Scarlet Ibis 2

To add on to yesterday's post, I would like to share what ms soh taught us about symbolism. Symbolism is to use something to represent something else. In my opinion, I think that it is a superb literary device to use during compositions although it may a bit hard for me. In scarlet Ibis, the author uses the scarlet ibis to represent Doodle. When it died, it foreshadows the outcome of Doodle later on.

When Doodle talked about the winged creatures in his fantasy stories, his main point was that he wanted to be free instead of being confined in his boundaries. He also wanted to tell others that he was proud of his brother and at the same time wanted attention in his story of Peter and his peacock. He yearned for his brother's love, care and attention. The wooden objects that his father made for him symbolises the fact that his parents has lost all hope in him and did not expect much of him. He was literally confined to his go-cart and his life seemed hopeless until his brother taught him how to walk.

But was his brother really that kind? No. I do not think so. He taught Doodle how to walk just because he did not want others to look down on him as having a crippled brother. To save himself from shame, he forced Doodle for trainings but was too harsh and in the end, Doodle died because of his inability to handle that amount of hard work. Hence, Brother could be indirectly responsible of Doodle's death.

The name of Doodle his brother gave him was probably the worst thing he had done to him. Doodling means to scribble mindlessly and unintelligently. That means that the author is trying to say that his brother was useless and nobody expected much of him.

I think that Scarlet Ibis is a great story to help us reflect on how we treat other people and the values of real love etc. Hence, I recommend all to read this book as it is both a pleasure to read and a tool for reflection.