While it might be simple to say that the resolution is in the last lines of "The Scarlet Ibis" as the brother finds Doodle dead under the nightshade bush, my opinion is different. Instead, I believe the telling of the story itself serves as resolution for the brother who is narrating the story of his childhood relationship with Doodle. In the first two paragraphs, the brother suggests he is telling the story as a flashback...
While it might be simple to say that the resolution is in the last lines of "The Scarlet Ibis" as the brother finds Doodle dead under the nightshade bush, my opinion is different. Instead, I believe the telling of the story itself serves as resolution for the brother who is narrating the story of his childhood relationship with Doodle. In the first two paragraphs, the brother suggests he is telling the story as a flashback with many years between the actual events and time of the telling ("the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away–and I remember Doodle"). Often, the simple act of writing something down can help to bring closure to an important or traumatic event in one's life. Throughout the story the brother admits guilt, in his cruelty toward Doodle, his embarrassment in having a crippled brother and his excessive pride in his attempts to change Doodle. In his narration, he all but admits to contributing to Doodle's death as he recalls the day he ran away from his brother in the rainstorm causing Doodle to die from exhaustion and internal bleeding. The narrator seems to have come to terms with his guilt and the simple telling of the story is an act of love toward his highly unique and fragile brother. In the last lines of the story the narrator suggests that Doodle was like a saint as he attempts to protect his dead body from the "heresy of rain." The story itself acts to resolve the childhood conflict between the brothers as the narrator realizes his faults, and that his brother was an amazing human being.
No comments:
Post a Comment