“The Scarlet Ibis” Adapted from a lesson by Robert Valois The Five Paragraph Essay & The One Paragraph Analysis

Title Use the topic and your thesis to help focus your title Include the name of the text(s) you’re writing about Sample topic: write an essay in which you show how the plot, character, and setting communicate the theme of "The Scarlet Ibis”. Sample essay title: "The Scarlet Ibis”: A Lesson in Pride

The Five Paragraph Essay

Introduction [part 1] Introduce the topic in a general way; prepare the reader for your thesis. Include the name of the author and title of the work. James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” is a beautifully written story that is not about a rare red bird that dies after becoming lost in a storm. It is about a beautiful and rare human being who is destroyed by the thunderstorm of human pride.

Introduction [part 2] Write your thesis (the main idea of your essay) The three basic elements of fiction—character, setting, and plot—help communicate this theme of pride and its lethal consequences.

Body ¶ One [topic sentence] Create your topic sentence by giving a general statement of what your ¶ is going to be about. The differences in the two brothers’ characters reveal the source of the narrator’s prideful feelings, which is that Doodle is a source of embarrassment.

Body ¶ One [supporting sentences] Write your supporting sentences by making each sentence prove your topic sentence. Notice how direct quotes from the story are used as evidence to prove the topic sentence and the thesis. The narrator is athletic and full of energy: “I thought myself pretty smart at many things, like holding my breath, running, jumping or climbing the vines of Old Woman Swamp [. . .]” (316).

Body ¶ One [supporting sentences] He wanted a brother who was physically active and athletic, but Doodle is born sickly and “must be always treated gently” (317). During his first five years of life, Doodle could only crawl, and when he finally learns to walk, he is still unable to play the games and sports that his brother can. Yet Doodle has no real interest in becoming athletic. When the narrator tells Doodle that he is going to teach him to walk, Doodle, “sitting comfortably on the soft grass,’ says, ‘Why?’” (318). Thus, Doodle is “a disappointment” (316) and his brother tries to make Doodle into “something or someone to be proud of [. . .]” (318).

Body ¶ TWO Repeat the same formula Topic sentence Supporting sentences The natural setting also serves to communicate the theme of pride. Nature represents Doodle’s humble and selfless acts and the brother’s prideful and selfish ones. For example, Doodle shows compassion for the fallen ibis by burying the bird “while singing softly ‘Shall We Gather at the River’” (322). Therefore, the beautiful red bird becomes a symbol for Doodle’s inner beauty. In contrast, the narrator refuses to show compassion for Doodle and leaves him behind to die, even though he “knew [Doodle] was watching for a sign of mercy” (322). The narrator’s prideful actions are then demonized by the terrific thunderstorm that “roar[ed] through the pines [. . .] like a bursting Roman candle” (322). Furthermore, the remote setting of the Old Woman Swamp allows the narrator to carry out his prideful plan without anyone’s knowledge and where Doodle is driven to exhaustion and left to die. Transition words are used (underlined) to created coherence. Direct quotes are incorporated into regular sentences.

Body ¶ THREE Repeat the same formula Topic sentence Supporting sentences The plot is constructed around the narrator’s prideful thoughts and actions. In the exposition, the source of the narrator’s pride is revealed--he is embarrassed to have an abnormal brother: “It was bad enough having and invalid brother, but having one that was not all there was unbearable [. . .]” (317). The conflict that drives the rising action begins when the narrator makes it his goal to teach Doodle how to walk “because [he] was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (319). Here, the narrator reveals “that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices” (319). During the climax, Doodle is pushed to the point of exhaustion by his prideful brother’s “development program” (320). Of course, the resolution shows the final evil act of pride: the narrator punishes Doodle for failing the “program” by leaving him to die in the fateful storm. Brackets [ ] change endings of quoted words to “sound right”. Using ellipses allows you to use fragments of quotations from text. Analyze key plot elements in detail to help show the story’s theme (emphasis added).

Conclusion Restate your thesis in a new way; be thoughtful and reflective. Pride kills Doodle. Yet through recounting the story of Doodle’s death, the narrator is able to cleanse himself of guilt and painfully recognize how his pride, this “streak of cruelty,” is evil (323). Furthermore, the young narrator finally performs a selfless, “prideless” act as he “shelters his fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of the rain” (323).

The One Paragraph Analysis

CONDENSE the essay Is essentially a body paragraph, but it is the only paragraph Formula: Thesis statement (1 sentence) Supporting sentences (5-8 sentences) Conclusion (1-2 sentences) Is more focused than an essay (i.e. concentrates on one idea rather than three) 2/4/2011

analysis The natural setting in “The Scarlet Ibis” serves to communicate the short story’s theme of pride. Both Doodle’s humble and selfless acts, and the brother’s prideful and selfish ones, are represented by nature. For example, Doodle shows compassion for the fallen ibis by burying the bird “while singing softly ‘Shall We Gather at the River’” (322). Therefore, the beautiful red bird becomes a symbol for Doodle’s inner beauty. In contrast, the narrator refuses to show compassion for Doodle and leaves him behind to die, even though he “knew [Doodle] was watching for a sign of mercy” (322). The narrator’s prideful actions are then demonized by the terrific thunderstorm that “roar[ed] through the pines [. . .] like a bursting Roman candle” (322). Furthermore, the remote setting of the Old Woman Swamp allows the narrator to carry out his prideful plan without anyone’s knowledge and where Doodle is driven to exhaustion and left to die. The use of the outside world to symbolize the results of the brothers’ pride (or lack thereof) reinforces the theme in James Hurst’s story.