The Scarlet Ibis

SUMMARY

• Narrator has a crippled younger brother.
• He wanted to teach him to walk, run, etc. for selfish reasons.
• Scarlet ibis dies in backyard, signaling impending danger.
• Narrator pushes his brother too hard; brother dies.

Symbolism

• How many miles had it traveled to die like this, in our yard, beneath the bleeding tree?
• The scarlet ibis is obviously not from that area. It must have traveled very far to reach this family's backyard.
• It is tragic that this exotic ibis has traveled and done so much, just to die in such a unceremonious manner. 
• This foreshadows, is symbolic of, and bears an eerie similarity to Doodle's death.
• He has come so far in his "training" just to die by being abandoned in the rain.

Symbolism (cont'd)

• The author uses symbolism to illustrate the similarity between the two deaths.
• This creates a more dark and emotionally impacting story.
• Red is symbolically referred to throughout the story and invokes feelings in the reader.
• (Feelings and thoughts such as blood, danger, cruelty, etc.)

Assessment

• Define symbolism in your own words.
• If black symbolizes death and evil, what does white symbolize?
• Name a song that is symbolic of your life recently.