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 the narrator is a dynamic character because he learns to love and
care about his brother Doodle. Helping his brother walk is a hard journey that goes
through with his brother. The narrator convinces himself that his motive is him being
embarrassed of having such a brother, like on p.599, and perhaps it is the first reason
but he later starts to love Doodle. "Finally one day, after many weeks of practicing, he
stood alone for a few seconds. When he fell, I grabbed him in my arms and hugged him,
our laughter pealing through the swamp like a ringing bell." (p.598) Throughout the story
the narrator keeps talking about the bad kind of pride being his motive but this scene
shows that even though he may not realize it, he loves his brother. Love is there
because he is going through the hard journey with Doodle. Doodle and him are
experiencing the success but also the defeats together and helping each other through
the hard work. This creates a strong brotherly bond that makes things hard for the
narrator because when Doodle dies, he actually misses him and has to learn to cope
with the loss of someone he loved. The story changes the narrator because he learns to
care about his brother and then also has to learn to live without him. James Hurt uses
the boys struggles and successes together to show their love.