“The Scarlet Ibis” Mini-comp
Is Brother (the narrator) to blame for Doodle’s death? Write a mini-comp in which you defend
Brother’s actions or agree with the idea that he should be held responsible. How does James
Hurst use literary devices to portray Brother as guilty or innocent? You need to include
evidence from the text—weaving it in with your own words, ideas, and interpretations. This
assignment should be written in a scholarly manner; check spelling, grammar, and punctuation
before submitting. You may type or hand-write this assignment. All hand-written mini-comps
must be written in blue or black ink.
The Topic Sentence.
Start with a solid topic sentence that provides the author and title of the piece. For example:
In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses flashback and symbolism to prove Brother is
responsible for Doodle’s death.
OR
In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses tone and imagery to prove Brother is not responsible
for Doodle’s death.
OR
In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses the theme “selfishness can destroy important people
in one’s life” to prove Brother is responsible for Doodle’s death.
You can use this basic format in your topic sentence.
Using and Blending Quotes.
You will need two quotes from the story that shows or supports your ideas. Since I am discussing
tone and imagery I will use quotes from the story that show tone and imagery and how these
devices prove Brother’s guilt or innocence. I have to put them into my mini-comp seamlessly.
For example:
Hurst illustrates Brother’s innocence by including imagery of Doodle’s lifeless body. The
narrator remembers, “I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis” (267). Brother is
devastated that Doodle died and feels enormous remorse, which is evident by Brother’s image
of Doodle as a beautiful, fragile, broken bird.
Place quotation marks around the words you are citing directly from the story, and include the
page number in parentheses immediately following the quote. Notice there is a period to the right
of the parentheses, not before the parentheses. This is required in order to avoid plagiarism; you
must give credit to James Hurst for his ideas that you are borrowing.
OVER
How does the mini-comp look? I cannot remember!! One more time…
1. Topic Sentence
2. Explain a little bit (about the story, the relationship between the brothers, etc.)
3. Example that supports your topic (describe the scene right before you cite)
4. Quote that supports your example (word for word from the story)
5. Explain your ideas (how does the quote above prove Brother is innocent or guilty?)
6. Example that supports your topic (repeat steps above)
7. Quote that supports your example
8. Explain your ideas
9. Example that supports your topic
10. Quote that supports your example
11. Explain your ideas
12. Concluding sentence (wrap up your paragraph by connecting to the topic sentence)
Guilty or Innocent? Text-based Evidence
Use the grid to list evidence from the text which supports your conclusion regarding
Brother’s role in Doodle’s death.
GUILTY (three or more)
INNOCENT (three or more)
Any evidence that could go either way depending on how it is interpreted