Question

Read the excerpt from “The Scarlet Ibis.” Doodle was frightened of being left. “Don’t go leave me, Brother,” he cried, and he leaned toward the coffin. His hand, trembling, reached out, and when he touched the casket he screamed. A screech owl flapped out of the box into our faces, scaring us and covering us with Paris green. Doodle was paralyzed, so I put him on my shoulder and carried him down the ladder, and even when we were outside in the bright sunshine, he clung to me, crying, “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.” What do Doodle’s repeated pleas of “Don’t leave me” foreshadow? Once the narrator returns to school, he leaves Doodle at home and forgets all of his plans to help him. After Doodle refuses to touch the casket, the narrator refuses to help Doodle and leaves him alone in the loft. Later in the story, the narrator races ahead and leaves Doodle to struggle behind during a terrible storm. When Doodle struggles to learn to walk, the narrator leaves and Doodle is left sitting alone in Old Woman Swamp.

Answer 1

When Doodle keeps crying, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me," the reader is being prepared for the fact that his brother will, in fact, leave Doodle. Unfortunately, when he does leave Doodle, the results will be disastrous.

Doodle, as we know, is not a healthy child. The narrator struggles with having a sickly brother but soon comes to love him. Although Doodle remains weak, he eventually learns to crawl. The narrator vows to teach him to walk so he can be normal.

The two practice in secret and soon Doodle learns to walk. The narrator is not satisfied with these results and pushes his sick brother to go further. They train in the swamp, far from the house, so they do not get in trouble.

As they are "training," a storm comes in. Doodle has already been tired from his training and does not have the ability to run home. The narrator, however, runs home to escape the storm, leaving Doodle behind. When the narrator goes back to look for him, he finds Doodle has collapsed and died. The blood on his neck connects him to the scarlet ibis they earlier found dead. Both were fragile and both were alone when they died.

The narrator deserves a certain amount of blame for not only pushing his brother further then he was capable but also of leaving him behind during the frightening storm. Therefore, the best answer is that Doodle yelling "Don't leave me" best foreshadows when "the narrator races ahead and leaves Doodle to struggle behind during a terrible storm."

Answer 2

the comment on the answer above is the best answer i've ever seen. why can't people just get to the point. they are just wasting their time writing all of that.