Name; devin         

Class hour; 3        

The Scarlet Ibis

Unit Activity Packet

“Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (172).

This packet is worth _____ points. Do not lose it. Bring it to class with you every day. We will do some of this packet together and some of it you will do on your own (**). Be sure to fill it in legibly Do your best.

**Vocabulary:

Fill in the part of speech and the definition for each of the vocabulary words below.

 

Word	Part of speech	Definition, synonym
rank 169, col. 1 -- noun, a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body, synonym: eminence
billow(ed) 169, col. 2 -- noun, a great wave or surge of the sea, synonym: swell
vortex 173, col. 1 -- noun, a whirling mass of water, synonym: whirlpool
infallibility 173, col. 4 -- adjective, absolute trustworthy or sure, synonym: reliable
reiterated 174, col. 2 -- verb, to say or do again, synonym: repeat
armada 176, col. 1 -- noun, any fleet of warships, synonym: army
solder 176, col.1 -- noun, any of various alloys fused and applied to the joint between metal objects to unite them without heating the objects to the melting point, synonym: joint
evanesce 176, col. 2 -- verb, to disappear gradually, synonym: fade-out
vermilion 176, col. 2 -- noun, a vivid red or reddish orange, synonym: crimson

Diction:

Diction is the author’s choice of words. Authors will choose certain words for their effect based on their connotation. Connotation is the social meaning—it is what the word suggests to us beyond its dictionary meaning (denotation). For the word below, talk about what the word literally means and also what the words suggests in our culture. What is brother supposed to mean or be? What is our idea of brother?

 

Word	Denotation	Connotation
brother /a male offspring with both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling/ protector, family,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Plot:

Record the main events of the story here.

 

1. Doodle was born.

 

2. His brother named him Doodle instead of William Armstrong.

 

3. His brother showed him the coffin.

 

4. The Scarlet Ibis died in front of the family and Doodle buried him.

 

5. Doodle died.

 

Setting:

Give the correct information for the setting.

 

Geographical place- by the sea with farmland

Historical year- 1918

Physical place, house- a grindstone outside by the kitchen, a bleeding tree in the yard, a pale white house and fence, a green draped parlor, an old and dead flower garden

Physical place, area- old womans swamp; rubber grass, tall pines, vines, and a lot of different kinds of vegetation

Atmosphere/details- the clove of seasons, summer was "dead" but autumn had not yet begun

World events- World War 1

 

**Extending the setting:

The narrator describes a place full of life: plants, flowers, insects, birds, and warm, sunny weather. There are several passages where he creates strong imagery. Find several and try to complete the following table with as many examples of the life he describes.

 

Plants/flowers			Insects & small animals	Birds		Weather
	rotting brown magnolia petals	fiddler crabs			oriole		bright sunshine
	cotton rows	rain frog			swamp birds		In May and June there was no rain
	bay flowers	doodle bug			scarlet ibis		a hot day
	ironweeds and purple phlox	marsh crow			egret		darkness descended, almost like night

 

Point of View:

What point of view is this story narrated in? 1st person

How old is the narrator when he tells this story (in general) he is an adult

 

 

 

Tone:

The tone is the emotional aspect of the literature. The author creates a specific feeling right in the first paragraph. After we read this paragraph in class, complete this activity.

What is the feeling you get from the first paragraph? depressed

Give five examples (phrases taken directly from the first paragraph) that reinforce the tone. Put quotation marks around each phrase to show that you have taken them from the text.

 

1. "Summer was dead"

 

2. "The flower garden was strained with rotting brown magnolia petals"

 

3. "ironweeds grew rank"

 

4. "The last graveyard flowers were blooming"

 

5. "speaking softly the names of our dead"

**Imagery:

Images are pictures that the author creates to define setting, to reveal character, to reinforce theme, to reinforce tone, or for many other reasons. Images can be visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), and even kinesthetic (movement).

Death imagery: Find as many examples of death images in the story as you can. Give the page number following the example. Also, use quotation marks to show that you have taken the example from the story.

 

Example	Page number, column
"..summer was dead"	pg. 1 column 1
"..the graveyard flowers were blooming"	pg. 1, column 1
"..its song seems to die up in the leaves"	pg. 1, column 1
"..rocked back and forth just like an empty cradle"	pg. 1, column 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Character:

There are really only two characters in this story—the narrator, whose name we never learn, and his brother, Doodle (William Armstrong).

Answer the following questions related to character. Give reasons or prove your answer with examples from the story. Put a page reference in parentheses.

 

How old was the narrator when Doodle was born? 6 years old

What is wrong with Doodle? he was crippled and had things wrong with his heart

Describe Doodle’s appearance as a baby. small, all head, red, and his body was all shriveled like an old man

What is the narrator’s reaction to his new brother? he liked him

What kind of a brother does the narrator want? a lively one that can play sports with him and is like a normal brother

Record Doodle’s reaction to seeing Old Woman Swamp for the first time. What does his reaction say about him? he cried, he is very sensitive

How long does it take to teach Doodle to walk? What does that show about each brother? it took Doodle a year to learn how to walk. It means that they were determined to get that skill.

Why does the narrator cry when everyone congratulates him for teaching Doodle how to walk? he felt bad because he taught him how to walk for himself

The narrator says that sometimes he is cruel to his brother: give two examples to show that this is true.- He made him work harder than he is supposed to and left him in the storm

The narrator says that Doodle is really good at telling lies. What are these lies? (173)- one is when Doodle claims there is a boy with a pet peacock that has a 10 foot tail.

 

 

What is the theme of most of the lies and what does this tell us about what is important to Doodle?- they all had wings and could fly wherever they wanted; it tells me that he wishes he could go wherever he wanted without worrying about being handicapped

How does Doodle imagine his perfect future will be? (173)- he will marry his mama and his brother will marry his daddy and they will live in a house built of whispering leaves on old womans swamp

 

**A developing (or dynamic) character is one who changes by the end of the story. He is one who learns something important that changes him, makes him more mature or gives him insight into himself or others. Is the narrator a developing/dynamic character? You must also say how you think he changed or what it is he learned. Support your answer with evidence from the story.-

 

 

The narrator is a dynamic character. In the beginning of the story he wanted to kill his brother but at the end he loved Doodle. He learned not too push people too hardthe bad way, but he did learn and change which would make him a dynamic character.

 

**Similes/metaphors:

Hurst uses some great similes and metaphors that help the reader see exactly what he’s describing. Find three of them and record them in the table below. Show what is being compared—both the literal term (the thing being compared) and the figurative term (the thing being compared to). After recording the simile or metaphor, include the page number in ( ).

 

 

	Simile/metaphor	Literal term			Figurative term
“Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death”			pride	seed
"red and shriveled like an old man"			Doodle's skin	an old man's skin
"the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle"			nest	empty cradle
"our laughter pealing through the swamp like a ringing bell"			laughter	bell

 

**Symbols:

A symbol is a thing or idea that stands for something else. Authors use symbols to enhance the theme or to give readers a greater understanding of a key idea in the story. The main symbol is the scarlet ibis itself. The author implies that the bird is like Doodle, and at the end of the story, the narrator tells us himself that his brother looks just like the sad, lifeless bird.

To get us ready for this symbol, the author “paints” his story red. Skim through the story and find as many things, images, ideas that are red and record them here. Follow the example given for you. Use quotation marks to show you have taken this information directly from the text.

 

Example		Page number paragraph
“bleeding tree”		pg. 1; paragraph 1
"scarlet ibis"	pg. 6; paragraph 6
"tiny body which was red"	pg. 1; paragraph 3
"his shirt was stained brilliant red"	pg. 6; paragraph 4
"red nightshade bush"	pg. 6; paragraph 3
"vermillion neck"	pg. 6; paragraph 6
"scarlet feathers"	pg. 5; paragraph 1

 

What emotions is the color red generally associated with?- anger

 

What things in ordinary life are red?- apples, tomatoes, scarlet ibis', red birds, bricks, and fire extinguishers

 

How would you use the color red in an advertising campaign?- putting an American flag and saying your are for the U.S.A.

 

 

 

 

The scarlet ibis and Doodle: Consider this: in captivity, a scarlet ibis will fade to pink.

 

Where does it come from?- from South America to Florida

What does it look like?- it was the size of a chicken with a white beak, scarklet feathers, and long legs

How does Doodle respond to the scarlet ibis and its death? What does this say about him?- he buried him which shows that he is sensitive, felt bad, and understood the bird

Describe how Doodle appears to be like the scarlet ibis at the end of the story (physically; how he looks).- he layed awkaredly, his neck looked  long and slim his legs were bent sharply at his kness, and had never seemed so fragile, so thin

 

Theme:

A theme is an idea or a truth that the author reveals to the reader in a story. This idea or truth get us to understand ourselves as human beings who are connected to all other human being in the world, across all spaces, cultures and across all time. The theme is the important thing for us to learn about others, but especially about ourselves. Themes are often related to life, death, love, friendship, family, courage, etc. Stories may not always present people in their best light, but by reading their stories, we can understand a better way for all people to live and behave towards each other.

To come up with a theme sentence for this story, think about the important idea or truth we can learn from the narrator’s struggle to get a brother he could be proud of and the price he paid for that struggle.

 

What did the narrator want?- a brother who was physically capable of "being all there" and that could play games and be active with him

What did Doodle want?- to be healthy

How did Doodle die?- He worked to hard and was scared and his heart couldnt handle it

Why did Doodle die?- he wasnt supposed to be working hard, but he was pushed to his limit

How was Doodle like the scarlet ibis (not how he looked, but in other ways)? Remember what happens to these birds in captivity. Also, remember that this bird was far away from his home.- he was sick and wasnt capable of  flying (walking) and when the scarlet ibis tried to fly, he worked to hard and died like Doodle

How should the narrator have treated his brother?- with more care, and delicacey

 

**Think of two different ways to state a theme idea for this story in addition to the first one that is done for you as an example. They can be about different ideas. Make your statement a complete sentence that reveals a truth about human behavior.

 

1. Too much pride can make us treat those we love in cruel ways.

 

2. Love everyone no matter what they look like.

 

3. Treat others first.

 

**Reader Response:

Write a 100 word paragraph telling your reaction to any of the following: Doodle’s love for his brother, the narrator’s treatment of his brother, Doodle’s courage, or come up with your own idea. Support your ideas with examples from the story.

     Doodle loved his brother. He thought that his brother was helping him for Doodle when all along he was doing it for himself. His brother wanted a brother that could be “all there”.  Although Doodle was not able to be a lively brother that can do everything a normal brother can do, His brother which is the narrator realizes that he still loves him no matter what. Before Doodle died I feel that he lost trust in his brother since he ditched his brother in the rain. It’s horrible that Doodle dies because he dies most likely not liking his brother as much as he did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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