Symbolism in the Scarlet Ibis
1.  How many of you listen to music? Duh, just about all of us.  Well, have you ever
heard a song and wondered what in the world they are talking about or maybe you
 listened to a song and the more you thought about it, you realized that there was 
a deeper meaning than just the actual words?  For instance, that new song by Cake, 
"Sheep go to heaven."  The first time I heard that song it seemed like he was 
talking about sheep and goats going to heaven and hell, but when I stopped to think
about what the other lyrics were saying and when I remembered that sheep often 
represent good people you know like in religion have you heard the expression "lamb
 of God" and goats are often associated with satanic symbols then it began to make 
sense. There was more to the song than sheep and goats.
2.  Well, the purpose of today's lesson is to help you make those connections, to 
help you learn how to interpret those "deeper meanings."  In fact, the use of an 
image or a person, place, or object to convey a meaning other than itself is called
 symbolism.  Today's objective is to have you interpret what the Ibis in "The 
Scarlet Ibis" stands for and to be able to relate how Doodle and the Ibis are 
similar.
3. By the time we are finished with this lesson you guys will have a new world open
 up to you.  Reading and music will never be the same because you are going to be 
able to see the deeper meanings that the author's, a poet, and musicians intend.  
4. So the first thing we are going to do is become familiar with different types of
 symbols such as specific symbols, language, people, and objects.  Actually anthing
 that conveys a meaning beyond itself can be a symbol.  Then we are going to work 
together in our groups to make a veign diagram comparing Doodle and the Ibis to 
better understand how the Ibis functions as a symbol.  
5. Yesterday, as you may or may not remember, we read the "Scarlet Ibis" and
 discussed the point of view and how the story is being told as the narrator, now 
an adult, remembers events of his childhood and how a possible theme is about rites
 of passage.  Today, knowing what we do about the narrator and his use of emotional
 language to create mood such as, "clove of seasons," "summer was dead," "nest like
 and empty cradle," and "graveyard flowers" and what we know about the theme, we are 
going to use this a a context to help us when we look for symbols.
6. Before we jump into symbol hunting, first let's become aquatinted with different
 kinds of symbols.  Now recalling that a symbol is just about anything that represent
s something beyond its surface meaning what do you think this M stands for?  Is it
 just two arches or does it have a deeper meaning?  (its supposed to be the Mc
 Donald's symbol)  That's right, these arches stand for more than an M it makes you
think about McDonald's.  Also, what does all those swooshes that I see on some of
 those shoes stand for?  Uh huh, see yall know symbolism, Nike.  But you see, when 
you think of Nike and McDonald's you probably also think of more things than just 
restaurant and shoes.  You think of chicken nuggets and hamburger, and expensive
 shoes and sports stars… also, you guys use symbolism all the time in your language.
  For example, when you say something is "the bomb" you don't mean that it is literal
ly a bomb.  What does that mean when you say something is "the bomb?"  See, there 
you go, symbolism.  Also, people can be sybmols.  For example, when you think of Dr.
 Martin Luther King Jr. you probably think more than man.  You think of equality,
 and civil rights and so forth don't you?  When I say flag or American Flag what
 comes to mind?  Yes, it represents the US.  What else come to mind?  Let those 
creative juices flow.  There are no wrong answers.  That is the beauty of symbolism.
  It brings a deeper meaning to something and each one of you will get something
 different out of if.  Ok, liberty, patriotism, good.  See how many big ol abstract 
ideas that one object can impart?  If an author used something like this it would
 not only save him a lot of words and explanation, it also gave you the reader 
something to do besides just read the words.  It allows you to think about a certain
 thing and to bring your own meaning into the story.  What may seem like a common
 object can also be symbolic.  For example, birds are often used in literature to 
represent freedom and the human spirit in flight in ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Native
 American, and Hindu mythology.  Many birds are symbolic of loyalty such as the
 eagle, others wisdom such as an owl.  Still other birds represent evil or death
 such as a raven.  The Ibis, a bird with long skinny legs and a long down curved 
bill, was sacred to the Egyptians, who associated it with Troth, their god of wisdom
 and arts.  Now that you have a little multicultural perspective and some info
 about birds as symbols, lets get into our groups and take a look back at our story
 so that we can create a veign diagram comparing Doodle and the Ibis.  
7. Now at first you may be tempted to just state the obvious, that is Doodle is
 a boy, the Ibis is a bird.  That's great and necessary.  However, remember what
 you know about birds representing the human spirit.  A trick for this is going
to be to look beyond Doodle's physical self and to asses his spirit, what is he 
like on the inside?  What is his personality?  Think about the challenges that 
they both face.  Also, think how the bird on the outside could represent Doodle
 on the inside.
8. Now lets get into our groups and let the creative juices flow…Remember that 
there are no wrong answers.  If you get an idea don't be afraid to put it down. 
 It's symbolism.  It is what you get out of it.  Im sure that unless it has nothing
 to do with the story at all, like if you say the Ibis represents how evil Doodle is then it will be a good idea.  Ok, if some of you seem stuck, try thinking in terms of patterns.  Like, how is Doodle's appearance at death like that of the bird?  In what ways is Doodle like the Ibis?  Now, from the answers that each group gives me, I am going to make a super veign diagram comparing the Ibis to Doodle.  Make sure you copy this down. Are you starting to see why the author chose to use a bird to get all these ideas across instead of just coming out and telling you?

11. Ok, so today we learned that a symbol can be anything that stands for something
 beyond itself.  We learned that a symbol can be a person, place, object, language, 
or even an idea.  We also learned that birds are often used in literature, 
representing freedom and the human spirit.  And from our veign diagram we saw the
 a deeper side of Doodle for the Ibis was beautiful on the outside as Doodle was
 on the inside.  The Ibis was crippled and could not fly, just as Doodle was 
crippled and could not do many things.  Both the Ibis and Doodle struggled against
 things until they died.  Also, at death, Doodles neck was stained red and his 
head was thrown back, making his neck appear long and slim like the bird.  Also,
 his legs were bent sharply at the knees-just like the Ibis's appearance at the 
foot of the tree.  See how the author set us up with all these similarities? Also,
 in terms of spirit, the Ibis was beautiful, delicate and wounded, just like the
 inner Doodle.  Also, they were both unusual and lovely, but out of place in their
 worlds.
12. Now that you have had practice finding deeper meanings behind symbols, and you
 know how they work; reading will never be the same because you will be able to 
look for the deeper meaning and truths in the things that you read.  Also, back to
 lyrics, the next time you hear a song and soemthing sounds like it doesn't make
 sense or you wonder why they keep referring to something, remember what you 
learned about symbolism.  For example, that song "Jagged Little Pill" by Atlanis 
Morrisette, now you can think about what she means by jagged little pill by 
analyzing what the song is talking about.  You know what guys, lyrics are a lot
 like poetry and the same principles apply. 
13.  You guys did a great job today.  You really had to use your brains to figure 
all this hidden stuff out.  The creative juices were really flowing.
14. You know what guys, lyrics are a lot like poetry and the same principles
 apply.  And since tomorrow we are going to study symbolism in poetry, your
 homework assignment is to listen to music and find a song that has symbolism,
 write down the symbol used and the deeper meaning it imparts.  And remember
 to keep those creative juices flowing!