Foreshadowing is a prominent feature of James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis." From the very beginning death seems to pervade the story of two brothers growing up in coastal North Carolina in the first part of the 20th century. In the opening paragraph Hurst uses words symbolic of death such as "bleeding," "rotting," "empty," and "graveyard." Along with this imagery there are three specific places where Hurst foreshadows the eventual death of Doodle.
Early...
Foreshadowing is a prominent feature of James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis." From the very beginning death seems to pervade the story of two brothers growing up in coastal North Carolina in the first part of the 20th century. In the opening paragraph Hurst uses words symbolic of death such as "bleeding," "rotting," "empty," and "graveyard." Along with this imagery there are three specific places where Hurst foreshadows the eventual death of Doodle.
Early in the story Doodle's brother, who is never named, takes Doodle up to the loft of the barn to show him the coffin which was built for Doodle when the boy was still an infant and the family believed he would die. While Doodle protests that it was not meant for him, the brother taunts him, urging him to touch the coffin, and threatening to run away if Doodle doesn't touch it. The scene foreshadows the brother later running away from Doodle in the rainstorm because Doodle can't accomplish the training regiment the brother has devised for him.
More foreshadowing of Doodle's death occurs in the stories which Doodle tells. In one story the boy Peter is enveloped in the wings of his pet peacock. The imagery in the boy's story is full of death references. Hurst writes,
When Peter was ready to go to sleep, the peacock spread his magnificent tail, enfolding the boy gently like a closing go-to-sleep flower, burying him in the glorious iridescent, rustling vortex.
The story not only foreshadows Doodle's death but also the death of the ibis as the go-to-sleep flower becomes the bleeding tree for the ibis and the nightshade bush for Doodle.
The ibis is symbolic of Doodle, and its death directly foreshadows the boy's death only a few hours later. The bird is rare and fragile, traits which could also be applied to Doodle. The bird dies after a terrible physical struggle where it is blown off course by a terrible storm and ends up far north of its usual habitat. Doodle too dies after using up all his strength chasing his brother during a rainstorm. The description of the two dead bodies is also eerily similar. Hurst describes the dead ibis,
Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still. A white veil came over the eyes and the long white beak unhinged. Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest.
Doodle is similarly described as he lay under the red nightshade bush in the closing lines of the story,
He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.
While these are the three major instances of foreshadowing, one might also point to the tumultuous weather and the mention of World War I as mirroring the turbulent struggle between the two brothers over Doodle's physical prowess.
No comments:
Post a Comment