What inferences or conclusions can you draw about the narrator's state of mind as it changes during the course of the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by...

The narrator’s state of mind changes throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.

Readers make judgments or evaluations based on a character’s emotions, actions, or words. The author gives the reader information and he/she is able to make inferences. In “The Scarlet Ibis” the reader is able to infer a number of details about the narrator’s frame of mind.

One characteristic the reader can infer about Brother is that he carries an inherent meanness in him. He shows his disappointment with both cruel thoughts and actions.  "I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" when he was just a baby. Brother’s dreams for a companion who would play and explore with him are dashed when his little brother is born with many disabilities. Brother’s intrinsic unkindness is reaffirmed later in the story when he forces Doodle to touch the coffin Father had made for him. And, again we witness Brother as he leaves Doodle alone and afraid during the storm, which leads to the child’s death. Based on these actions, his state of mind does not seem to be that of a concerned, loving brother.

Brother is a tenacious individual as witnessed in his attempts, against all odds, to teach Doodle to stand and walk. But, this tenacity is born out of selfishness because Brother does not want to be embarrassed by Doodle’s disabilities. Brother gets caught up in the excitement of Doodle’s physical progress so much that the boys keep their escapades from the family until Doodle is proficient enough to walk on his own. This happens after Brother pushes him past his limitations over and over. Again, one can question Brother’s state of mind. Is he concerned more about himself than his brother’s well-being?

From the beginning of the story to its end, the reader can infer that Brother carries guilt with him. In the exposition, he describes the setting with melancholy tones, and tells the reader how he remembers his brother.

But sometimes (like right now), as I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away-and I remember Doodle.

And, at the story’s conclusion he describes how he found Doodle unresponsive and bleeding. Knowing he ran ahead and left his brother in a bad situation, he shakes Doodle before realizing that the unthinkable has happened.  Only after succumbing to his selfishness and meanness does he live with the guilt of knowing that he was partially responsible for his brother’s death.

I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. "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.