The Scarlet Ibis

1) How do you feel about the narrator's behaviour at the end of hte story? Is he responsible for Doodle's death? Could he be partially responsible? Is his emotion a the very end sorrow, guilt, or something else?

2) By the end of the story, whom do you pity more- the narrator or Doodle? Why?

3) Do you think the narrator makes any kind of discovery at the story's end, as he cradles his brother's little body?

4)What do you think is the theme of this story?- what truths about our lives does the story's events reveal to you? Find passages from the story to support your response.

5)In the last sentence, the narrator calls his brother his "fallen scarlet ibis." In what ways could the ibis be a symbol for Doodle?

Consider:

- how Doodle and the ibis resemble each other

- how Doodle's and the ibis's deaths are similar

- how Doodle himself identifies with the bird

-how both Doodle and the ibis are put in worlds where they can't survive

6) Why do you think this story is so popular and is remembered for a long time by many readers? What feelings do you think it taps into?

7) Re-read what the storyteller says on page 318 about human pride. What incidents from life could illustrate the good and bad effects of human pride?