Thematic Unit: Guilt - Short Story #2 -
"The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst Lesson

James Hurst was born on January 1, 1922, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia and studied chemical engineering at North Carolina State College. However, following military service in World War II, he decided to be an opera singer and studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York and in Italy. In 1951, Hurst abandoned his musical career and became a banker in New York for the next thirty-four years. He wrote plays and short stories in his spare time. "The Scarlet Ibis" was his only piece that gained widespread recognition.

In this story, the narrator, who is not named but simply called "Brother," recounts the life of his younger brother, William Armstrong, or "Doodle." Doodle is born a sickly child who is not expected to live. His brother wanted someone who could run and jump and play with him but resents having the weak and fragile Doodle instead.

Read the story, using the link below. If the link to the story do not work, you can perform an Internet search for the story and find the text online.

"The Scarlet Ibis" Link

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