The Scarlet Ibis Guilt and Blame Quotes

This sounds a little harsh, but pretty normal for a six year old. Try telling Brother that. He feels guilty about every thought he ever had about Doodle. If Doodle had live a long life, Brother would probably see things in a different light. This shows how guilt influences how we remember our lives.

This is a shocking moment for most readers, and a source of deep shame for Brother. It pushes all our buttons because it makes us see baby Doodle's extreme vulnerability, while showing us just how disturbed Brother is by the idea of Doodle's difference. It makes us wonder where Brother learned to feel so threatened by difference.

You'll want to look at the doctor's "Character Analysis" for this one. We discuss the fact that knowledge of heart disease was limited in the early 1900s when the story is set. This is to blame for much of Brother's confusion about Doodle's limitations.

When Brother proves the doctor wrong, he assumes everything the doctor says is wrong. This is partly to blame for Doodle's death. If brother had understood that Doodle was capable of more than the doctor said, but still vulnerable, tragedy might not have struck.

Brother knows that Doodle's biggest fear was of abandonment. So, the fact that he abandoned Doodle in the storm just before Doodle's death must cause him amazing amounts of guilt. The last thing Doodle saw of Brother was Brother running away from him.

Brother forcing Doodle to touch the coffin sounds like a fairly normal, though mean, thing for one brother to do to another. Because Doodle died tragically, the memory increases Brother's guilt and his feelings that he did wrong by Doodle when he was alive.