excellent and the theme is deeply embedded in the story for us to explore. The story starts with Doodle's brother reminiscing about the tragic event that happened when he was a young boy...
Doodle, the brother of the antagonist, is born with physical abnormalities. Nobody expected him to live to the extent that his parents had actually started preparing a small cofin for him. One day, the antagonist notices his brother smiling, and that was how his family found out that Doodle was actually "all there". Prior to that, they actually thought that Doodle was not only unable to move but he could not do anything that a normal baby could. Shortly after, Doodle was able to crawl but backwards, giving rise to the nickname "Doodle" which was derived from the doodlebug. Seeing that his brother could not walk like others, the antagonist decides to train him to walk. It was not purely the intention of the antagonist's to teach Doodle how to walk but it was because of the antagonist's pride and the thought of how shameful it would be to have a brother who could not even perform basic skills like walking that the protagonist decided to teach Doodle how to walk. During Doodle's first birthday, he finally learns to walk and the expectations of the family of Doodle were proven wrong. Doodle proves himself that he could do what a normal baby could do, vanquishing his family's doubt.
A day came when the protagonist takes his brother out for a walk. The protagonist locates the coffin which his parents had stored away as it was currently useless. The protagonist forces his brother to touch the coffin. This causes emotional disturbance in Doodle who refuses to touch it. This incident shows the relationship between the protagonist and his brother: how he bullies Doodle.
One day, the family hears a strange croaking sound while they are eating. They go out to their backyard to investigate and discovers a scarlet ibis, which Doodle's father explains that it was probably blown off-course by a hurricane. The bird dies shortly after, probably because of exhaustion and injury. Despite warnings from Doodle's mom that he'd better not touch that bird, Doodle decides to pick up the bird using a piece of string before burying it. This event foreshadows Doodle's eventual death which will appear in the story later.
During a training session with the protagonist, a storm starts to brew while they were rowing a boat. The antagonist pushes him to his limits but Doodle is not able to take it. Everything is silent after rowing the boat. The protagonist's pride is cracked and Doodle is ashamed of himself. Despite repeated attempts to tell the protagonist that he was exhausted, the protagonist ignores him. It shows how the protagonist indulges in pride at the expense of Doodle's health. Doodle is eventually unable to catch up with his brother and the violent storm starts. The protagonist abandons his brother but when he returns to look for him, he finds Doodle dead, bleeding from his nose and mouth, holding a striking resemblance symbolically to the scarlet ibis which died in their backyard. Both Doodle and the scarlet ibis died during a storm, were stained with blood and endured harsh treatment before their death...
This story's theme was how pride could be a good motivation but ends up disastrous if it was used in a wrong way.
I recommend readers that they read this meaningful short story because of its plot.
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