The Scarlet Ibis

425 Words2 Pages
In the story “The Scarlett Ibis” by author James Hurst, the main character Brother, also had to go through disturbing experiences as Buddy in the “Snowman” by Tom Perlotta. In the final scene of the story “ Scarlet Ibis”, Brother is running with his little brother Doodle home from another of Doodle’s swimming practice’s. After the moment Brother see’s Doodle’s death, he realizes that he did not intend to overload his little brother’s physical abilities and becomes more wise by learning from his mistakes. Buddy comes of age by undergoing through life changing experiences. In the beginning of the story, Buddy is an innocent boy. For example when Buddy and his friend Neil were playing basketball at their local park, an unknown boy cursed at them and Buddy was thinking through himself: ”Of course we were assholes. Who else would be playing outside in 20-degree weather, just two days after the biggest snowstorm of the year? It was Neil’s idea” (68). Also when Buddy, Zirko and Zirko’s crew catch the boy who punched Buddy, he begs Zirko: “Please don’t hurt him”. This shows that Buddy cannot express his feelings at the right time and holds everything inside him until the last moment. Throughout the story Buddy is changed and by the end losses his innocence. When standing in front of Chuckie’s house, Zirko was in the process of destroying the snowman; Buddy was trying to stop him but in the end gave him the crowbar to completely take out the dog shrine. “ Jesus, Andy. That’s someone’s dog. He dropped the picture onto the ground, and then turned to me with his hand out. I gave him what he wanted.” (82).His realization, which reflects his acceptance to the face that the snowman is going to be destroyed, shows that Buddy is maturing. Another example of Buddy’s lose of innocence is when Chucky arrives home and see’s his dog shrine ruined; Zirko and Buddy understand that Chucky

More about The Scarlet Ibis

Open Document