Identify the clues that lead to the tragic conclusion in The Scarlet Ibis.

The tragic conclusion is that a little brother dies after a long and exhausting fight with his physical disability. Death seems to haunt the story as two brothers work together to get Doodle to become as normal as other boys before he starts school. Descriptions and images set forth in the telling of the tale provide foreshadowing that aides one to predict the poor boy's end. For example, the beginning paragraph says the following:

"It was in the close of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. . . The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead."

The above passage feels gloomy due to the speaker's attention to death-like images: the graveyard, the bleeding tree, and names of our dead. One's first impression might be to wonder who is dead or who will die in the story.

Other clues and factors that death is imminent are found throughout the story. One of the first clues is that Doodle is not expected to live long; however, he defies the odds and lives for about six years. The family gives him a name which invokes doubt in his brother's mind as he says the following:

"They named him William Armstrong, which was like tying a big tail on a small kite. Such a name sounds good only on a tombstone."

The image of the kite as compared to Doodle's real name seems overwhelming as it is; but, add to it the second comment about the tombstone and one can't escape the deathly image, foreshadowing, and strong implication to the fact that Doodle will die.

Finally, there is the image and symbolism of the scarlet ibis that unexpectedly shows up during lunch in the family's yard and dies. There is a direct correlation between the red bird and Doodle because they both seem to be sick unto death, alone in a cruel world, and hopelessly unable to move forward in life. Aunt Nicey gives the reader a clue at this point by saying, "Dead birds is bad luck. . . Specially red dead birds!"