The Scarlet Ibis Story analysis NAME: ____________________________

INFER (verb) to draw conclusions from evidence and clues given

INFERENCES (noun) a conclusion reached based on evidence and reasoning
DIRECTIONS: After reading The Scarlet Ibis, answer each of the
following questions. INFER, or draw conclusions, from evidence and
clues given in the story.
1. The 3
rd
paragraph of the story starts with Doodle was just about the craziest
brother... . In this paragraph, what SETTING clue can be used to infer or
determine the approximate time period when the story takes place?
(List the clue.)

2. A) What motive(s) -- or hidden reason(s) -- did the narrator have to teach
Doodle to walk?

B) Support your answer(s) with quoted evidence and page number(s).



3. Explain the following statement by the narrator: Pride is a wonderful,
terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. How is pride both
good and bad for the narrator throughout the story?



4. A) What did Doodles lies consist of?
B) What do you think they represented for Doodle?


(continued)

5. This story is told by the narrator as a memory (in FLASHBACK).
A) How do you think the narrator feels about the circumstances of Doodles
death as an adult?


B) Support your answer with quoted evidence and page number(s)


6. SYMBOL a person, place, thing, or activity/action that stands for
something else, beyond its literal meaning; deeper meaning than whats on
the surface.
A) In this story, what is the scarlet ibis (bird) a SYMBOL for -- in its life and
in its death? (Hint: Re-read that passage closely.)

B) Quote evidence and page number(s) to help support your answer:


7. THEME(S): main idea of story, meaning, lesson, moral, etc.
Some strategies to help you determine the THEME are to:
A) consider what happens to the main character, and whether he changes or
learns something about life.
B) Skim the text for key phrases and sentences that say something about
people or life, in general. C) Think about the title and why the writer chose it.
Does it have special meaning?

A) STATE what you believe to be the MAIN THEME(S) of this story.

B) Quote evidence (and page numbers) to explain how/why you know.