SymbolismSymbolism can be defined "as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by attributing symbolic meanings to them other than their literal sense" (C. Bavota). James Hurst gives us many examples of symbolism in his 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 originally studied to be 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 further his studies. He soon realized he had no talent for singing and decided to be a banker by night and a writer by day (James Richard Hurst). “The Scarlet Ibis,” the tale for which Hurst is famous, contains several important symbols including Doodle's go-kart, the old woman's swamp, and the scarlet ibis. "The Scarlet Ibis" is a story of two go-karts of Doodle represents the burden placed on his older brother, Brother. “If I just took the hat, she would start crying to come with me and mom would call from wherever she was, “Take Doodle with you” (Hurst). The brother wanted a little brother with whom he could run, box and climb trees. Instead, the brother found someone with whom he couldn't do any of those things. Day after day he had to drag him around in his go-kart. The brother tried to discourage Doodle from coming with him by racing the go-kart and sometimes tipping it over. Doodle was such a burden to his 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 ultimately kill Doodle. This is a great example of symbolism that Hurst offers us, but it is only one of