The Scarlet Ibis
After doodle's death, how do you think the narrator felt about his expectations of doodle?
The Scarlet Ibis
The Scarlet Ibis
Another haunting parallel to an earlier part of the story is drawn just before Doodle's death, too. Doodle says, "Don't leave me, brother!" just like he did when the narrator took him to see his casket in the barn. Both times, Doodle was faced with death, the first figurative and the second literal. The difference is the choice the narrator makes in both cases; in the first, the narrator stays. In the second, the narrator's pride once again wins out and he walks away from his ailing brother, and this neglect ultimately leads to Doodle's demise. I think the narrator will be plagued by guilt for the rest of his life.