SymbolismSymbolism can be defined “as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meaning” (C. Bavota). James Hurst gives us many examples of symbolism in his short story “The Scarlet Ibis”. James Hurst was born in 1922 and was the youngest of three children. He attended North Carolina State College and served in the United States Army during World War II. He had originally studied to become a chemical engineer, but realized he had a passion for music and became a student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Wanting to become an opera singer, he went to Rome to continue his studies. He soon realizes that he has no talent for singing and is content to be a banker by night and a writer by day (James Richard Hurst). "The Scarlet Ibis", the short story for which Hurst is best known, contains several important symbols, including Doodle's kart, Old Woman Swamp, and the Scarlet Ibis. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a tale of two. Doodle's kart represents the burden on his older brother, Brother. “If I picked up my cap, he would start crying to go with me and mom would call me from wherever she was, “Take Doodle with you” (Hurst). Brother wanted a little brother with whom he could go shopping, box and climb trees. Instead, Brother found someone he couldn't do any of those things with. He had to drag him on his kart day after day. Brother tried to discourage Doodle from coming with him by running the kart and sometimes running it over on him. Doodle was such a burden to brother that he was embarrassed to have a brother that age who couldn't walk. It would be this pride or embarrassment that would be such a burden to Brother, that he would end up killing Doodle. This is an excellent example of symbolism that Hurst gives us, but it is only one of the