Effects of Shared Humanity A human is a creature that goes through experiences such as emotions, choices , relationships, losses, survival, and moral dilemmas. These are apart of a concept known as Shared Humanity. The things everybody has in common affect how a person would see the world around them. This gives people different perspectives on what is going on based on the emotions they feel or what they believe is right or wrong. The six categories of shared humanity are found and explained in different works of litural, some being I Am Legend , How I Live Now, and “The Scarlet Ibis”. The novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson explains how a human can experience emotion in a tough time in their life. At the end of the book the emotion of …show more content…
In this story the narrator has a new baby brother, but he is very crippled and can't walk, so the narrator does not like him because he wanted a brother to play with. The narrator's dad built the baby brother, Doodle a wagon so the narrator can pull him around. One day the narrator decides to take Doodle to his secret place, the Old Women Swamp. When he takes Doodle he is immediately annoyed because Doodle was crying. He asked why he was crying and it was because Doodle thought the swamp was pretty. From that moment on they went to the swamp a lot together. “Doodle was my brother and he was going to cling to me forever, no matter what I did, so I dragged his across the cotton field to Old Women swamp. I lifted him out and set him down in the soft rubber grass beside a tall pine. His eyes were round with wonder as he gazed about him. Then he began to cry. ‘For heaven’s sake, what's the matter?’ I asked annoyed. ‘ It's so pretty,’ he said, ‘so pretty, pretty, pretty.’ After that day Doodle and I often went down into Old Women Swamp” (Hurst). The narrator and Doodle form a stronger relationship when they visit the swamp because the narrator loves this swamp, so when he saw Doodle crying because he loved it so much, he reliesed that they have something in common. Because of this he and Doodle went to the swamp a lot making them form a closer relationship with each other. Just like most people when two or more have stuff in common they are more likely to form a relationship with each other, then people who don't have anything in common. Shared humanity was shown in “The Scarlet Ibis” by relationship. Shared humanity is in many other novels, but this was just to name a
In the short stories “Celia Behind Me” by Isabel Huggan and “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, there is both a bully and a victim. In Celia Behind Me, the narrator Elizabeth is bullying a young girl named Celia to disassociate herself from her, advancing herself in the social hierarchy of her friend group. The narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis” trains Doodle, his disabled brother, to walk. Unfortunately we learn on Doodle’s sixth birthday that he does this not to only benefit Doodle but also himself for he fears being seen with a brother who was not normal. These two stories have many similarities but also some major key differences with their antagonists motivations, and decisions.
As time goes on his brother tries teaching Doodle how to run, walk, and climb trees. One day, there was this horrible storm which had caused a scarlet ibis to land in their yard which Doodle burries. The brother on the way home
He finally understood that “Doodle only walked because [he] was ashamed” and figured that this was not what Doodle really even wanted. In the short story, the narrator was characterized as one who cared less about the people around him than he did about himself. He would try to accomplish things that would benefit him personally but wouldn’t care at all about how it may affect others. This example of the narrator hurting someone helps explain that there must be careful thought before any action is made because of the way it may negatively affect a person. Later, towards the end of the story, the narrator made a life-changing decision regarding Doodle which further explained the importance of thinking before acting.
Doodle is sensitive because Doodle cares for people and animals feelings. For example, when mama said the bird was dead Doodle did not want to come back inside and finish eating lunch. This shows, that Doodle was sad that the Scarlet Ibis died in their yard. In addition, Doodle buried the bird while everyone was eating. This reveals, Doodle loved and cared for the Scarlet Ibis.
He sits in the porch of the house and looks at the flower garden and sometimes when he sits in the green draped parlor a grindstone begins to turn and with all its changes ground away, he remembers Doodle(416).Later in the story, doodle is born and Henry, along with his parents, are happy at first then quickly devastated at what the doctor told him. He says to them that he can't get too excited,hot or cold,or tired and must be handled with care for his skin is very sensitive(417). Henry says that doodle is a burden in many ways. He dragged his brother to a place he thought was beautiful in its own way, old woman swamp. He showed Doodle his mahogany coffin and threatened to leave him if he didn't touch it.
His compassion is a trait he has always had and is part of his personality. Because of his constant struggle in his life, whether it's a physical or emotional hamper, he understands other’s pains and struggles and has empathy for them. A scarlet ibis dies in the family's yard and Doodle takes interest in the matter. The author says that “Slowly, while singing softly “Shall We Gather at the River,” he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden...” (342). This quote shows the strong connection he shared with the bird.
Narrator then ran home. Narrator couldn't have done anything worse than running away from his disabled little brother. He left Doodle in the middle of a huge thunderstorm, where Doodle probably felt really scared, and completely alone. Doodle needed to be at home, where he could recover from the row boat trip. Instead, Doodle was underneath a bush, probably crying, alone, and dying.
When Doodle was very young, he had to stay in bed all day. During these times Brother had planned to suffocate Doodle with a pillow until his mother shouted in the joy that Doodle was “all there.” As Doodle grew older and more comprehensive, Brother
Firstly, James Hurst uses characterization, in the beginning of the story the author alerts the readers to the narrator's original expectations for his little brother. The narrator wanted a brother who could run and play with him, so the reality of Doodle's condition hit him deeply. It is this disappointment for the narrator that lead him to push Doodle as hard as he possibly could. This shows the narrators character as mean, and selfish. The narrator taught him how to run and do other activities, since his pride cannot handle the disparity between the brother he wanted and the brother he got.
During the conflict of the story, the narrator abandons Doodle to try to help him by leaving him behind to learn to catch up on his own but the opposite happens, and Doodle collapses and perishes. The narrator admitted that “at times [he] was
Their father builds Doodle a go-chart and forces brother to take him everywhere he goes. Brother takes him to the Old Woman Swamp, and Doodle begins to cry at its beauty. His Brother was mean to Doodle and took him to his coffin, threaten him to tough it or he’ll leave him there. When Doodle turns five, Brother was embarrassed because Doodle didn’t know how to walk. It took lots
At first the narrator sees Doodle as a crazy frail brother but as we move into the story, we can observe a lot of varying feelings brother has towards Doodle. Brother described Doodle as unbearable, an invalid brother, a brother who was not there at all, so he started
"Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain”(Hurst 6).This section shows from the end of Doodle’s life onward Brother has felt guilty. The whole story is Brothers story of the dangers of pride and his personal experience.
So James said that if he didn’t touch it, then he would leave Doodle. His sensitive side came out. “Doodle was frightened of being left, “Don’t leave me Brother!” He said.” The sensitivity in his voice showed that he relied on his brother.
Brother planned to spend his entire life with Doodle, They "decided that when [they] were grown [they'd] live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue" (Hurst). He wanted Doodle to have pride in himself and be able to do everything Brother wanted to do with him. Brother had pride in Doodle since he was first able to stand on his own and walk. He taught Doodle out of his own selfishness, he was ashamed of having an "invalid" brother and wanted to have "someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch within the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea" (Hurst). Brother was ashamed of the way he felt and his self-indulgent efforts for Doodle.