The ibis, in James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis," is a fitting symbol for Doodle. The bird lands in the "bleeding tree" on the family's farm after being blown off course during tumultuous weather on the coast of the southeastern United States. After consulting the "bird book," the father indicates the bird is far from home and is native to the tropics.
The bird is rare because it is seldom seen in the area of North Carolina which is the setting of the story. It is also quite beautiful with its deep red feathers and long, "graceful" neck. It could also be described as fragile. It has traveled far and the journey has diminished its strength (just as Doodle's strength is lost when he chases his brother in the rain at the end of the story). Hurst describes the bird as it lay dead at the foot of the bleeding tree:
A white veil came over its eyes and the long white beak unhinged. Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest. Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic beauty.
The bird is a symbol for Doodle because the boy is also out of place and fragile. From the beginning he is different from his brother. He is physically distinct and also has a very sensitive and imaginative personality. Like the bird, he is also doomed. In the final scene he is described in virtually the same language as the ibis:
He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermillion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.
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