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.

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?

**Plot:

Record the main events of the story here. FREYTAG'S MODEL OR ARISTOTLE

1. Exposition- doodle is born into a family with a brother, mom, and dad.

2. Rising action-the narrator is trying to get doodle to be a normal brother.

3. Climax- the last trip home from old woman swamp (the storm).

4. Falling action- doodle dies from pushing his self to hard.

5. Resolution- narrator now begins to protect doodle from the rain.

Setting:

Give the correct information for the setting.

**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.

Point of View:

What point of view is this story narrated in? coastal, north Carolina

How old is the narrator when he tells this story (in general)? Six

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? SAD, DEPRESSED,AND DEATH

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. GRAVEYARD FLOWERS

2. ROTTING BROWN MAGNOLIA PETALS

3. SUMMER WAS DEAD

4. ROCK BACK AND FORTH LIKE AN EMPTY CRADLE

5. WHISPRERED 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.

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.

**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.

_______Yes the narrator changed his thought for his special brother. Because he taught his special brother a varies of special things he taught him to walk talk and even gave him a name. Doodle was his name he couldn't do much of nothing until his older brother to him down to old woman's swamp and taught him to walk. And when doodle stood in the kitchen one and showed every one what he could do his brother started crying because the was being selfish toward doodle.________________________________________________________________

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**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 ( ).

**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.

What emotions is the color red generally associated with? ANGER

What things in ordinary life are red? BLOOD, STOP SIGN, ROSES

How would you use the color red in an advertising campaign? COKE- A-COLA

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

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.

**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. TREAT PEOPLES THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.

3. LEARN TO ACCEPT DIFFERCENCES IN OTHER PEOPLE.

**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 in many ways. He loved because he had some one to play with and some one to pull him around everywhere he went. Doodle also loved his brother because he taught him how to walk . He also took down to old woman's swamp and let him fell the grass even though he cried at his first sight. Doodle loved his brother regardless of how he was treated because his brain didn' t tick fast enough for him to know what was going on. Doodle was very tight with his brother and tried to do everything his brother did.