Scarlet Ibis Indirect Characterization

In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses indirect characterization to display the idea that pride is wonderful feeling, but too much of it can control someone and hurt them and others by having Doodle be the older brother’s pride, than by having his pride overcome him and end up hurting him. Towards the middle of the story, Doodle, the protagonist, is taught how to walk by his older brother. When they decide to show their family the surprise, everyone walks over to Doodle’s older brother to give him a hug, but he begins to cry.. Before this event had happened, the narrator, Doodle’s older brother, had said “... a knot of cruelty is borne from the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of destruction…”(6). He talks about how pride can control us and become something evil within us. The “knot of cruelty borne from the stream of love” is indirectly represented by when the older brother’s pride, turned into guilt
There’s no sign of him, so he walks back to get him. As he approaches Doodle, he notices he’s curled up in a ball. When he pushes Doodle’s head back to see if he’s okay, he finds out that Doodle had been bleeding from the mouth. After realizing he’s dead, Doodle’s older brother filled with guilt and regret. Before this event, the narrator had said “I did not know that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death”(8). The author uses indirect characterization to tie this quote to Doodle’s death, as the result of his older brother’s pride taking control of him. The “vine of death” growing from the older brother’s pride, is represented by Doodle’s death. The older brother’s pride had gotten the best of him and that lead to killing his main pride, which had been Doodle. In brief, the idea that pride is great when its controlled, otherwise it can end up hurting you and the ones you love, is communicated primarily through the use of indirect